Mt. Woodson Golf Club

About the course

Understand the course before making an access claim.

Mt. Woodson Golf Club always garners heaps of votes whenever there’ s a poll to determine the best golf courses in San Diego County. The layout certainly rates as one of the most fun and scenic public golf experiences in Southern California. Chances are if you play here once, you’ ll want to come back and play it again. Located in the Ramona Valley, about a half-hour northeast of San Diego, Mt. Woodson Golf Club is a Lee Schmidt-Brian Curley design from 1991. It’ s a beautiful, quirky, and very challenging target-style course with drama galore. The routing tucks in amidst towering oaks, granite boulders, and sparkling lakes. Canyons loom off to the sides of the holes. A tipoff to the fun that awaits is that each of the holes has a name. The first is “ Sliced Right'', the 2nd is “ Razor’ s Edge", and the 18th is “ School’ s Out” . The blue tee markers, the longest of four distance options listed on the scorecard, top out at just 5,764 yards. Don’ t let that deceive you. Mt. Woodson Golf Club is a par 70 that plays much longer than its scorecard distance. It also features narrow playing corridors, several forced carries, and elevated, tricky, poa annua greens with plenty of break. Mt. Woodson Golf Club is a strategic course. The game here is all about accuracy and placement. You’ ll need to hit your shots straight and to the correct distance. If you don’ t, you’ ll stand a good chance of losing your ball. In a round filled with many “ wow” moments, one of the most unforgettable is the drive on a twisting 450-foot-long wooden bridge that takes you through the canyons between the 2nd green and 3rd tee. The 6th hole at Mt. Woodson Golf Club is a delightful little par 3 with boulders protruding from an idyllic pond in front of the green. The par-3 16th, “ Make a Bet,” finishes at a plateau green overlooking the Ramona Valley. It’ s a prelude to the panoramic 17th, “ The Forest,” a drivable, downhill par 4 that starts from one of the highest spots in San Diego County and culminates at a green framed by ancient tall oaks. It’ s the scenic highlight of a day at Mt. Woodson Golf Club. The facility exudes a friendly, laid-back ambiance. Practice facilities are rather spartan— you’ ll find a full-swing hitting net and a short game and putting area across the parking lot. The clubhouse hosts a pro shop and the Stony Mountain Bar & Grill, which serves golf course fare and