Torrey Pines South and North, Maderas and The Crossings at Carlsbad with a rental home near Del Mar and La Jolla are the plan. Torrey's non-resident rates with the $50 booking fee and cart, a 12.75% room tax, golf bag fees and a rental car are what push the total up.
Plan my golf trip for me: budget, dates and courses →Starts with a sample trip. Change any number to match yours. Set up your travel profile to fill these in for you.
Compare hotels near Torrey Pines, Del Mar and La Jolla → Compare San Diego golf packages (stay and play) on Golfbreaks →Pick each course you'll play (one round per golfer) and we'll price it for your group. Prices are per golfer for 18 holes, with the season and time of day you choose. Your picks set “Green fees per golfer (whole trip)” in your budget.
4⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡4/5 Golfing Volts
18 courses around San Diego that take public tee times, by city, with peak green fees. Private member clubs are left out.
Two-time U.S. Open course on the cliffs above the Pacific and host of a yearly PGA Tour event; it is long and very hard, and non-residents pay a $50 booking fee on top of the green fee.
sandiego.gov thegolfnewsnet.comThe friendlier of the two Torrey courses, with bigger greens, fewer bunkers and the same ocean views; it is also used in the early rounds of the PGA Tour event.
sandiego.gov thegolfnewsnet.comA Fazio desert course in Anza-Borrego and one of only two San Diego County courses on Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Public list, but it is about two hours from the coast and closes for the summer.
golfdigest.com golfdigest.comA hilly, Troon-run course through oaks and boulders in Poway, rated among the best public courses in California and known for top conditions; collared shirts required, no denim.
golfpass.com golfdigest.comThe area's only Arnold Palmer design, at the Park Hyatt Aviara, with flowers, lakes and lagoon views and the former home of an LPGA event; cart and range balls are included.
parkhyattaviara.com parkhyattaviara.comThe old Champions course that hosted PGA Tour events for decades, rebuilt by Gil Hanse and now an NCAA championship venue; only resort guests and club members can book.
omnihotels.com golfdigest.comLa Costa's second course, cheaper than the North and with a good mix of holes; like the North it is for resort guests and members only.
omnihotels.com torreypines.comA Carlsbad city course with ocean views, canyons and big elevation changes, a few minutes from the resorts and LEGOLAND.
thecrossingsatcarlsbad.comA secluded Tom Fazio course in a canyon east of Del Mar with a forecaddie in every group; you have to stay at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar to play, and kids 12 and under play free with an adult.
golfdigest.com granddelmar.comA tough, firm, links-style course at the Barona casino resort in the hills east of the city, with big boulders, deep bunkers and some of the best greens in the county.
golfpass.com stymie.golfA flat, walkable city course on Coronado island with views of the bay, the downtown skyline and the Hotel del Coronado, and the best value of the area's well-known courses.
golfdigest.com coronadotimes.comA coastal-hills city course with ocean views from many holes and a cart included; the mounded fairways make it a hard walk.
jcgolf.com golfdigest.comThe main course at Sycuan's 54-hole golf resort east of San Diego, with the Sweetwater River in play and a history of hosting U.S. Junior Amateurs; good value with stay-and-play deals.
golfdigest.com golfpass.comTwenty-seven Gary Player holes in the canyons near Jamul, with big elevation changes; locals prefer the Canyon and Ranch nines.
golfpass.com greenfeetracker.comA well-kept North County course through a nature preserve, rated among California's best public courses by golfers, with a friendlier price than the Carlsbad resorts.
golfpass.com golfpass.comA classic, tree-lined resort course next to the Rancho Bernardo Inn that once hosted an LPGA event; an easy, relaxed round for mixed groups.
where2golf.comA short target course among giant boulders in the hills near Ramona, with cliff-edge greens, forced carries and a long wooden bridge.
golfdigest.com greenfeetracker.comA century-old city course a few minutes from downtown in Balboa Park, with skyline views, an easy booking system and the lowest price on this list.
sandiego.govThe sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($9,828) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($3,002, about 31% more for this trip) are the fees, taxes, tips and extras listed in the calculator. Prices were last checked on October 17, 2026.
Share of the $12,830 real cost. Nights and travelers multiply most of these costs, so changing either one moves the total the most.
12 of this trip's numbers link to a published price or rate. The rest are our estimates, and each one says what it is based on. You can also read how we calculate every trip.
