The definitive guide to making your San Diego Father Son Golf weekend actually epic
You’ve booked your flights. You’ve arranged your schedules. You’ve been hitting the range and sharpening your wedge game. You’re about 3 months out and for some reason your single point of focus, almost neurotic obsession, is about your upcoming Father Son golf trip to America’s Finest City.
I don’t blame you. There’s nothing better than a golf trip, and when it's a father son trip it's even more amazing. If you know you know. It's as simple as that. In this post I'll share with you a few practical pointers that will elevate your trip and make it truly memorable and special for both father and son.
First is your course selection. You want to play Torrey and I don’t blame you one bit. It's on the cliff's edge, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its hallowed grounds have hosted many of the greats and it deserves respect. However, if you’re coming to San Diego any time from December thru March, you really ought to avoid it altogether, unless you both are low single digit weapons who can handle extremely thick rough. And honestly, even if you are legit stick, there's argument to play elsewhere. (losing your ball a foot off the fairway, waiting forever due to touristy log jams, exorbitant non-resident rates are just a few.) So as a San Diego resident who’s hosted many a father son golf trip - I’d offer these as alternates:
• Coronado Golf Course - on the bay, beautiful weather year round, flat course makes for an easy walk, scorable for all skill levels
• Balboa Park Golf Course - arguably the biggest golf gem in the county. It's over 100 years old. Has more character than just about any course in town. Deceptively difficult.
• Maderas Golf Course - if you’re looking for plush conditions and top quality golf, you’ll find it here. It's difficult and pricey, but really well kept.
• Encinitas Ranch Golf Course: here you’ll find a great blend of scenery including ocean views, wide fairways, an occasional forced carry that will challenge you, and pure greens.
Once you dial in your courses, you need to figure out dining and what you’ll do the rest of the day and night. San Diego has over 5,000 restaurants. If you want to do it right, you should do your research. Whether it is a prime steak house like Born and Raised in Little Italy, Michelin star sushi at Soichi in University Heights, or the freshest seafood overlooking the Pacific at George’s in La Jolla, you just need to plan accordingly. The issue is the good spots need advanced reservations and they all have different booking windows. So make sure you plan well in advance.
Lastly are the sight seeing, shopping, nightlife stuff that’s easy to miss. If you’re a sports fan and here during baseball season, it's a huge miss to not catch a game at Petco Park. If you’re a gear head, how can you not pop into the Scotty Cameron Boutique or hit up the Titleist Performance Institute for a wedge fitting. If you’re a nature buff you owe it to yourself to do a sunset yacht cruise to see dolphins and whales. So the issue is not what to do, but what to do that scratches your itch, because we have it in San Diego, and it's all world class.
Most people have good intentions and plan to do the research but life gets in the way and they end up scrambling and settling for something less than they deserve.
I’ve also spoken to too many people who booked Torrey and called it quits. In my opinion that’s the biggest mistake. There’s simply too much to see and do here to miss out on all the great things available. So earmark time well in advance nd put reminders in your calendar to get those reservations right when they open up to avoid getting locked out. That’s the tricky part!
Or - if you want all of the best without a single hour of planning, that’s exactly what Local Knowledge is for. I’ll put together a custom trip just for you two and handle all the logistics. It will likely be your best trip ever, and one you’ll keep talking about for years to come.