Pala Mesa Golf Course

By Shaun Keating | February 22, 2010

Location:

2001 Old Highway 395
Fallbrook, CA 92028
(760) 728-5881

Pala Mesa Resort Website

Difficulty: 4* The oak, elm, pine and sycamore-lined fairways are narrow as the golf course wraps around the base of a hill and winds between resort housing. The North side of the course opens up significantly as it frees itself from the squeeze of the hill giving players a nice breath. Accuracy is required on every shot.

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

Price:

• Mon-Thur – $59
  • Twilight – $49
• Fridays – $75
  • Twilight – $52
• Weekends/Holidays – $85
  • Twilight – $55

Staff: The staff at Pala Mesa is very friendly and knowledgeable. The course marshals were good at making sure everyone was keeping pace.

Amenities: There is a beautiful putting green in front of the clubhouse, a driving range and chipping greens. The coolers on the golf cart are stocked with bottles of water and there are bathrooms out on the course. You can buy beverages, beers, cocktails and food at the snack shop by the clubhouse. The beverage cart came around several times during my round.

The 133-room resort has many different specials and packages for everyone. Even if you don’t plan on golfing, the resort offers a variety of activities including tennis courts, pool and Jacuzzi, Temecula wineries, and local gaming at Pauma, Harrah’s, Pala and Pechanga casinos—to name just a few.

The Pala Mesa Resort also has over 17,600 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space that feature dedicated catering and culinary staff, state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment, wireless internet and transportation services.

The resort is also a popular location for weddings. With an experienced and professional staff, the Pala Mesa Resort can help you plan every detail of your wedding from start to finish.

Course Condition: For being the middle of winter, the Pala Mesa golf course is in impeccable condition. Lush fairways are the reward for good shots. The greens were a little sandy but true and fair.

Tips/Advice: When you play Pala Mesa the two main challenges you will face are the elevation changes and the narrow fairways.  Here’s a look at the elevated green on Hole 1.

Hole 4 offers a great risk/reward for golfers who can cut this curve.

Here’s a view from the tee box at Hole 6. Think twice before you grab your driver.

This is a dog-leg left. Unless you have the skill to wrap the trees on the left you run the risk of over shooting the fairway straight ahead. Perhaps a long iron would be better–depending on how you hit your driver.

Finally, here’s a look at Hole 8. There’s a steep bank on your right that heads down to the fairway of Hole 2.

As you can see, this is a pretty sharp turn to the right which offers even greater rewards for the players who can either wrap it or cut the corner. There’s a hill around this corner that will lengthen your drive and leave you with a short chip to the green.

The back nine holes at Pala Mesa are much more open that the front. After the turn, the course feels much more like a traditional golf course instead of like target golf.

Conclusion: The Pala Mesa golf course is nestled deep in the tranquil wine country of north San Diego County. It has been around for over 40 years and was rated in the top 200 golf courses in the United States by Golf Digest Magazine. It was voted as one of the top 10 courses in San Diego by PGA professionals. The quality of the staff, the condition of the course and the beauty of the surrounding area make this course a must-play for San Diego golfers.

Stock images courtesy of Pala Mesa Resort. Images of specific holes by author.