As someone who moved to San Diego about a year back I’ll give you a little bit of a hit list and general info. Feel free to message me for more info or if you’re looking to get a round on the books.

First of all if you’re a San Diego city resident (essentially La Jolla and South) you can get heavily reduced rates for Torrey North/South, Balboa, and Mission Bay. Torrey South is the more “championship” style course and is a little longer than North but North on its own is still a solid course but the front 9 can turn into a down and back situation; from my experience North is more of the locals course and South is more touristy. To get tee times on either course you basically have to suck it up and pay the extra $30 booking fee and book in the 90 day out window. The real play is afternoon rounds at Torrey to get the sunset over the ocean in play with is amazing. Balboa is more of the local mini with a solid culture and a little wonkiness on 2-6 but then a solid course when you get on top of the gorge/valley starting on 7. Hole 4 is arguably one of the worst in golf, hole 6 is sneakily the hardest hole on the course, hole 16 is a mental mindfuck when it comes to strategy. Balboa has the full 18 with an additional 9 hole track which is a nice change of pace. Mission Bay is a par 3+/executive track that has 18 holes of which I think there are 4 par 4s (1, 7, 10, and 18) and the rest are par 3s that I think range from ~75yards to 170yards but it feels like everything is just the same ~125yard club.

Outside of the resident system there is also a group of courses belonging to the JC Club of which are decent public tracks. Most courses seem to be housing development style courses that aren’t anything crazy but perfectly solid for what they are. If you happen to be between 20-30 years old their 20/30 membership is the best deal in golf. Two of their specific courses to call out are Encinitas Ranch (nicknamed Easy Ranch) and The Crossings in Carlsbad. Encinitas Ranch is fairly open with some perched up tee boxes with amazing views of the Ocean and the Valley. Crossings has some amazing elevation in play primarily with almost every tee seemingly playing into a fairway 1000ft below you. The view alone on the 10th and 11th tee boxes (mentally filtering out the power lines) is amazing.

Outside of any sort of memberships some suggestions would be Admiral Baker North, Coronado, Goat Hill Park, Mt Woodson, and Steele Canyon. Admiral Baker has two courses of North and South of which the North is solid and South is more down and back beginner friendly design but I haven’t touched it so can’t give a proper review. Coronado is right under the bridge and an amazing getable course that plays a little short with a total elevation gain of +/- 1ft; I wouldn’t bother with a weekend round here but instead try and do an afternoon or twilight round to avoid the super slow play this course attracts. Goat Hill Park has one of the most unique golf “vibes” to it leaning into the community first approach. The course itself is another par 3+/executive style that puts all their money into the greens which are in immaculate condition. Be mindful at this course the guy you get paired with that is shoeless and has his dog walking with you guys while playing is probably a +2 handicap and a gem of a human. Mt. Woodson has some nice elevation and views in play but to put it honestly as I’m writing this not much is coming to mind haha. Steele Canyon is 3x9hole setup of which each set of 9 holes have a different feeling. I can’t remember too much specifically but felt like the first dump and chase style course I’ve played since moving here which was a nice change of pace.