Went to Barona Tuesday about noon and after signing up for the Classic Card went over to the course for twilight first using large uncrowded all grass range, chip area and practice green. Headed alone... Continue »

Went to Barona Tuesday about noon and after signing up for the Classic Card went over to the course for twilight first using large uncrowded all grass range, chip area and practice green. Headed alone to first tee at 12:40 in nice GPS cart with plenty of provided water bottles, ice chest and ball/club washer. Was informed prior to paying course was under some back nine maintenance which was mainly one fairway area roped off GUR and the two par 3 tee boxes were all being reseeded but playable. Hoses with sprinklers were running in a couple fairways but we're not a hinder. Played 6231 silver tees having level neatly mown well covered boxes which looked the normal for others as well. Bermuda fairways were very nice down the center with drying occurring further out toward edges. Had no problems hitting from fairways and most were lush around greens. Not much rough and balls rolled good/bad distances. Found 4 greenside bunkers all with fine white sand easy to play out of. Grass was a little ragged along cart paths probably late season impacts. Greens were smooth and somewhat fast not lightning tho. Played second ball at times and afternoon breeze made last few holes long but easy 3 hour round only glimpses of a few others enjoying the day. Great cart guys pickup/drop off in lot and starter at counter informative and personable. Fun time recommend.

Played Barona a few days ago getting out around 1pm. Course was pretty empty and only one person on the range. Practice facilities are great, big grass range and good chipping and putting areas.

R... Continue »

Played Barona a few days ago getting out around 1pm. Course was pretty empty and only one person on the range. Practice facilities are great, big grass range and good chipping and putting areas.

Read the most recent review and it’s pretty spot on. Tee boxes are great with no issues. Fairways were painted green and pretty dried out with lots of roll. Really reminded me of what Carnoustie looked like on TV. While it doesn’t look lush I never had a problem hitting shots, still able to take a divot and didn’t destroy my wrists.

Greens were excellent and rolled true. There was no signs of the recent punching from maintenance. Sand was great and easy to play from.

Course price is high for an AM round but if you wait till 12 when they start twilight it’s not a bad deal. I really like the layout and always enjoy playing here!

Played yesterday Friday 10/5 @ 12:40. PoP was just under 4 hours. Even though the fairways are very dry, I did not have a bad lie all day. The greens were in great shape. The sand traps were also ... Continue »

Played yesterday Friday 10/5 @ 12:40. PoP was just under 4 hours. Even though the fairways are very dry, I did not have a bad lie all day. The greens were in great shape. The sand traps were also in good shape. Pace of play was awesome. We barely saw anyone in front of us or behind us.

I've lived in San Diego my whole life and I have to say that this course is in my top 5 ranking of all the courses in San Diego. I'm really shocked it only has 6.46 rating on GK.

Played on Friday, 5/4, in a charity tournament. Course is in very poor shape right now. I wouldn't pay the green fee at this time. Rough was non-existent, they aerated the rough recently, so it was... Continue »

Played on Friday, 5/4, in a charity tournament. Course is in very poor shape right now. I wouldn't pay the green fee at this time. Rough was non-existent, they aerated the rough recently, so it was all dead and had plugs everywhere. Fairways were dried out and fairly brown. We were able to place the ball in the scramble, so it didn't matter too much, but I feel sorry for anyone that has to play the ball down on this course right now. Didn't hit out of any bunkers, but they looked good, probably the best part of the course right now. The greens are still healing from somewhat recent punch and sand, they held shots well, but didn't putt very true. Teeboxes were ok, level and green. No complaints on the teeboxes, but everything else is very poor. I would avoid for awhile and would be very upset if I paid rack rate to play this course. It's a great layout, but seems to have gone in the wrong direction the last couple of years.

Played here yesterday (4/14) with my reunited group of GK friends Nat, Jon, and Bill. It had been nearly 10 years since I have played here and it was a mixed bag. I absolutely love the solitude, the c... Continue »

Played here yesterday (4/14) with my reunited group of GK friends Nat, Jon, and Bill. It had been nearly 10 years since I have played here and it was a mixed bag. I absolutely love the solitude, the course layout, the staff, and the challenge of Barona, but the conditions today left some things to be desired, considering how much they charge. Yes you can get $20 off the green fee almost instantaneously and twilight starts at noon, but considering the reservation has their own water source, this place is dryer than heck (even for a faux links-style course). What was really the issue today was the course was 2.5 weeks out since the greens were punched and they are only about 65-75% healed, a shame really. On to the course review:

Tee boxes: Good condition overall. I never really had any issues driving my tee into the ground, and there seemed to be ample area on which to hit from. A good set of options to play this challenging course from.

Fairways: Good condition as well, though there were definitely some burned out spots and it could stand to see a few storms dump some rain. Fair amount of roll and only a few divots found today.

