[contranonvalentum]

I am looking for a summer home in coastal California to escape the heat and humidity in the Southeast United States. I am very interested in what areas have a collection of reasonably priced and challenging golf courses. I would like your opinions on which of the following areas would be best: (1) San Francisco/Half Moon Bay, (2) Oakland area, (3) Monterey Penninsula, (4) Los Angeles, (5) Newport Beach and (6) San Diego. What are the best courses in those areas and why and what are the green fees? Is there a particular location within those broad areas that would be best? I would appreciate any input you could provide.

[Perfect1]

San Diego is really hot during the summer unless you play a course around the coast anything east of balboa is super hot. All the course up in del mar/rancho Santa Fe is perfect weather.

[triumph17]

Hands down monterey peninsula if golf is your primary activity. Not in 17 mile drive (really expensive) however the neighboring areas are somewhat affordable. Newport Beach would be Second however there's nothing really affordable around that neighborhood. Irvine comes to mind there. Coastal San Diego would be Third as weather is mild and there would be some reasonable priced homes in that area. Oakland is dangerous.. not very many public courses around there.. same with San Francisco. There's only 1 course in Half Moon bay. Los Angeles is huge.. not sure where area you had in mind.. refer to Newport Beach.

[bradski]

Honestly the best price, golf places are not an option listed above.

I grew up in San Jose and Now live in San Diego, Weather is better here than any other place listed year round. It stays between 75-85 10 months of the year. All others can get a little colder in the winter and hotter in the summer.
Courses- There are a few top notch courses and $85 in about average price. Salt creek, steele canyon, sycuan, carton oaks, carmel mountain, crossing at carlsbad, (pricier) Maderas, aviara.

Best places.
1. Desert, best selection of courses by far.. Ton's of top notch courses and no other area can compare..
2. Temecula- inland empire. Great courses at great prices. Pechanga, Redhawks, ect, ect.


Of course you could do Pebble????? Nothing better in the state.

[bradski]

In San Diego. North County would be the best place. tons of courses and better ones.

[AC168]

Depends on what you think is reasonable. In San Diego, if you can swing-it, $1 million for a nice 2-bedroom house about 1/2 mile from Ocean in Del Mar, then get a resident's card and play Torrey Pines South for $100 a round with cart. Another option is Carlsbad ... $500k gets you a nice 2,500 square foot house a few miles inland (still cool), and you can play Crossings at Carlsbad for about $80 a round or so. Carlsbad lacks infrastructure, but if you're retired, it doesn't matter. Weather tends to be cooler up there. Doesn't make much sense to join a country club if you are only going to be here a few months out of the year.

[TML]

how about a home in sonoma with a membership at Mayacama?

[contranonvalentum]

AndyChao, on Nov 5 2009, 04:49 PM, said:

Depends on what you think is reasonable. In San Diego, if you can swing-it, $1 million for a nice 2-bedroom house about 1/2 mile from Ocean in Del Mar, then get a resident's card and play Torrey Pines South for $100 a round with cart. Another option is Carlsbad ... $500k gets you a nice 2,500 square foot house a few miles inland (still cool), and you can play Crossings at Carlsbad for about $80 a round or so. Carlsbad lacks infrastructure, but if you're retired, it doesn't matter. Weather tends to be cooler up there. Doesn't make much sense to join a country club if you are only going to be here a few months out of the year.

I like your reasoning. I am going to San Diego in a few days. Don't want to pay $1,000,000 so I am going to look at Encinitas and north along the coast.

[iteachgolf]

Haven't been in San Diego very long but so far I love it.

[bfactor1282]

Reasonably priced and challenging would have to include Carlton Oaks and Torrey. As a resident in SD you can play Torrey at twilight for ~$35 and just over $60 at regular times. Del Mar and North County are not in the city and wouldn't qualify you for a resident's card. La Jolla on south through downtown would. I'm originally from NC and you'll probably find SD much more expensive than the southeast, but probably not so much compared to the other places listed.

Should it matter to you, the pace of play on public courses is abysmal. I'm not sure that southeast golf has caught up to CA in terms of inconsideration and poor etiquette, but it's an epidemic here. Bring a good book to read between shots.

Perfect1, on Nov 5 2009, 11:42 AM, said:

San Diego is really hot during the summer unless you play a course around the coast anything east of balboa is super hot. All the course up in del mar/rancho Santa Fe is perfect weather.

My place is east of Balboa and nobody in my neighborhood even bothers to have AC installed in their home.

[contranonvalentum]

We have seen some homes around some private golf clubs including the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista but have not played the golf course yet. Is it a good golf course? Does it have a full grass driving range? How does it compare to the other private clubs in terms of golf amenities? We are not much interested in how nice the clubhouse is or what social activites are available.

[bfactor1282]

contranonvalentum, on Dec 25 2009, 07:42 AM, said:

We have seen some homes around some private golf clubs including the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista but have not played the golf course yet. Is it a good golf course? Does it have a full grass driving range? How does it compare to the other private clubs in terms of golf amenities? We are not much interested in how nice the clubhouse is or what social activites are available.

