Played Maderas this morning on a picture perfect day. Nice and warm but not overly hot as it often is out in Poway. Course was in pristine condition as usual. This was about my fifth time playing Ma... Continue »

Played Maderas this morning on a picture perfect day. Nice and warm but not overly hot as it often is out in Poway. Course was in pristine condition as usual. This was about my fifth time playing Maderas, and I’ve always found the course to be in top condition with excellent service.

Bag attendants were there at entrance to take the bags and load them up on your cart for you. There is some construction going in the clubhouse but other than having to use a side entrance, no big deal.

Range was on mats, and they use a traditional range ball as opposed to a premium ball like some high end courses have gone to. Very minor and not really an issue. Carts are high end with plush seats and GPS.

Course was in top shape tee to green. Greens rolled true at a medium fast pace. I actually expected them to roll a tad faster but they were very acceptable for sure. Green complexes can get tricky but there were plenty of manageable pin placements today.

Fairways were nearly perfect. Very lush and green throughout. Just short of a 10. Tee boxes were level and lush as well. Bunkers were very nice with high quality sand in them.

Layout is awesome with some unique holes that are fun but not gimmicky by any means. There is a ton of variety in the holes which makes the track anything but boring.

Definitely a recommended track.

Played on 5-21. Pace of play was good (3.5 hours), but the greens were noticeable slower. The rest of the course is a good shape. They've increased the rate to $325 for the "prime" weekend tee time... Continue »

Played on 5-21. Pace of play was good (3.5 hours), but the greens were noticeable slower. The rest of the course is a good shape. They've increased the rate to $325 for the "prime" weekend tee times, and the tee sheet is still full.

Maderas is in prime condition. The greens are fantastic—receptive to well struck shots, but fast, tight, and smooth. The rest of the course is also playing fast and firm, which increases both the fun-... Continue »

Maderas is in prime condition. The greens are fantastic—receptive to well struck shots, but fast, tight, and smooth. The rest of the course is also playing fast and firm, which increases both the fun-factor and the danger. Aside from a few tee boxes that could use some leveling, and the inevitable divots here and there, Maderas is in excellent shape. Love this course!

Played here Sunday 12/12 with GK members Perry, Jon, and Nat on what was booked as a 9AM tee time, pushed back to nearly 9:50am because of frost. It had been years since I played Maderas and last time... Continue »

Played here Sunday 12/12 with GK members Perry, Jon, and Nat on what was booked as a 9AM tee time, pushed back to nearly 9:50am because of frost. It had been years since I played Maderas and last time I don't think we even got to the 16th before backups and pending sunset stopped our round. This time I made sure to try and ensure that didn't happen, what resulted was a wonderfully beautiful day and a very good pace of play on a course that was as good as I have ever seen it.

Tees: Probably the worst conditioned part of the course. First things first, nearly every set of tee markers had been moved up one tee box and thus we COULD have played the set we wanted to originally, but starter made no mention of this. Also, more than a few of the tee areas we did use were not level and you were standing on a slope; disappointing considering what this course charges and for it being Troon.

Fairways: Excellent condition. They were vibrant green grass mowed short and tight, but with good lies all day. They were also stunning against the contrasting "rough" that was browning ever so slightly, giving this a more links feel (this is NOT a links course mind you).

Rough: As mentioned, the rough was starting to brown but areas shaded by trees were still thick and nasty. More penal than the rough is the natural barranca this course is set in, plenty of ESA and native areas best to avoid.

Sand: Amazingly was only in one bunker all day and it was a fairway one. It had plenty of sand and it was of the consistency I like (softer grains of whiter sand).

Greens: The highlight of the round for me. The greens were wonderfully colorful, smooth rolling, undulated to all sorts of tricky levels, and generally lightning quick. Pin placements today were "someone pissed off the greens keeper" insane, with hole 10 being particularly unfair. Good to see this part of the course was near perfect.

ETC: Property is classy as soon as you roll in, workers at bag drop right away. Ample parking with two lots. Clubhouse has everything you need. Workers friendly and starter helpful for first-timers (which we weren't). Course layout is fun and very challenging, especially if you aren't hitting driver well. Rented clubs due to necessity and was disappointed to see that although clubs were newer models, nothing else but bag and clubs provided. Food at turn was good and carts have good GPS. If this place didn't charge so much, would have surely played it more.

Played in Last Flight-Folds of Honor tournament 11/3. What a course. Pay the money, make a day of it, and enjoy. Pick the right tee's. A lot of force carry off the box. Greens are fast and true with a... Continue »

Played in Last Flight-Folds of Honor tournament 11/3. What a course. Pay the money, make a day of it, and enjoy. Pick the right tee's. A lot of force carry off the box. Greens are fast and true with a fair amount of undulation. I can't say enough about this fantastic golf course.

Played Maderas 8/20 from the whites. Challenging and enjoyable with great mix of yardages available on the scorecard, this is a very expensive round of golf on a very well maintained course with many... Continue »

Played Maderas 8/20 from the whites. Challenging and enjoyable with great mix of yardages available on the scorecard, this is a very expensive round of golf on a very well maintained course with many elevation changes and a lot of challenges for those who cannot keep the ball in the fairway off the tee. Whether the green fee is worth it depends on how much you are comfortable spending in exchange for excellent conditions, beautiful edges, and nice “mountain” views (as opposed to ocean views). My comparison is to Pelican Hill, basically the same place and vibe, but Pelican has spectacular ocean views and 2 courses. Like Pelican, Maderas offers plenty of variety that would make it a great place to play regularly if you can afford it.