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Green fees per golfer (whole trip) | $968 per traveler | Four peak rounds at Monday–Thursday rates: Torrey Pines South $356 ($258 non-resident green fee, $48 cart per player, $50 non-resident booking fee), Torrey Pines North $261 ($163 + $48 + $50), Maderas $229 (top of GolfPass's $159–$229 dynamic range; no rate card found) and The Crossings at Carlsbad $122 (course site, cart included). Total $968. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental home per night (whole group) | $650 a night | La Jolla rentals averaged $840 a night including cleaning fees over the 12 months to Nov 3, 2026 (San Diego overall $544); 4+ bedroom homes averaged about $159,000 a year in revenue. We use $650 a night for a 4-bedroom home near Del Mar and La Jolla in spring. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $409 per traveler | US DOT (BTS) average domestic itinerary fare for San Diego (SAN), Q2 2026: $408.81 (Q1 2026 was $382.82). Source |
| Food per person, per day | $86 per traveler, per day | GSA FY2027 meals and incidentals (M&IE) rate for San Diego County: $86 a day. FY2027 lodging rate is $208 ($249 in June and July). Source |
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Checked bag fees | $90 per traveler | Major US airlines charge about $35 to $50 for a first checked bag each way, so about $90 round trip. Source |
| Golf bag fees | $110 per traveler | American, Delta, United and Southwest treat a golf bag as a standard checked bag; a second bag is $55 each way. Source |
| Shipping your clubs Off by default | $108 per traveler | Ground shipping for a golf bag starts around $54 each way. Source |
| Lodging taxes | 12.75% of the rental home (whole group) | City of San Diego transient occupancy tax for short-term rentals: 11.75%, 12.75% or 13.75% by zone since May 2025; the 2% tourism district charge applies to hotels, not rental homes. Middle zone used because La Jolla's zone could not be confirmed. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental car | $80 a day | KAYAK at SAN (Nov 2026): SUVs average $64–$76 a day ($59 in January, $84 in June). $80 a day for a minivan or large SUV in spring, with fees. Judgment call. Source |
| Omni La Costa stay instead of a rental Off by default | $335 a night | Omni La Costa policies: $45 resort fee per room, per night; self-parking $45 a night. KAYAK monthly averages run from $353 (December) to $500 (September); we use about $425 a room in spring. Two rooms with fees plus one car = about $985, minus our $650 rental = about $335 a night extra, before tax. Judgment call. Source |
| Drinks on the course | $80 per traveler | Our estimate of about $20 a round for beverage-cart drinks and snacks. Judgment call. Our estimate |
| Golf balls | $55 per traveler | A dozen Titleist Pro V1 balls lists at $55. Source |
| Tips for bag drop and cart staff | $20 per traveler | A few dollars at bag drop and the turn; we use $5 a round. Judgment call. Source |
| Side bets and prizes | $50 per traveler | Our estimate for skins, team bets and a small trophy. Our estimate |
| Lessons and extras you picked Off by default | $0 for the trip | Set by the extras you pick in the tee-time planner. Our estimate |
| Travel insurance | 6% of your plan | Squaremouth says a comprehensive plan averages about 6% of the trip cost, usually 4% to 10%. Source |
| Pre-trip shopping | $60 for the trip | Our estimate for travel-size toiletries, sunscreen and small things bought before a trip. Our estimate |
| Pet boarding or sitter | $50 a day, if you check Pets | Dogster puts regular kennel boarding at about $35 to $85 a night. Overnight sitters at home cost more. Source |
For 4 golfers spending 4 nights in winter and spring season, with four rounds each, a rental home, flights and food, plan on about $9,830. Once you add golf bag fees, lodging taxes, rental car, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $12,830, or about $3,210 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
Non-residents pay $258 for the South Course Monday to Thursday and $322 Friday to Sunday; the North is $163 and $204. A cart is $48 per player, and each player pays a $50 booking fee when you reserve. A weekday South round with a cart comes to about $356. Tee times open online up to 90 days ahead, released at 7 pm each night. Source
Prices barely change by season: Torrey Pines and the other city courses charge the same all year, and the resorts use dynamic pricing. The savings come from weekdays and twilight. Torrey South drops from $258 to $156 at twilight on weekdays, and The Crossings at Carlsbad from $122 to $61. Avoid the PGA Tour week at Torrey Pines in late January. Source
No. The North Course, rebuilt by Gil Hanse and home to NCAA championships, is open only to resort guests and club members. Guests pay $369, or $269 at twilight. The resort adds a $45 nightly resort fee per room, and self-parking is $45 a night. Source
San Diego International (SAN) is about 16 miles from Torrey Pines and about 30 miles from the Carlsbad courses, so a rental car is the easy choice. Its average fare was about $409 in mid-2026. Source