La Costa Resort: South Course

By Shaun Keating | December 30, 2009

La Costa’s South Course is deceptively challenging. Lengthy holes, well-bunkered greens and several meandering creeks pose serious threats to all golfers. The South Course at the La Costa Resort will make a man out of you. The service and the course condition are well worth the money.

Location:

2100 Costa Del Mar Road
Carlsbad, CA 92009
(951) 676-2405

La Costa Resort and Spa Website

Difficulty: 5.5* La Costa’s South Course is deceptively challenging. Lengthy holes, well-bunkered greens and several meandering creeks pose serious threats to all golfers.

*Scale of 1-10 where 1=Miniature golf and 10=Augusta National

Prices:

• Resort Guest
  • Monday-Thursday – $175
  • Friday-Sunday  – $185
  • Twilight (before 8 am and after 2 pm) – $100
• Daily Fee Guest
  • Monday-Thursday  – $195
  • Friday-Sunday – $205
  • Twilight Monday-Thursday (before 8 am and after 2 pm) – $120
  • Twilight Friday-Sunday (before 8 am and after 2 pm) – $125

Staff: You get what you pay for at the La Costa Resort. The staff at the La Costa Resort is good evidence of that. They are incredibly helpful and courteous. When you arrive, your bags are taken from your car to your cart while you head into the pro shop to check in. When you’re round is done, your clubs are cleaned and returned to your car. The marshals are constantly monitoring the pace of play and are knowledgeable about the course condition.

Amenities: In addition to the restaurant and café in the resort, there is a snack bar in the middle of the course for you to buy drinks and food. The sandwiches from the café are delicious. The beverage cart came around 4 times while I was playing and made sure I was never thirsty. There are several putting and chipping greens next to the clubhouse and a driving range.

The La Costa Resort is world-famous and has been a stop on the PGA tour for over 30 years. La Costa is a legend in the San Diego area and it should be no surprise that it offers an amazing range of services for its guests. Whether you’re looking to book a wedding, a conference or a meeting—La Costa can make sure your event is a success.

The La Costa Resort is currently offering some fantastic specials. The Extended Twilight Special offers guests a $100 tee-time before 8 am or after 2 pm. The Replay Special allows guests to replay another 9-18 holes after your first round for only $39. Lastly, the Junior Special lets anyone, ages 16 and under, play free when they are accompanied by a regular paying adult.

The La Costa Resort also offers extensive golf training at their Golf Academy and at the Roger Fredricks Golf Flexibility Instruction. La Costa can arrange private lessons, ladies only, group lessons, junior and kids programs, corporate lessons and instruction from PGA teaching pros. There are a number of golf lesson gift packages available as well.

Course Condition: The South Course is in great condition. The greens were quick and true. There are a lot of trees on the South Course but the maintenance crews kept the leaves from collecting on the greens. The course is in a valley with a small creek running through and the fairways enjoy plenty of water.

Tips/Advice: The level of play needed to score well at the South Course is reflective of the quality of players that have walked across its fairways and greens. The PGA tour doesn’t stop here for nothing. Strength, accuracy and finesse are required if you want to score well. But if you’re like me and are ecstatic to break 90, there is something there for you as well. Playing it safe, as I did, still offers players an invigorating challenge. There are also some fun risk/reward situations that players of all skill levels can enjoy.

The creeks will be a huge concern for the entirety of your round. They wander from one end of the course to the other. Often, one creek will cross a fairway only to bend and become a lateral hazard down the length of the fairway it just bisected. From Hole 1 you get a sense of how the creeks will affect your club choice.

To be perfectly candid, you will hate the creeks by the end of your round. This is not the only hole where you have to cross water twice. On Hole 1 (and coming back on Hole 9) you have to cross a small creek directly in front of you and then a larger one closer to the green.

You will do well to bring a SkyCaddie, a range finder or your friend who owns one of those things with you. There is little except fairway markers to help you accurately gauge the distances to the hazards.

As if to make up for the difficulty of the first hole, Hole 2 offers players a great risk/reward scenario. With no danger of water from the tee-box, most players will attempt to cut the corner. Watch out for sand. There is a pond behind the green that will cause you trouble if you over-shoot the green.

Hole 3 is the hardest on the South Course. After your first shot the fairway levels out a bit but it’s an uphill battle all the way to the pin. Hit it hard, baby.

At Hole 5 you come back down the hill towards the valley. The grass surrounding this green is especially thick. You definitely want to be in the fairway for your second shot. Since the fairway hooks to the right it is easy to overshoot it. Try to send your first shot over the small pine tree in front of the tee-box.

Two 500+ yard par 5’s make the back 9 on the South Course at the La Costa Resort extremely long. Hole 12 is the first at 507 from the whites (seen here) and 17 is the second at 525 yards.

Hole 15 is a great place to try to cut the corner. If you make it, you’ll be left with a wedge shot to the green. But if you leave it short the trees on the left will become a factor as they nudge out into the fairway. Playing it safe and down the middle is a good idea. In the picture you can see the 150 yard marker in the middle of the fairway. Hitting your first shot just to the left of that marker will leave you in a good position.

Conclusion: The South Course at the La Costa Resort will make a man out of you. The service and the course condition are well worth the money. With the specials they’re running, La Costa’s prices are competitive with other courses that lack the rich tradition and great service. If you want to see someone’s face light up, send the golfer in your life out to La Costa as a Christmas or birthday present. They’ll get to say that they walked the fairways where the greatest golfers in the world have walked.