Barona Creek Golf Club

Gary Roger Baird's 2001 Barona Creek Golf Club sits on the Barona Band of Mission Indians reservation in Lakeside, east of downtown San Diego, with project architect Todd Eckenrode (working as a senior designer at Gary Roger Baird Design before launching his own firm) leading the detailed routing and shaping. The course has quietly accumulated one of the strongest resume of any public-access course in California. 7,092 yards par-72 with a 74.0 course rating and 139 slope on native-grass-framed fairways. Honors include Golfweek's Top-5 Daily-Fee Course in California, Top-100 Modern Course in America, GOLF Magazine's Top-10 New Course in America upon opening, and an Audubon Signature Sanctuary Bronze certification. The course later brought Eckenrode back in his own name for renovation work, a rare compliment from one-time ownership. Peak green fee runs $95-165. Fits a San Diego trip as the 'inland canyon-country alternative' to Torrey Pines that includes on-site Barona Resort & Casino as lodging.