Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook, California, USA | GolfPass
Pala Mesa Resort: #11
View of the 11th Pala Mesa Resort
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Rating Index Rating
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4.2
1670 Reviews 1670 Reviews
5 Stars
478
4 Stars
727
3 Stars
288
2 Stars
106
1 Stars
71
Conditions
4.1
Value
3.9
Layout
4.3
Friendliness
4.5
Pace
4.3
Amenities
3.8
86.0%
Recommend this course
1361 out of 1670 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.3
77 Reviews 77 Reviews
5 Stars
36
4 Stars
34
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.3
Value
4.1
Layout
4.4
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
4.4
90.9%
Recommend this course
70 out of 77 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.3
165 Reviews 165 Reviews
5 Stars
78
4 Stars
71
3 Stars
9
2 Stars
5
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.2
Value
4.1
Layout
4.4
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
4.5
91.5%
Recommend this course
151 out of 165 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Par 72
Length 6502 yards
Slope 128
Rating 71.9

Pala Mesa Golf Resort is situated between Temecula wine country and the beautiful countryside of San Diego's North County. The course was carefully carved from the surrounding hillsides, providing rolling fairways and undulating greens throughout the layout. Towering oaks, sycamores, and elms blanket the course's landscape, providing the perfect complement to the stunning mountain views. The fairways are tight and lined with trees, demanding a fair amount of accuracy. The greens also play fairly quick. The golf course does provide a challenging round but it is seemingly much tougher than it actually is. Beginners should still feel comfortable taking on the course. The versatile layout in combination with the consistently good conditions have earned Pala Mesa acclaim as one of the best golf courses in San Diego County.

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Pala Mesa Resort Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1961
Fairways Kikuyu Grass
Greens Kikuyu Grass
Golf Season Year round

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Available Activities

Swimming, Billiards
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Reviews

4.2
1670 Reviews (1670)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 45
Patio Dining 30
Dinner 26
Course Challenges Include:
Narrow Fairways 74
Bunkers 71
Elevation Changes 64
This course/club is great for:
Locals 60
Advanced Golfers 55
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 44
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 77
Worth the Drive 57
In the 'Burbs 24

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Fun golf course

It is very nice golf course to play and good layout

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
714a9bc2-f128-5e14-b408-6dc24d99485b
Commented on 09/08/2016

So glad you loved coming out to play at Pala Mesa!

Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Always a challenge. Great condition! Worth the drive

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Response from on 05/23/2025:
Thanks for the five-star rating. We’re thrilled you enjoyed your visit and appreciate your support. Our team looks forward to delivering the same level of excellence next time.
Played On
Reviews 147
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 250 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Interesting mature course

Pala Mesa has a wide variety of holes, short, long, uphill, downhill and all are well framed by trees. The greens were good as were the rest of the course conditions. I played as a signle of a Friday afternoon and finished in about 3 hours (i played through 2 groups).

Staff in teh pro shop and the walkup restaurant were great.
I had heard about Pala Mesa probably 30 years ago and have wanted to play there since then - finally made it and was not disappointed. Not as nice as Journey at Pechanga, but about 1/3rd the cost

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Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 147
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 250 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Nice wooded course

Lots of trees, narrow fairways and small greens. I really enjoyed the course and trees, i live an New Mexico and love the trees that we don't have on our courses.

Greens are small and well kept. Rolled well if perhaps a little slower than i am used to. Fairways were tight snd excellent]t condition.

Good variety of short and long holes.

I really enjoyed playing here.

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Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Day

We were fortunate to have nobody in front of us the whole day. It was great playing on green fairways for a change! Only improvement would be if the greens could be a bit better. Overall, loved it.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful Course

Great narrow fairways with primary and secondary cuts. Stay on the short grass to par the hole. Greens are a bit fast and have some break.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Cold weather
Used cart

Not a great experience

I booked it on golf now at a discount but had a problem finalizing the booking so I called them to confirm. when I got there they charged me full pop - $115 each to play a course that I would never pay that much to play - just isn't worth the money and amenities are poor - the staff were not friendly. There was a huge gap in the tee times but were told NO! We could not go early. So then we end up playing behind a fivesome skins game that was slooooow.
They finished at least 4 holes behind, play was stacked up behind us - just a bad experience - Probably never go back

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Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Response from on 04/29/2025:
Thank you for the feedback. We aim to offer a quality experience and regret falling short. Your input helps us identify specific areas that need attention, and we hope to welcome you back in the future.
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Love Pala Mesa!