Rough: Great condition. The rough on the course was very dense and thick; very humbling. On top of countless ESA's , the rough does a great job of trapping errant drives.

Bunkers: Overall good condition. Interesting to see so many different shades of sand; from pearl white to beach brown, all of it was in good shape. Some of the bunkers looked like small deserts.

Greens: OK condition. As mentioned before, 2.5 weeks since punched and only now beginning to truly heal, which did take some of the fun away. Regardless, the green complexes here are no joke. I had trouble all day reading them and the speeds. A true test of skill.

ETC: Staff here was very friendly and a bit lax (no starter and they didn't call our name when it was time). No marshals out there, but thankfully everyone stayed on pace. Not much in terms of groups in front of us so very causal pace. Carts with color GPS. Cart girl came around a few times which was good since limited water on course (cart did come with some bottles!). When the place nears 100%, this is one of the best places in SD County to play.

Played Barona on Friday morning using a free twosome I won in a raffle. This is still one of my favorite courses in San Diego. Conditions were about as good as I have seen in a few years.

I don’t... Continue »

Played Barona on Friday morning using a free twosome I won in a raffle. This is still one of my favorite courses in San Diego. Conditions were about as good as I have seen in a few years.

I don’t usually review the practice area but they have one of the best. Large grass range with Calloway range balls. Great chipping area and large practice green. If I lived closer I would be there just for the practice area.

Tee boxes were immaculate. No real damage and plenty of area to hit from. Fairways were fast and firm. If you are looking for a lush resort type course this is not it. It plays more like a links course with fast and firm fairways and not a lot of rough around the greens.

Sand was great, both my partner and I were in a few sand traps and got out very easily and was nice to play from a well taken care of sand trap.

Greens were fast and true. Almost no ball marks and the ball rolled great. This is one course you can 4-5 putt very easily if you are not careful.

The course is in great shape and I would recommend playing if you get the chance. Get a player’s card (free) from the casino and the twilight rate is reasonable at $64. Twilight starts at 1100 right now so gives plenty of time to get a round in.

Played 1/21/18 11:50 $80 POP 3:50
Course was in decent & very playable shape. Fairways were mostly dormant, cut very tight, very dry and firm. They had been painted green and had a nice looking contr... Continue »

Played 1/21/18 11:50 $80 POP 3:50
Course was in decent & very playable shape. Fairways were mostly dormant, cut very tight, very dry and firm. They had been painted green and had a nice looking contrast to the dormant rough.
Greens have almost completely healed. Were firm and fast. The blooming poana caused many balls to wonder. You could try the same putt threes times in a row and get three different out comes. Was fairly busy, but still finished under 4 hrs. The course needs some rain, but still in decent shape and a very good skill test.

Got the chance to play Barona today right around 11, which is the start of twilight time. Course was empty and finished in 3 hours. Course is in great condition I would play now if you can. Tee boxe... Continue »

Got the chance to play Barona today right around 11, which is the start of twilight time. Course was empty and finished in 3 hours. Course is in great condition I would play now if you can. Tee boxes level and perfect. No issues with putting a tee in the ground and plenty of area to hit from. Fairways are cut tight and giving lots of roll. The tight cut didn’t affect shots at all, may not look green and lush but it’s great to play. There is no rough to deal with everything is cut pretty tight. The natural grass / weed areas are cut pretty low so it’s pretty easy to find your ball if you go off line a little. Sand is great. I was in a few greenside bunkers and got out just fine. Greens are awesome. Almost no ball marks and rolling very true. Ball never went off line and speed was acceptable not crazy fast. Practice area is great at Barona with a large range and great putting and chipping greens. Don’t forget to get a free casino players card. It will take 20-30 bucks off the green fee.

Played 7/4/17 10 am POP. 4:15 $128
Fairways were in very nice shape. Mostly green, but dry underneath & firm. Good lies and balls sat nicely.
Rough a mix bag and T's in very good to great shape
San... Continue »

Played 7/4/17 10 am POP. 4:15 $128
Fairways were in very nice shape. Mostly green, but dry underneath & firm. Good lies and balls sat nicely.
Rough a mix bag and T's in very good to great shape
Sand very nice and lots of it.
Greens...... Well , they are trying hard to get them back into shape. Only a couple of greens still had signs of the disease that they've been fighting. They said that they have been small & medium tine punching often. They did a small tine punch a few weeks ago and have just done a medium tine punch & sanding a coupe of day's ago. Front nine greens weren't in too bad of shape, but still bumpy. The back nine were in much rougher shape. Lots of sand and larger punch holes. They rolled at a good pace of medium fast, but were pretty bumpy and did not hold lines very well. I'm glad to see they are working to solve the issue, but appear to be a few months away from them being back in prime shape. Mid week twilight rate is not a bad deal, but full weekend rate is not really worth it, sorry to say.