I've spoken to their membership director within the past year or so. Their driving range is all grass, all the time (excluding occasional maintenance, maybe?). I believe there is a nice short game area off to the side in a grove of trees. Haven't played the course, but it is known to be fantastic. They host USGA qualifiers regularly. Several prominent San Diego residents are members there, including many in the Chargers organization.

In terms of other amenities, there is just your typical fancy restaurant/grill/bar setup and lockers. To my knowledge, there isn't even a pool or tennis courts. To me, it's the perfect die-hard golfer's kind of club. If my schedule allowed it I'd pursue membership there but it's just not in the cards right now.

Another private course that I was very interested in was Bernardo Heights in Rancho Bernardo, which is a great course, in a better area, and much less expensive to join. Also an all grass range, all the time.

[golfwrxnut]

Santa Cruz!

Pasatiempo, Half Moon Bay, Monterey, etc...

[scotchblade]

golfwrxnut, on Dec 25 2009, 10:06 PM, said:

Santa Cruz!

Pasatiempo, Half Moon Bay, Monterey, etc...

Nice area, but unless you have deep pockets, you'll go broke fast playing those courses regularly.

[iteachgolf]

SDCC is very very very nice

Bernardo Heights is a nice club and nice golf course that is fun for all levels. Not in as good shape as SDCC but also much cheaper.

[The Derkness]

Can't go wrong with Monterey! Weather is great year round.
Also we're right in the middle of the state, so you get the best of worlds (norcal/socal).



-Derk

[sharkiesj]

I was born and raised in San Jose, then moved to Los Altos (21 years) then moved to Redlands down here where I am now in SoCal (23 years).

Northern California has the premier golf courses in the state, but if you want lifestyle, weather, the whole package, you can't beat SoCal. Specifically, Northern San Diego County is absolutely the best value in golf, housing, all-around lifestyle with many courses to choose from. Newport Beach is great to live, but boring for golf. Corona Del Mar is nice, as is Dana Point or San Clemente. If you wanna live on the coast, it's hard to beat these places. More inland would be Poway, Carmel Mountain, Rancho Bernardo down in SD County. The problem with the aformentioned areas is the people. So many people. Very crowded, people, people everywhere, kinda like living in Tokyo where there's millions of people in every nook and cranny of every parking lot, store, street and business.

There isn't a single place I'd wanna live and retire in NorCal if you're talking about golf, weather, lifestyle and you're not a gazillionaire. Of course the Monterey Peninsula has the world's best golf courses but you've gotta be a heavy hitter to finance that. I think I'm getting off topic..

San Diego CC is a jewel of a course. Great shotmaker's course and really a pleasure to play. Hope things work out for you...

[bradski]

sdcc is great. You could buy a seasonal home 5 miles east in Eastlake area and also play Salt creek which is a solid track. you can find some great deals out there as it is all 10 years old or newer. find a nice gated neighborhood and at a 50% price cut there.

[toddnt]

San Diego.. You can always drive north to Orange and LA counties and Temecula areas!

[TML]

sharkiesj, on Dec 26 2009, 09:08 AM, said:

I was born and raised in San Jose, then moved to Los Altos (21 years) then moved to Redlands down here where I am now in SoCal (23 years).

Northern California has the premier golf courses in the state, but if you want lifestyle, weather, the whole package, you can't beat SoCal. Specifically, Northern San Diego County is absolutely the best value in golf, housing, all-around lifestyle with many courses to choose from. Newport Beach is great to live, but boring for golf. Corona Del Mar is nice, as is Dana Point or San Clemente. If you wanna live on the coast, it's hard to beat these places. More inland would be Poway, Carmel Mountain, Rancho Bernardo down in SD County. The problem with the aformentioned areas is the people. So many people. Very crowded, people, people everywhere, kinda like living in Tokyo where there's millions of people in every nook and cranny of every parking lot, store, street and business.

There isn't a single place I'd wanna live and retire in NorCal if you're talking about golf, weather, lifestyle and you're not a gazillionaire. Of course the Monterey Peninsula has the world's best golf courses but you've gotta be a heavy hitter to finance that. I think I'm getting off topic..

San Diego CC is a jewel of a course. Great shotmaker's course and really a pleasure to play. Hope things work out for you...

Clear yourself of any preconceived notions of what rush hour means to you. When you move to SoCal, rush hour is not the exception. Every time you want to go eat, pick up groceries, shop, golf, pick up milk, starbucks, you have to plan every car ride with the local traffic. I would recommend spending a good week down there and see if the lifestyle suits you.

[NoCalHack]

No better summer golf weather than Northern California. Some places you put up with Fog, but temperature and lack of rain can't be beat.

1) Monterrey: Arguably golf Mecca of the world. Downside is that you might go broke playing golf or buying real estate there. Still, as long as you are not living on a coastal property on 17 mile drive and playing Pebble every day, it is doable. Poppy Hills has reasonable unlimited memberships, and can be played for around $70 after you join NCGA. You can scatter in Pebble, Spyglass, Pasatiempo, Spanish Bay.

- As for Oakland, SF: you would be driving some for golf. Esp if you don't have a membership.

I wouldn't do Half Moon if golf is your priority. The golf there is good but not great.


Can't comment about SoCal.