Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/125316
A little farther west, in Riverside, a course called Oak Quarry proves to be an intricate hillside marvel carved into an abandoned quarry. Back in the Palm Springs area – heck, even in Arizona or Nevada – courses of this quality would sport three-figure green fees. Here, in onceexpensive California, all four come in at less than $60, and that's before the discounts and coupons that are so much a part of the golf world these days. Later, on another exploration of Southern California golf, I land with some buddies in the San Diego area, where admittedly it's hard to focus on the game. For example, when playing the Coronado Golf Course, does one fixate on keeping the ball flight low to cheat ocean breezes, or allow the mind to wander to thoughts of the Hotel del Coronado, which shares the same charming isthmus? After all, the grand wooden palace is one of the most legendary lodgings on the continent, and it was the setting for the equally legendary 1959 Marilyn Monroe/Tony Curtis classic Some Like It Hot. Likewise, when putting on the clifftop third or seventh greens at PGA Tour venue Torrey Pines, is full concentration devoted to reading the break or does the eye stray in the direction of Black's Beach (just below), the busiest clothingoptional beach in the U.S.? As it happens, the Hotel del Coronado inspired a wintering L. Frank Baum to invent a land called Oz, while the windcontorted trees on the waterfront in chichi La Jolla, near Torrey Pines, had a similar effect on the artistic oeuvre of Dr. Seuss. And here's another thing: both Coronado and Torrey Pines are munis. That's right: these seaside links are owned by their respective municipalities. The difference is, one chooses to charge more than $180 a round (Torrey Pines), while the other asks only $30. Indeed, that kind of extraordinary variety becomes a theme when golfing around San Diego. As with Palm Springs and area, there are 100 courses or so, but here they range from seaside links with Scottish aspirations to hillside classics, to a raft of modern extravaganzas designed to dent various Top 10 lists. And the variety goes well beyond mere landscape or design style. Dedicated skinflint though I am, we luck into a round at the Grand Del Mar, which straddles a barranca, or creek valley, a few kilometres inland from Torrey Pines. At this exclusive spot, your round comes complete with a forecaddy, who rushes ahead in his white overalls to mark your ball or give it a vigorous polish before showing you the line on your putt. The rack rate for a round is more than $200, but deals are sometimes available, especially for those who stay in the palatial hotel, which is the nearest most of us will ever come to the court of Versailles. A day later, we land at another resort course located just a little farther inland. Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort and Spa GOING PL ACES p46-53_Cali Golf.indd 49 >> s u m m e r 2 0 1 3 49 13-04-12 1:14 PM