How to Play San Diego Country Club: Tips to Score Low from the PGA Director of Golf

At 128 years old, San Diego CC is the oldest club in town and steeped in history. First laid out by William Watson, then refined by the great William Bell (who contributed to the likes of Riviera, Los Angeles and Bel-Air Country Clubs), the course has tested generations of golfers with its subtle doglegs, punishing rough and fast, sloping greens. 

Next fall, it’s set for a $33.4 million renovation under rising architect Brian Schneider, but before that transformation, it plays host to one of the USGA’s great championships: the 7th U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

A field of 120 golfers over the age of 50 will tee it up this week, including defending champion Leda Lindley, a San Diego native, as well as legends Annika Sörenstam, Julie Inkster and Karrie Webb. 

For the club’s PGA Director of Golf Jason Brustad, whose storied career saw him serve as host professional at 10 PGA TOUR events while at Montrêux Golf & Country Club and Waialae Country Club on Oahu, home of the Sony Open, this is his first time hosting a USGA tournament. 

“It’s an honor to welcome the U.S. Women’s Senior Open to San Diego,” he says. “This week, accuracy, patience and control will be at a premium. Here’s my look at some of the most pivotal holes – and insights for how to play them.”

Seventeen is going to be a great hole to watch, especially coming down the closing stretch on Sunday of the championship. On the card it’s our shortest par four, just 326 yards, but don’t let that fool you – it’s also one of our most dangerous.

The fairway is tight, the rough is thick, so missing it by just a little can mean you’re hacking out and having to scramble for par or worse. The green is the most severely sloped on the course, which limits pin positions but makes every approach shot and chip nerve-wracking. Add in two greenside bunkers, especially the deep one on the left, and what seems benign can go sideways quickly.

If you find the fairway, you’ve got a real chance at birdie. But come Sunday afternoon, with the wind picking up off the coast and nerves running high, I think this hole will decide the championship for someone. Birdie is out there – but so is double.

The third is one of the toughest par threes on the course. It’s slated to play at 182 yards for the tournament, but can stretch well over 200 yards – which can be an option since it typically plays with the prevailing wind coming off the ocean. It’s slightly downhill, but into a very small target with two substantial bunkers – one front right that’s deep and penal, and another tight to the left side. Par is always a great score here. Early in the round, this hole demands precision and sends a message: if you’re not sharp with your irons, San Diego CC won’t let you fake it.

The par 5s will shape the scoring this week. For this field, accuracy is everything. These players are elite with their drivers and irons, but the rough is punishing. If you keep it in play, you’ll have wedges and short irons in, and that’s where birdies can be made.

No. 2 (466 yards): Straightaway, though it usually plays into the wind. You’ll be off to a good start if you’re confident off the tee; then you just want to get your second shot down the hill and somewhere in front of the green for a relatively straight forward pitch shot. There’s a ridge in the green that can make some interesting pin locations.

No. 8 (502 yards): Longer, but usually downwind. There’s a beautifully enticing water hazard down the right-hand side that stretches all the way to the green. Still very scorable if you play the angles properly and control your spin on the approach.

No. 10 (438 yards): This is a unique one. For our members, it’s a par four, but the USGA has it playing as a par five from the back tees. Slightly uphill off the tee, then downhill into a big green. I can’t wait to see how players handle it – this will be where the eagle opportunities should come depending on the wind direction.

No. 14 (475 yards): Although playing under 500 yards, this dogleg right will likely be a three-shotter for any competitor without the length to cut the corner and challenge the tree. However, you must also consider the green complex, which is one of my favorites, when considering your strategy of attack. It's a long green, stretching horizontal to the fairway, but extremely narrow from front to back – and well guarded by front bunkering. Due to the lack of depth, you’ll need a high-lofted club to hold it in most cases. It may be wise to play this as a three-shot hole, regardless of how far you hit it.

No. 16 (507 yards): Another birdie opportunity, playing slightly downwind and relatively straight. But again, if you miss the fairway, you’re in survival mode as you look at a much longer third shot into a green that’s designed to receive short irons and wedges.

This is San Diego Country Club's fourth USGA championship (1964 U.S. Women’s Open, 1993 and 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur), and with the renovation ahead and Brustad’s tournament experience, he’s confident it won’t be the last. 

For now, though, all eyes are on this week with the legends in the field, the challenge of the course and the drama that will unfold, especially on holes like 17.