When you can get a Great Hot Deal for about $40 Pala Mesa is a bargain!! Beautiful course, nobody in front of us, start when we wanted, perfect weather…what else is there to say!! Very accommodating to allow us to use a different open tee time than the Hot Deal. Not all courses do that, even if they have open times. Wonderful golf day with my son!

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Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Used cart

Lots missing here but the conditions were good

First off, the course conditions are much improved since the change in ownership. Lush fairways and rough. Greens rolled well at a great speed.

Now for the the not so good. No water on the course, 6-8 in the bro group ahead on a single tee box seen multiple times and 4 carts on 18 fairway as we were finishing up. Slow all day with not a single marshall on course. Not expecting miracles on a Sat afternoon but for a "resort" course, it can't become a free for all like it was. Beverage cart showed up early in the round but never after that.

Good experience at Aqua Terra though afterwards. They've simplified their menu for now while undergoing renovations. But good food, good service.

These things are all fixable by the new management (Pala Casino) if they care to. I will probably give it one more shot before I recommend the course to others.

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Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Response from on 04/22/2025:
Thanks for letting us know your thoughts. We understand there’s room for improvement, and our team is already looking into the concerns raised. We’d be grateful for another chance to provide a better experience.
Played On
Reviews 43
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 86
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor
Previously Played

Excellent Course With Nice Amenities

This course is in excellent shape from tee to green. The driving range, restaurant , and snack bar were great. The corse is very difficult with narrow fairways, very fast greens and many trees. Bring your A game here and choose your tees wisely. The staff us friendly and accommodating especially Jared.

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Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Response from on 04/09/2025:
Thank you for the wonderful five-star review! It’s fantastic to hear you had a great experience, and we can’t wait to welcome you back for another memorable round.
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Single golfer

Only one spot when I made reservation so I thought there were 3 others. They said no you’re good to go only a single ahead of me. Turned out there was a really slow foursome that would not let me pass. Finally on ninth hole I made sure that I could pass and go onto tenth hole. After that everything was great course was in great condition but rough was very thick. Nice course I would play here again.

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Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Round at Pala Mesa Resort Golf Course

Haven’t played the course in several years, but always liked the course layout & conditions.
Great day 4/27, calm to slight breeze, temp in the 60’s, fastest pace-of-play in years, conditions excellent & green, rough a little long but playable (too much cut grass in many places), greens not perfect aesthetically but rolled fast & true.
Very enjoyable day on the course. We’ll be back! 😎

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Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice course, but not so friendly to GolfNow members

Nice course, but not that friendly to GolfNow members. I asked to get on the course earlier than my teatime and he said it was too busy and they also mentioned that I was a GolfNow booking and therefore they couldn't change it! I decided to watch how busy it was and at 11 o'clock there was nobody in front of me and nobody waiting to get on the course so I went on the course and for the first seven holes there was nobody in front of me. Great course, but they need to do something about their attitude.

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Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 12
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

It was a bit too pricy.
The most ive paid at that course

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Pace of play could be easy fix

Driving range is mats. Practice Putting green decent size. Lots of sand traps that can get ball plugged. Pace of play terrible. Didnt see a marshall enforcing any rules. 5 people and 3 carts attempted to jump in front of us on back 9. Wasnt letting it happen. Same thing on17. Bring lots of balls bc you could lose a-lot if not hitting straight.

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Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good but not Great

Easy to find the course and book online. Driving range is mats so be prepared. Staff were great in the dealings I had. Course itself was challenging with all the sand (super soft and easy to get your ball plugged), great scenery, and elevation changes. Tee boxes were uneven ground but in great condition otherwise. Greens were average with lots of ball marks that people dont repair. Pace of play was terrible. After the front 9 we pull up to 10 and theres 5 people and 3 carts and not the people previously ahead of us. We said something and played through. Fast forward to 17 and same thing. Twosome trying to do the same thing. Bring lots of balls if you’re not hitting them straight with all the cliffs and hills.

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Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
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