Pala Mesa Golf Resort

Pala Mesa Golf Resort: Not far from the former gold and tourmaline mines of Pala, the Pala Mesa Resort is home to a well-presented, scenic and always challenging golf course.

The holes are laid out on the east facing side of a picturesque canyon, where a limited amount of housing sits unobtrusively behind plenty of trees and bushes. Although the Interstate Freeway (I-15) also runs through the canyon, skirting quite close to some of the holes on the South-nine, your undivided attention will be focused on hitting some testingly tight drives, assessing the many elevation changes, and landing on the often small and subtly sloping greens.

The quieter North-nine is less undulating than the South, but maintains the need for straight hitting, while also introducing the only water hazard on the course, alongside the green of the par-5 8th hole. Elsewhere the greens are defended by plenty of stylish, though relatively shallow bunkering.

Beyond the course the surrounding hills provide many scenic views, with avocado groves and fruit orchards much in evidence. Although not overly long, at 6500 yards from the tips, your best chance to score well will depend on accuracy from the tee, with a variety of trees, bushes, flower-beds, steep drop-offs and out-of-bounds awaiting any thing hit offline.