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are three Indian tribes owning casinos in east San Diego County.
Two own golf courses. The Sycuan Tribe owns Singing Hills and
the subject of this article, the Barona Tribe, own Barona Creek
Golf Club.
This top quality golf course, open to the public,
is located 30 miles east of downtown San Diego. It is across the
parking lot from the $260 million Barona's Lakeside-area casino
with an undercover parking facility, a conference center and a
“ranch-themed” 400-room hotel.
In a few short years, Barona’s golf course
has been the recipient of numerous awards. In addition to receiving
both Connoisseur Golf & Travel Report’s and Golfindustryonline.com’s
“Top Ten Public Courses in San Diego –2003”
awards, Barona’s growing list of accolades include a Top
100 ranking for best "modern" courses and the fourth
best course in California — behind the legendary Pebble
Beach, Spyglass and Pasatiempo courses — by Golfweek.
Opened in January 2001, this championship-caliber,
$12 million dollar, par-72 course, took leading golf course architect,
Todd Eckenrode of Gary Roger Baird Design International, three
years to design and construct. It was also designed to take advantage
of the natural beauty and contours of the surrounding terrain.
Boulders and more than 170 full-size oak trees that are native
to the Barona Indian Reservation, were incorporated into the design.
Hit an errant chip shot and your ball could ricochet off a 10-ton
boulder and bounce down a hillside.
The 7,088-yard course, with its five sets of
tees, will challenge golfers of every level - from professional
to beginner. The Black tees are for scratch golfers! The course
offers golfers an exhilarating experience with dramatic changes
in elevation and breathtaking views of the surrounding valley.
It is a course that is very much visually appealing and fundamentally
very challenging.
The Barona Indian Band in the development of
this, the first 18-hole golf course on a California reservation,
spared no expense. Sod was used on all 18 fairways for an instant
mature look and making this course only the second golf course
in San Diego to do so. Nearly 100 Augusta White bunkers and a
series of lakes and ponds fed by natural streams add to the golfing
experience. The greens are spacious, firm and very fast.
 A
really nice touch, incorporating the Tribe’s heritage, are
the distinctive small rock monuments etched with a cattle-brand
symbol, at each hole. These markers serve as a tribute to the
tribe's founding members, who were forcibly moved to Barona in
1932 from the nearby Capitan Grande reservation. The relocated
families were allotted one wagon, five cows and two horses apiece.
They used the brands to mark their livestock.
According to the course superintendent, Sandy
Clark, the course features a water-conscious design that, depending
on rainfall, the course will use 200 to 310 acre-feet of water
per year, much less than most courses. (There are 325,851 gallons
in an acre-foot).
Fifteen percent to twenty percent of Barona Creek's
water is recycled effluent from the casino’s $3.5 million
dollar waste-treatment plant. The natural landscaping and a $1
million, high-technology irrigation system also minimizes consumption.
The course's several lakes and man-made streams
also recycle water that is pumped from the lowest lake back up
to the top. The tribe's 13 wells -- six of them for monitoring
only -- draw from the Reservation's own bowl-shaped basin.
Barona Creek Golf Club has a superb 10-acre on-site
practice facility, which includes a 12,000-square-foot putting
green, 6,000-square-foot chipping green and a 40-space, all grass,
driving range. Other classy touches are the complimentary range
balls, yardage books, tees and bag tags.
Each hole is an island of green between large
expanses of rolling hills, rock formations and native plants.
To reach grass fairways from grass tees, golfers shoot over streams
and gullies.
The front nine offer a considerable challenge
especially the memorable Number 3. This is really a tough cookie
of a par 3 if there ever was one. This is a strong hole set along
native rocks, with bunkering wedged between to serve as a savior
of sorts. The hole plays slightly downhill and downwind, measures
260 yards from the back tees and 200 even from the middle markers.
Together with the bunkering of the upcoming 5th hole serving as
a backdrop, this green appears to be absolutely surrounded with
bunker trouble. The true landing area is more generous than it
appears, however, as the entire left side of the green, and chipping
area above serve to work the ball onto this generously sized green.
 Watch
out for the ridge running through the middle of the green. A par
here will be quite admirable. A birdie will be practically unforgettable.
The fifth hole is the number one handicap with
a stream running all along the left side, a
series of bunkers and trees on the right with a narrow green surrounded
by more sand. The green has a severe slope from back to front,
so staying below the hole on the approach is certainly the best
play.