Everything about the course was in excellent condition, including the recently lightly sanded greens rolling a little slower than usual but very true. A fair amount of undulation on the greens, often confusing because of the surrounding hills, but knowledge gained with regular play will be rewarded. Same with approach distances. Fair landing areas but little room for error on the sides off the tee—“rough” is more trouble than long grass. Many very interesting holes, you can see it all in front of you but not much is just a straight route to the green, yet no tricked-up holes despite the hillsides on which one often is playing here.

Staff is friendly and helpful, nice pro shop, did not try the food, cart girl was seen four times. Pace of play actually better than one might expect given the trouble on the edges. I had a mediocre ball striking day especially off the tee but managed to stay in the fairway and scored reasonably for a first time round on a course with a learning curve.

Excellent practice range and separate short game area with several target greens and bunkers. But can someone tell me why a short game area with lots of room so seldom allows for fairly straight chipping practice? The short game area greens here are small and moundy and the edges also are very undulating, can’t really calibrate very well. But maybe that’s just me. Practice bunkers really good. Still, a very good place to practice one’s entire game.

First impression highly favorable. I will play here again when in the area. It is a fun, fair, challenge in lovely surroundings, but too steep a price for regular visits.

Day 2 of the So Cal trip was at Maderas Golf Club. In addition to playing one of the great Sand Diego courses this was about meeting up with Long4Par to try and get back the original Traveling Birdi... Continue »

Day 2 of the So Cal trip was at Maderas Golf Club. In addition to playing one of the great Sand Diego courses this was about meeting up with Long4Par to try and get back the original Traveling Birdie Chain!

For whatever reason the course was empty and we pretty much had it to ourselves! Course conditions are right where we expected maybe even a tad better. Greens were rolling smooth at a nice medium fast pace. Greens were a little on the firm side but not too bad. I’ve always enjoyed the green complexes at Maderas as they are challenging but predictable. Pin placement was a good mix of tough placements, sucker pins and gettable ones.

Given the spring/summer heat, the fairways were in near perfect condition. Very lush and green throughout. Tee boxes were excellent as well. Level lush and perfectly mowed. I somehow avoided all greenside bunkers but the fairway bunkers were in top shape.

Layout of Maderas is fantastic with several water hazards on the course, some elevation changes, forced carries over creeks, and gulches and a good mix of a variety of holes. Add in the top tier customer service and it’s no surprise that Maderas is a top go to course in the San Diego area.

As for the Birdie Chain battle..... I made the first birdie of the day on hole 11, but Jim made one 26 seconds later! Then just to rub it in he added one more a few holes later.

Played in an industry event yesterday with a 8:00 shotgun. Overall the course is really impressive. I thought the greens were probably at a medium pace. I know they can get quicker but I thought yo... Continue »

Played in an industry event yesterday with a 8:00 shotgun. Overall the course is really impressive. I thought the greens were probably at a medium pace. I know they can get quicker but I thought you could be pretty aggressive on putts. I think they were very smooth and as many people have written the greens are large with a lot of slope so it pays to be in the right spot.

Fairways were nice, good roll out on well struck drives. Maybe some bare areas but nothing too bad.

Rough is basically the native area which was pretty high and certainly with rattlesnake season I didn't even think twice about going in there. Rough around the green is lusher and some height.

We did hit out of one bunker which was a greenside one and it was really soft.

This was a tournament so the pace was pretty slow but it was a full tournament so not the course fault. I know the course is on the pricey side and while I don't think I would shell out the rack rate if there is something that is a little bit less the conditions certainly warrant a look.

Booked a 9:40 Tee Time for Maderas, Sunday May 30th. Very nice facilities from pro shop, snack bar, practice facilities and course. The actual grill was closed, and food selection was rather limited f... Continue »

Booked a 9:40 Tee Time for Maderas, Sunday May 30th. Very nice facilities from pro shop, snack bar, practice facilities and course. The actual grill was closed, and food selection was rather limited from the snack bar. No cash accepted, card only.

I took an uber from San Diego Mission Bay Resort and arrived approximately 30 minutes later. Staff took my bag, put in a cart, and parked on the exit from the Pro Shop. Didn't have to pay a 5$ handling fee.

Practice facilities were nice with a grass range (complimentary balls for your round) and putting green complex. The speed on the practice green was a good indication of how the ball was rolling on the course, medium fast, rolled true, not very many bumps.

The tees were all fairly level (I played Maderas Tees which are combo of black and blue tees).

The fairways were very nice to hit from and provided roll on well struck drives. The fairways are rather narrow here, and a slight miss means you are in the rough or even trickling off and into ESA or cart path areas. Not only are they narrow, but there is some good undulation on them, so knowing where to hit off the tee is important.

The greens were pretty nice, holding well struck irons, both long and short, but if you find the wrong spot of the green, 3 putts can easily happen. Not a lot of undulation, but very little ridges and breaks that local knowledge, or a caddie, would definitely help. The speed changed a little from green to green, but mostly medium-fast, and a few bumps.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Maderas. I would play it again, but probably not at true rack rate.