Views abound at Mt. Woodson Golf Club near San Diego
RAMONA, Calif. -- Located about a half-hour northeast of San Diego, Mt. Woodson Golf Club is a visual delight with elevated tees, lakes, ponds, unusual bunkering, quirky greens and a great variety of holes. You'll even remember the near 500-foot wooden cart bridge that spans between two holes.
While the golf course is short at just less than 6,000 yards, it's anything but easy, but it's certainly not overly difficult. Golfers who try to overpower the course will most likely fail, but if you pick your spots, you can shoot a good score.
In any event, this Lee Schmidt-Brian Curley design is a visual delight. The par 3s are particularly stunning, but the finishing holes -- Nos. 16, 17 and 18 -- are particularly strong. The hole most golfers talk about is the 17th, a downhill par 4 from a tee that's one of the highest points in San Diego County. This 335-yard dogleg left is drivable if you're lucky, depending on what kind of bounce you get in front of the green or in between the ancient boulders that guard the entrance.
Behind the clubhouse, visitors will also want to see Mt. Woodson Castle, the former residence of Irene Amy Strong. Opened in 1921, it is one of the most popular sites in the San Diego area for weddings.
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