COURSE REVIEWS

Mission Trails' No. 17
not your typical “walk in the park”

By Ryan Finley,
Regional Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - The road to the east county goes through Mission Trails.

The Mission Trails Golf Course, part of the Mission Trails neighborhood park, sits in the shadow of Cowles Mountain in a part of San Diego known simply as San Carlos.

Located at the corner of Navajo Rd. and Golfcrest, Mission Trails is a course that showcases some of the areas natural hazards: Lake Murray and Cowles Mountain.

Reminiscent of a Palm Springs or Tucson course, the links are right below the face of the mountain. Here, a golfer can have a naturalist’s dream: a mountain and a lake.

A typical golfers walk in the (neighborhood) park is interrupted with a beast of a hole: the 17th.

A hole in which a golfer must trust his most innate sense, his sight, the 17th can be deceptive to those trying to get over the 120 yards of brush that interrupt the fairway.

A par three hole from just 215 yards, the hole appears to be a simple prelude to the 18th, a hole that runs directly uphill.

Not so, says golf pro Jim Ruhland.

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“The visual effect of the brush makes the hole our toughest,” he said. “There’s about a 120 yard carry over the brush itself, so many people find it hard to get over.”

On a hole like this one, loft takes precedent over distance. Simply put, getting over the brush is the hard part. After that, you’re home free. But don’t underestimate that brush.

A lot of people tend to overswing and hit the ball right, death to anyone looking to par the hole.

Ruhland advises just trying to get over the green stuff with a three iron.

“I play from the blues, so I’ll usually try to get up there with a three iron,” he said. “I try to aim for the far part of the green. That way if I hit it short, I won’t be in the brush.”

Mission Trails Golf Course can be accessed from the College Avenue exit in Del Cerro. Once on College, a left on Navajo will bring you right in front of the course itself. The course also boasts a lighted driving range and putting green.

Mission Trails Golf Course
7380 Golfcrest Place
San Diego, CA 92119
619-460-5400