Bella is looking to “get her golf on” now that her busiest work time of the year is behind her.  Our original golf vacation scheduled for the Carmel Highlands course in San Diego was adjusted accordingly due to the golf course going out of business.  Thus, we set up a new trip to Sycuan Golf Resort (W: sycuanresort.com. A: 3007 Dehesa Rd., El Cajon, CA  92019. P: 800-457-5568).

Willow Glen Course at Sycuan Golf Resort

“Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child.  And just how childlike golf players become is proven by their frequent inability to count past five.” — John Updike, Author

We stopped at Phil’s BBQ (A: 579 Grand Ave., San Marcos, CA  92078.  P: 760-759-1400) where we met my friend Johnny for a tasty rib dinner.  The food here is excellent but regrettably my camera remained in the car.   See my previous golf trips to Carlsbad, CA for delectable photos of their ribs and other menu items.

Craftsman Mission Style Decor

The lobby was very Mission Style which I appreciated.  The exterior of our housing indicates it was built in the 70s’ but the interiors were upgraded recently.  We observed another building which was under renovation.

Creamy Cappuccino Colored Brick Wall

The appearance (color and texture) of this wall had me craving cappuccino ice cream.

Large Bathroom with Granite Counters

Our first evening we went to the driving range which was very nice in appearance and layout and was illuminated at night.  I know we were located rurally, but I swore I heard “dueling banjos” as I observed multiple hillbillies striking balls while barefoot.

In the morning, we dined in their Echo’s Lounge and I had a corned beef hash burrito with swiss cheese and Bella had their Eggs Benedict.  My burrito was pretty good but Bella said this was the worst Egg’s Benedict she’s ever had…and she’s had a ton of different renditions of this popular breakfast dish.  Also, their coffeemaker doesn’t have a burner plate so the coffee is served “lukewarm”; if you’re lucky.  But at least the java quality tasted pretty good.

After breakfast we utilized their large practice area featuring sand bunkers, a chipping area and putting greens.  This was easily one of the better practice areas we’ve seen.

Our first course of the trip was the Ted Robinson designed “Willow Glen Course”.  The resort features two championship courses and one par 3 course.  I grabbed a tuna sandie for the round which was nearly as “dry as dirt” with zero mayonnaise utilized in the tuna mix.  Well, at least that’s better than overloaded with mayo.

A Picturesque Hole on Willow Glen Course

“Aesthetically pleasing to the eye” holes weren’t common on this course but there were several noteworthy ones.  A nice plus of this course is we rarely if ever saw stray balls fly into our fairway so clearly the course was laid out well.  The course is “fairly” well maintained but clearly the budget isn’t very high for that.

A Nice Big Open Fairway

We were in near disbelief as Bella hit an impressive strike on the 18th Hole on the Willow Glen Course.  The undulating uphill green (I did my best to capture it in pictures) was beyond nasty.  Her ball landed in front of the hole, rolled uphill well beyond it, maybe 10-12 feet and then began to roll backwards (ever-so-slowly) as we observed from afar.

18th Hole Green: Where Bella Went “Bird Dog”

There was a moment where I wondered if she had just bagged her first hole-in-one.  As it was, the ball ended up very close to the hole.  Oftentimes you think the ball is very close to the hole, but upon arrival at the green you realize you still have a 3-4 foot putt to make “birdie”.  This can lead to a pressure-filled putt if you mistakenly counted on that ball being closer to the hole.

Bella’s Ball…6 Inches from the Hole

In her case, the ball was 6 inches from the hole so she was able to tap it in.  This was the type of green where if you don’t land close to the hole you may end up with a double bogie (possibly worse).  And that is exactly what I scored on this hole due to dropping my first shot on the front of the lengthy, uphill, undulating green.

Bella Poses with Her “Bird Dog”

I’m guessing Bella may be back to play Willow Glen based on this kind of conclusion to the round.

18th Hole Green is Nasty!

If you click on this photo and examine it carefully you can see just how difficult this green truly is.

For dinner, we ate at their Sycuan Cafe Grill and had pretty good prime rib dinners.  I found the horseradish sauce to be better tasting than their au jus.  We definitely ended up well fed but their homemade salad dressings were a highlight.  The honey mustard dressing was spicy, had visible seeds, was thick, sweet and amazing.  The hot and fresh sourdough bread was nice also.  The fried calamari rings appetizer was fairly tender with a pretty good taste and spicy mayo dipping sauce.

The carrot cake was moist as could be given it was wet via being soaked in “something”.  By taste it seemed to be soaked in a sugary syrup because it was one serious “sugar bomb”.  Oddly, the frosting layers were too thin and it needed more black walnuts inside even though the candied walnuts on the plate were much appreciated.  The butterscotch sauce drizzled on the plate seemed odd but kind of worked if you like an extra, extra sweet dessert.  Possibly that is the sweet sauce they soaked this in?  All in all, the food here isn’t “up to par” for what you would expect at a resort.  As a result, I shined taking pictures of food…which is a first.

On day two, we played the “Pine Glen Course” which is an 18-hole Par 3 course.

View from the Pine Glen Course

When you’ve gotten accustomed to recent golf vacations in Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and La Quinta you are spoiled via phenomenal golf courses from golf’s top course designers.  As a result, these courses definitely feel like a step or two down.  But then again, the prices are a couple of steps down as well.  🙂

Bella Prepares to Strike

We had a great time playing the smaller par 3 course.  It was a lot more interesting and fun than I’d expected after playing other par 3 courses.

Pine Glen Course

This course featured holes anywhere from 92 yards up to 211 yards.

Easy to See Where “Pine Glen” Gets its Name

Well, at least they’re consistent.  Crazy undulating greens aren’t exclusive to their “Big Dog” courses (i.e. Willow Glen and Oak Glen).

A Crazy Green on the Pine Glen Course

After finishing the round of golf we drove towards home and stopped at Phil’s BBQ again in San Marcos.  This was one delicious “gut bomb” and their BBQ sauce seems to have less black pepper than I recalled.  Nice…

Phil’s BBQ: Pulled Pork Sandie with Slaw

Bella likes her slaw on the side but for me it’s mandatory that the slaw is ON TOP.

“They say golf is like life, but don’t believe them.  Golf is more complicated than that.” — Gardner Dickinson, American Professional Golfer

THE END!