Balboa Park Golf Course

About Balboa Park Golf Course

Balboa Park is the City of San Diego's oldest public golf facility: an 18-hole par 72 plus a nine-hole executive course, set in the park right next to downtown. The views are the first thing you notice, with downtown, Point Loma and the Pacific all in sight. The yardage is modest, 6,347 from the blue tees and 5,403 from the reds, but this is canyon golf with real elevation change, and the local men's club calls it a course for straight hitters and patient players. The map survey backs that up: trees line 12 of the 18 holes, eight bend, some rise or fall about 108 feet from tee to green, and there's no water to speak of. Course character from OpenStreetMap contributors' survey data.

It opened on April 5, 1919, as the city's first municipal course: nine holes with dirt fairways and oiled sand greens, built for $1,845. William P. Bell, who worked on Riviera and Bel-Air, finished the 18-hole grass layout in 1933, and the city added a Spanish Colonial Revival clubhouse in 1934 that is now a city historic landmark. Tobey's Diner at the back of the clubhouse has run since 1941.

The course record belongs to Sam Snead. In 1943, stationed in San Diego with the Navy, he lost $16 to a local in the morning, demanded a rematch and shot 28 on the front nine with two eagles on his way to a 60. From 1968 to about 1990 Balboa co-hosted the Junior World Golf Championships: a 14-year-old Ernie Els beat Phil Mickelson by three here in 1984, and a 13-year-old Tiger Woods won his age group here in 1989.

It's one of 49 courses Yoink watches in the San Diego area, and Balboa Park 9-Hole is practically next door — handy when your first choice is booked solid.

What it's like to play Balboa Park Golf Course

There's real elevation change: some holes rise or fall about 108 feet from tee to green.

Course character from OpenStreetMap contributors' survey data (ODbL).

Booking a tee time at Balboa Park Golf Course

Tee times go online at 7 p.m. daily. City residents need a $25-a-year Resident ID Card, and every time is quoted at the non-resident rate until you show the card at check-in. Booking up to 7 days out is free; 8 to 90 days out costs $10 per player. One holder can book at most two times for up to eight players a day, the player of record has to show up and play, and on the day you can join the virtual waitlist once you're on the property. 2026 rates for 18 are $39.50 weekdays and $49 weekends for residents, $56.50 and $71 for everyone else, plus $40 for a cart.

How to get a tee time at Balboa Park Golf Course