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Coronado Golf Course

Coronado (San Diego), California
Public
Par: 72
Phone: (619) 435-3121
Website

Men's Summary:
Tees Yards Rating Slope
Blue 6590 71.5 120
White 6276 70.0 117
Gold 5742 67.4 112

Women's Summary:
Tees Yards Rating Slope
Blue 6590 78.2 137
White 6276 76.4 134
Gold 5742 73.0 126
Website

Coronado


Clubhouse and putting green


Coronado Island bridge


Coronado Golf Course's modern clubhouse


View of the pond left of the #1 teebox


#9 teebox behind the pond


#10 green


View of the #12 green from the #10 green


Looking back down the 18th fairway from behind the green

Click on one of the thumbnails above to see an enlargement.
The Bogey Golfer © Course Guides

Coronado Golf Course - Overview

Coronado Golf Course is located on Coronado Island, just across the harbor from San Diego, left of the bridge. Its swaying palm trees, white sand beaches, and posh clubhouse give it the air of a tropical resort course. However, its $40 per person green fees (weekend, non-resident, including cart) makes it ones of the country's best bargains. Throw in a sunny day and a cool offshore breeze and you can't go wrong!

I've played this course three times, and the greens' speeds varied a lot (most recently they had been sanded and punched), so make sure you get a feel for how they roll on the putting green behind the clubhouse before you start.

The course is relatively short, playing just 6590 yards from the tips. The white tees play 6276 and are still plenty of challenge for the bogey golfer. None of the holes' character really changes much between the front and back tees, in my humble opinion. However, it is at sea level, and the ball definitely doesn't fly as far as where I'm used to playing in Colorado. Furthermore, there are lots of places where it's too narrow to hit a driver, and so my long irons still got a pretty good workout, both off the tee, and from the fairway.

Lovely course -- a "must play" if you're in the San Diego area (and have already played nearby Torrey Pines)!


Coronado Golf Course Detail

The first hole is a par 4, playing 371 yards, with a slight dogleg right. Depending on the placement of the tees, some trees to the right of the teebox exaggerate the dogleg. There's a huge fairway bunker on the right which you want to steer clear of. Actually, the best approach angle is from the left half of the fairway anyway, because there's a big bunker fronting the green on the right. Come to think of it, there's also a bunker on the left, but the green is elongated diagonally from front left to back right, so coming in from the left is still the ideal play.

#2 is a short par 5, playing 500 yards. It doglegs left. Big hitters can take dead aim over top of the big fairway bunker on the left side. Us more average types might want to use a three wood here, and stay the hell away from that bunker. Play a mid iron on your second shot, or whatever it takes you to get to the 100 yard marker. This is another elongated green, stretching from front left to back right. There is a huge bunker fronting the green on the right. If the pin is back right, take plenty of club. A little too long is much better than a little too short, if you know what I mean...

The third hole runs right along the beach, back toward the bridge to the mainland. At 406 yards, it's one of the longer par 4s. Driver is the play here, and again you'll want to favor the left side of the fairway.

The fourth hole kind of runs parallel to and underneath the bridge. It's a longish par 5 (536 yards) with a dogleg right. Really big hitters can run out of fairway here, but if you hit a natural fade, the hole sets up well for a driver. Your second shot is interesting because all the trees on the right tend to force you to hit left, but left is an awkward approach because of the bunker fronting the left side. Finally, if the pin is up, do NOT leave it short. There is a ghastly false front. I hit a beautiful approach to within three feet of the pin, and it rolled back to the front of the green, leaving me 25 feet short.

#5 is 163 yard par 3, with bunkers on both sides, and a big tree on the left. Hit it straight, or hit it short is my advice.

#6 is the first in a series of long narrow par 4s, playing 396, 389, and 404, respectively. #6 doglegs right with a fairway bunker on the corner to keep you from getting too cute. Just to make sure you got the message, there's a another bunker right of the green. Keep to the left center of the fairway. Use a long iron or three wood off the tee if you aren't confident of hitting your driver straight.

#7 doglegs left, and the trees keep you from cutting the corner. Big hitters with a bit of a draw will find a long iron is plenty of club here. The rest of us will find this hole uncomfortably narrow, and restricted width-wise to attempt much distance off the tee. Take what the hole gies you. Stay in the fairway, even if it takes you three shots to reach the green.

