AVIARA GOLF CLUB (760-603-6900)
San Diego Golf Course Review
Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, about 1/2 hour north of San Diego, is a par 72 Arnold Palmer designed championship course that is the center piece of the luxurious Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. This Hotel property features a variety of guest rooms and suites, pools and whirlpools, spa and salon services, fitness center, steam rooms and saunas, fine and casual dining restaurants/lounges, kid's programs plus spacious meeting and event facilities. For more info, visit the Park Hyatt Aviara website: www.parkaviara.hyatt.com
The golf facilities include a beautiful 32,000 square foot 2 story Spanish Colonial clubhouse with restaurant/lounge and well stocked pro shop, plus wonderfully appointed locker rooms with showers for men and women (include saunas as well). There is a targeted grass range, short game area and spacious practice green for putting and chipping. Use of the practice facilities (including range balls) and clubhouse amenities is complimentary for green fee paying guests.
Four sets of tees on this beautiful coastal layout afford golfers with opportunities to play to distances and slopes measuring 7007 yards/144 slope, 6591 yards/139 slope, 6054 yards/133 slope and 5007 yards with a slope of 127 from the forward tees. As these ratings indicate, Aviara presents a formidable challenge. Lagoons and ponds come into play on nine holes, and over 60 soft sand bunkers are strategically situated near the landing zones on the manicured fairways, or greenside.
The fairways are generally wide and forgiving but are quite rolling, presenting many uneven lies with the ball resting above or below your feet. Significant elevation changes also make proper club selection a necessity, as approaches can sometimes demand up to 2 clubs more or less. The green complexes usually provide ample room for recovery, but great lag putting skills are extremely useful. These Poa Annua putting surfaces are very LARGE! It is important to pay attention to the Visage GPS on all carts, to determine the exact pin location.
Landing on these sloping, quick rolling putting surfaces does not always guarantee par or better. Putting from above the hole is not a recommended way to go, and golfers hitting the incorrect portion or the green will have some serious work in front of them, just to get the ball close enough for an easy par. The greens are definitely an adventure in themselves! The bunkers that often guard them are general quite deep and penal in nature.
The landscaping on this track is exquisite, and there are some incredibly beautiful golf holes. The par three 3rd with water to the front, left and right, basically plays like and island green. Numbers 7 and 8 begin from elevated tees and dogleg to the left, presenting some risk/reward opportunities. The par five 10th bends at about a 60 degree angle from right to left, and the par three 14th demands a carry over a pond and is one of the most memorable holes of all. The service here is outstanding! The rangers and service representatives in the pro shop, clubhouse and on the course provide helpful information and treat all players as members for the day…even supplying cold towelettes to golfers as they finish their rounds. The carts are also first rate. This is about as pleasant a golf experience as one can hope for. All that remains is for you to hit the ball! Great stay and play packages at the adjacent Park Hyatt are available. For more info on this beautiful, upscale golf facility, visit our page to the course with direct link to their website by clicking here.
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