San Diego's Best Golf Courses

 In this weeks post in the series "San Diego's Best Golf Courses" I'll be reviewing one of San Diego's biggest country clubs: Fairbanks Ranch.  THE COURSE: Fairbanks Ranch is one of San Diego’s largest country clubs, featuring pickleball courts, tennis courts, swimming amenities, a private gym, and most importantly, three different nine hole courses. The first 9 is ‘The Valley Nine’, their website describes it as “Set below the scenic hills of Fairbanks Ranch, accurate tee shots are crucial to shooting low in the valley”. The second 9 is ‘The Lakes Nine’ described as             “The lakes are only matched in beauty by the incredibly designed holes surrounding them. Stay out of the water and you’ll shoot well”. Lastly Fairbanks hosts ‘The Ocean Nine’ described as “The shortest and straightest of the nines, but don’t let that fool you as it’s just as challenging as the rest”.   Fairbanks Ranch is truly one of the more difficult course that I have played. Bo

In todays first post in my series “San Diego's Best Golf Courses” I will be reviewing what I believe is one of San Diego's biggest hidden gems: Balboa Park Golf. THE COURSE Not only is Balboa Park one of San Diego’s best golf courses, it’s one of the oldest. Built in 1915, Balboa Park was San Diego’s first municipal golf course. Starting with dirt fairways and poorly built greens,  the course has since undergone several renovations, with the most recent being in 2021. At first glance, Balboa Park doesn’t seem all too challenging of a course. Balboa Park is a par 72 course, boasting a rating of 71.2, meaning that a zero-handicap golfer is likely to shoot just under par. However, this course is much more difficult than the score card may read. Many holes on the course have no bail out, forcing golfers to play safer layup shots, leaving tricky short pitches into the greens. If you are a more aggressive golfer, beware as at some point your risky shot will cost you a stroke or two.