The par 4 ninth features a manmade lake on the
left with a small stream, which cuts right in front of the green
with more sand behind the hole.
The back nine is definitely the most challenging
and aesthetically pleasing of the eighteen holes
The eleventh is undoubtedly a memorable and unique
par 3 especially from the back tees (189 yards). Majestic oaks,
dramatic bunkering and truly artful rock formations surround the
green. The back right pin, partially obscured from sight, had
best be played conservatively. It’s an all or nothing shot
and par is a very respectable score here, particularly in windy
conditions.
The fourteenth is a magnificent short par 4.
This hole drops a 100 feet in elevation, is slightly over 300
yards and offers a multitude of options from the tee. Bold players
can give it a go and drive the green, but must carry the ball
approximately 280 yards over a boulder strewn bunker complex.
Most players will attempt to place their drives in one of a series
of landing areas surrounded by a dry creek, more bunkers and a
very unusual native boulder cluster. Certainly a chance for a
birdie or better, but nonetheless dangerous - this is a true thinking
man's hole.
The sixteenth hole is the last of a great set
of par 3's. This is the shortest of the bunch, playing even shorter
with the predominant wind at your back. By no means is it the
easiest, however. The green is literally surrounded by bunkering,
demanding accurate iron play. The putting surface is quite complex,
combining swales, crowns and ridges to require accurate shot making.
You had better put it close here, or getting up and down will
be quite a challenge.
Both the par 5 seventeenth with its crossing
stream and the par 4 eighteenth, features a large lake all along
the left, bring water decidedly into play. On the par 5 seventeenth,
a boundary fence runs the length of the hole down the left side,
passing by a vintage windmill, which serves as the aiming point
off the tee. From here, play is very strategic. The second shot
offers numerous options, with a gorgeous creek splitting the hole
into two fairways, then wrapping around the left side and back
of the green. Lay-up shots placed close to the creek offer the
best angles with which to attack the pin on this small green.
The par 4 eighteenth has the creek continuing
down the left side of this very demanding finishing hole, spilling
into a series of ponds and lakes, which finish at the clubhouse.
Playing into the predominant wind, a strong drive is advised down
this very wide fairway. Those bold enough to play along the dangerous
left side will be rewarded with an easier angle to this green
set against the lakeshore. A large bail out area to the right
will see a lot of play, no doubt, and offers an opportunity to
save par for those with imaginative short games.
Great beverage cart service, welcoming attendants
and a great pro shop make Barona a truly pleasing experience.
Remember though, that playing in summer should begin as early
as possible. It does get rather warm and water should be consumed
in great quantity during a round.
As for the 19th Hole, the entertainment value
of the casino is hard to beat, and, with the proposed hotel, this
complex will definitely be “the place” to stay and
play. One does not need to go to Vegas, as Barona offers incredibly
superior service to the Las Vegas resorts and is much less expensive.
Their summer golf packages are simply unbeatable.
Simply stated, Barona Creek Golf Club is one
of the very best golf and entertainment values in San Diego.
The course is also the site of the SBC FUTURES
Golf Tour's $60,000 Barona Creek Women's Golf Classic
- 72/7088/139/74.5 (Black)
- 72/6590/133/72.1 (Gold)
- 72/6237/129/70.4 (Silver)
- 72/5833/124/68.3 (Teal)
- 72/5833/130/73.8 (w-Teal)
- 72/5296/126/70.6 (Burgundy)
The course opens for play at 7 a.m. The $75 course
fee -- $45 after 2 p.m. -- includes a cart rental and practice
balls.
Reservations and additional information can be
obtained by calling the pro shop at (619) 387-7018.
Don King - Golf Pro, (619) 387-7018
Eagle LaChappa - Assistant Golf Pro, (619) 387-7018
1000 Wildcat Canyon Road, Lakeside, CA 92040.
Directions: Take I-8 to 67 North in El Cajon. Proceed through
Lakeside, and then turn right on Willow Road and left on Wildcat
Canyon Road to the course.
Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional
Golf Teachers Association of America. He is also a member of the
Golf Writers Association of America and the California Golf Writers
Association and a Mediator for the golf industry. He is a contributing
writer to numerous national magazines. He can be reached at drlotz@cbsgolf.net.
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