Discover One of the Best Golf Resorts in San Diego: Fairmont Grand Golf Club

We’ve got a lot to be thankful for in San Diego. We have the best weather and some of the best beaches and golf courses in the world–Torrey Pines, Aviara, La Costa, and Maderas. Another course that certainly belongs in that conversation is one that I hadn’t played in nearly 20 years, The Fairmont Grand Golf Club in Del Mar.

Only a 20-minute drive from my house in Carlsbad and just minutes off Interstate 5, the Grand is the only San Diego course designed by Tom Fazio, a legend in the field of golf course architecture who’s crafted courses in 38 states.

The semi-private course is part of the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, an award-winning luxury resort on 400 acres of a pristine coastal canyon. The Fairmont Grand is one of 14 properties in the world to earn the prestigious Triple Five-Star award from Forbes Travel Guide.

GOLFING THE FAIRMONT GRAND GOLF CLUB

When I last played here in 2005, the course was debuting as the Grand Golf Club, having been rebranded from Del Mar National and before that Del Mar Meadows, a high-end daily fee facility that opened in 1999. The late 1990s was the golden era of golf in San Diego, when new golf courses were opening every month or so in San Diego County.

The original Tom Fazio routing through the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve has remained intact. A few tee boxes have been added to give the par 3s additional distance and the downhill 16^th hole has been lengthened and converted to a par 5 from a par 4, making the 7,160-yard course a true par 72. Just off the course, the practice facility has been built out– there’s now two-sides to the driving range and a short game and teaching area have been added.

I didn’t experience the redesigned 16^th hole as I only played the front nine of the Grand, but I was struck by the course’s playability as a 16 handicap. After losing a ball left on my opening tee shot, I didn’t lose another ball and finished with four pars on the remaining eight holes. Fazio did a masterful job of blending lush fairways with dramatic elevations and diverse bunkers. He also makes you feel as if you’re alone out there, as no holes are visible other than the one you’re playing.

“Fazio carves out a course much differently than a lot of designers,” said Erik Wilson, The Grand’s Director of Golf. “Fairness and playability are two of his best attributes. Our course may look tight off the tees with native brush left and right, but there’s more room out there than your eyes give you credit for. You have these rolling fairways with a bowl effect on a lot of the holes. You may miss one left or right, but it’s not like a Donald Ross [design] where you’re going to fall off the planet. The greens are also very generous, and they also have that bowl effect around them.”

Multi-million dollar Del Mar homes hover high above the canyons, barely visible from the fairways, so there’s no claustrophobic feeling while standing over the ball. 

“You go from the canyons, then you’re on a vista and then back down to the canyons,” Wilson said. “Fazio really used the canvas of Los Peñasquitos Canyon to lay out the routing. 

Even though we played on a day when temperatures climbed into the 80s, the Pacific Ocean breezes cooled us off throughout the round.

JOE, THE OG OF CADDIES

Since I hadn’t played the course in two decades and my partners were Grand rookies, we needed a guide–someone to help us navigate the fairways, read putts, fix divots, rake sand traps, and keep us relaxed. Joe, our forecaddie, was that guy. A former caddie at Bandon Dunes (Oregon), a world-class golf resort in Oregon, Joe has been at the Grand for over 15 years.

He provided the perfect combination of information, morale-boosting, and comedic relief. He knew every clipping of grass on the entire course and every golf movie ever created. His Bill Murray impersonation from the classic golf movie Caddyshack was spot on. 

My only other forecaddie experience was last year in Northern Ireland at Royal County Down, the No. 1 rated course in the world. I’ve never played a course in San Diego that provided one. 

“We added the forecaddies to personalize the experience,” Wilson said. “Our caddies have all been here 10-plus years, they’re our property ambassadors. We want to provide a luxury golf experience, but we also want to harness and embrace So Cal vibe.”

FRESH LOOK FOR MEMBERS CLUBHOUSE

To accommodate a growing membership, The Grand recently renovated its golf clubhouse and member spaces. The clubhouse refresh includes a variety of updates, from upholstered furniture in luxurious textures and warm colors, pendants and sconces with brass and Venetian glass, window and wall treatments with softer and lighter fabrics, and custom patterned carpeting.

The Ladies’ Lounge renovation includes adding an indoor-outdoor bar and a grand infrared sauna with an illuminated Himalayan salt wall.

The Mens’ Lounge added more locker space, and the club’s reimagined outdoor space now features more patio seating and umbrellas, offering a flexible, transitional space for dining and club events.

Just off the clubhouse sits Addison, San Diego’s first and only three-star Michelin restaurant. The seasonal tasting menus from Chef William Bradley offer a culinary perspective through an experience that celebrates Southern California’s ingredients and influences.

HOW TO PLAY THE GRAND

The Fairmont Grand Del Mar is offering stay-and-play packages. They include luxury guestroom or suite accommodations, two rounds of golf daily at the Grand Golf Club, and a complimentary one-level guestroom upgrade or suite upgrade based on availability at check-in.

Another way to play The Grand is to become a club member. The initiation fee for golf membership is $100,000. Benefits include priority tee times, an unrivaled pace of play, access to Fairmont Grand Del Mar amenities, and member-only events. Wilson said 70% of total play at the Grand comes from members and their guests and 30% from resort guests at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar.

Do you need another excuse to treat yourself to a stay at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar and play some golf?

Disclaimer: This post was written by Dave McKibben for San Diego Explorer. As customary in the travel writing industry, the writer was hosted to experience the golf course and new club house to research this article. This has not influenced the author’s opinion of these experiences.

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