#8 doglegs back to the right, only this one has a little more width, and you can take a chance on driver. Get all the distance you can, because you really don't want to be hitting a long iron into the green. There's a pond right up against the left side...

#9 is a cute little par 3. It plays 175 from the tips, and goes directly over a pond. Interesting thing about the pond -- it looks from the tee like it literally laps against the front side of the green. In fact, there's about 25 yards of grass separating the pond from the green. So even if you make a bit of a mis-hit, you still should be able to comfortably fly the pond.

The back nine is straight across the parking lot from the ninth tee. However, you have to go all the way around the clubhouse and back out to get to #10. That's okay, because you may want to stop at the turn for a sandwich or a potty break anyway. #10 runs right alongside the driving range, which is left of the fairway. It plays 409 yards, so by all means hit your driver. Stay out of the trees next to the driving range, and you should be okay. (Beware the fairway bunker on the right). The green is elongated from front left to back right. Pay attention to the tee box just left of the green. You don't want an overzealous approach shot flying into the group in front.

#11 is a 142-yard par 3, with a funky elevated green with bunkers around it. Missing a bit short is okay, but all the other misses are painful.

#12 is a real strategy hole. It's a short (300 yards) par 4, with a ninety degree dogleg left. Play whatever club will leave you with a 100 yard shot. Keep to the middle of the fairway. If you try to cut the corner and mis-hit it, you might wind up blocked out because of the trees. If you hit too far, you could run out of fairway and wind up having to hit a wedge out of the rough.

#13 is a long par 5 playing 543 yards around a big dogleg right. Just to keep you honest, there's an OB line between the #13 and #12 fairways. There's also lots of serious junk (trees, bushes) in your way on the right. Hit a driver off the tee, and play it straight down the middle. Hitting it left won't kill you (probably) beyond adding some distance to the hole. Hitting it right will block out your second shot most miserably. I'm not skillful enough to reach this one in two, and probably neither are you (you'd need a 300 yard perfectly shaped fade), so play a mid iron on your second shot, or even a long iron if you've got a great lie. Pay close attention to the pin placement coming in on your third shot -- the green is two storied, with a big hill between the two tiers.

#14 is a 391 yard par 4, with an artificially constricted landing area. The fairway necks way down next to a big fairway bunker on the right. A few sparsely spaced palm trees and a lot of rough run down the right side. All of this is designed to 1) encourage you to hit it straight, and 2) keep you away from the street which borders the course on the right side. The layout is basically successful in taking the street out of play (mostly), but it's still there lurking at the back of your mind (see "Evil Golf Course Designers" about putting fairways next to streets...). The green is bunkered on both sides, of course.

#15 is the last par 3, and plays 175 yards. A set of tennis courts on the right tempts you to shank your tee shot. Put it out of your mind, and think positive thoughts of well-struck balls soaring straight at the hole. This is a long green, so if the pin is back, take plenty of club.

#16 is a mental hole. It runs right along the ocean on the right, and you tee off over the rocks on the beach. Line yourself up so that your tee shot aims diagnoally across the fairway, left of the scrawny little evergreen on the right. It's only 370 yards, but looks much further, so it's important to realize you don't have to kill the ball off the tee. Just get it in the fairway, and you'll be fine. This is another green that has a lot of extra carry from front to back, so if this pin is back use at least one extra club. There's also a significant tilt to the green, with the back being higher than the front, so it's pretty receptive to holding a long iron.

The seventeenth is a really long par 4, at 427 yards. It has a pretty severe dogleg left. Crowd the fairway bunker on the left as much as you can, because your second shot is still going to be a long ways out.

The home hole is a short par 5 (493 yards), but it makes up for it up around the green. There's a fairway bunker on the left side in the trees. The ocean is hard on your right, so your tee shot needs to be straight. Fortunately, it doesn't need to be particularly long, so use a fairway wood if the driver is acting balky. On your second shot, you want to be placing the ball to the left side of the fairway, ideally around the 100 yard marker. The green is tucked back to the right behind a bunch of bunkers, and a huge leafy tree, and you want to be able to hit a high soft shot in here.

Background photo: Hole #12 at Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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