A tour stop for thirty years, rebuilt for college golf’s finals.
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad hosted the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions from 1969 to 1998 and then the first WGC Match Play. Its main course, known as the Champions Course after a 2011 renovation, reopened in June 2024 under its original name, the North Course, following a rebuild by Gil Hanse. It now hosts the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s championships every May. There is one condition to know before you plan anything: both La Costa courses are open only to resort guests and club members, so a room is your tee time.
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (North Course) green fees and tee times.
Only guests staying at Omni La Costa and members of The Club at La Costa can play, so start by booking a room. Guests reserve tee times up to 90 days ahead through the La Costa Golf Shop on (760) 931-7595. Resort guests are given one of the two courses each day on a rotation, so if the North Course is the reason for your trip, ask which course you will be assigned on your dates before you pay for the stay. The North Course is closed every Tuesday. The NCAA championships take over the North in the second half of May, so plan around those weeks. Omni’s golf page lists free play for children aged 15 and under from 2:30pm, one child per paying adult, with rental clubs included.
INDICATIVE GREEN FEE · CHECKED NOVEMBER 2026From US$199
Resort-guest late-twilight rate, North Course, 2026 (from 2pm in winter, 3pm in spring and autumn, 4pm in summer); full rate US$389.
North Course, resort guest
US$389
North Course, twilight
US$299
North Course, late twilight
US$199
South Course, resort guest
US$209
Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The courses at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (North Course).
North Course (formerly Champions)
Wilson’s 1965 layout, reworked by Gil Hanse and reopened in June 2024. It is the championship course: the NCAA Division I finals are contracted here through 2028, and the closing stretch from the 14th is where those titles are settled. It is closed on Tuesdays for maintenance and is cart path only from November to May. Expect fast greens; at the NCAA men’s event they were prepared to about 12.5 to 13.5 on the stimpmeter.
South Course (formerly Legends)
A parkland course with mature trees and gentle doglegs that rewards accuracy off the tee more than length. Its back nine formed part of the composite routing used for the Tournament of Champions, where Gary Player, Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods all won. Resort-guest green fees for 2026 start at US$209, with twilight at US$159 and late twilight at US$109.
The round, in perspective.
Dick Wilson laid out the original course, which opened in 1965. Hanse and his partner Jim Wagner reworked it for 2024, cutting back bunkers in front of greens to open up ground-game approaches and adding risk-and-reward options. Man-made ponds were removed and natural barrancas restored with native, drought-tolerant planting, and irrigation still runs on reclaimed water. Six sets of tees run from about 4,500 to 7,500 yards, par 72. The 11th is now a drivable par four. The 14th, a 517-yard par four for the NCAA men, plays into the wind with a creek near the green and was the hardest hole of the 2024 championship. The par-three 16th has a diagonal green over water, modelled on Augusta’s 12th; Tiger Woods won the 1997 Mercedes Championships in a playoff there. The 18th is a par five of more than 600 yards, into the prevailing wind with water on both sides.
Know before you go.
Who can play
Resort guests and club members only
Booking window
90 days, through the golf shop
Course assignment
Daily rotation between North and South
North Course closure
Every Tuesday, for maintenance
Carts
Cart path only on the North, November to May
Juniors
15 and under free from 2:30pm, one per paying adult
Make the trip work.
The 2026 twilight bands move with the light. Twilight starts at noon from November to early March, at 1pm in spring and autumn and at 2pm from May to August, and on the North Course late twilight follows two hours after that. For a two-round trip, you can book the North in the morning on one day and the cheaper South later in the week. SI’s 2025 preview put the prevailing wind in the southwest at 9 to 12mph, and both the 14th and the 600-yard 18th play into it.
Fly into San Diego International (SAN) and drive north on Interstate 5 for roughly 30 miles, leaving at La Costa Avenue and heading inland to Costa Del Mar Road; allow 40 minutes outside commuter traffic. Without a car, take the Coaster train from downtown San Diego to Carlsbad Poinsettia and finish by taxi.
Omni La Costa is built around its two courses, with a spa, pools and a golf shop that also handles the guest tee sheet. Golf packages are worth comparing with a room-only rate plus green fees, because the course rotation applies either way. If you want a second base, Park Hyatt Aviara is less than two miles west, above Batiquitos Lagoon.
Make a trip of it.
Aviara Golf Club, Arnold Palmer’s course at the Park Hyatt, is open to the public and only a few minutes away, so it fills the days when the rotation gives you the South or the North is shut. Torrey Pines is a short drive south for a municipal round on the US Open course. Off the course, the ranunculus at The Flower Fields bloom in spring, and the beaches at South Carlsbad are close by.
Find your season.
Golf runs all year in Carlsbad. Winter days are mild and the tee sheet is busiest, while early summer often starts under coastal cloud. In 2024 the NCAA championships ran from 17 to 29 May, and the contract runs to 2028, so avoid the second half of May if the North Course is your priority.
No. Omni says both courses are open exclusively to resort guests and members of the club. There is no public tee sheet, so the way on is to book a room or a golf package and then call the golf shop for a time.
What happened to the La Costa Champions Course?
After Gil Hanse’s renovation it reverted to its original 1965 name, the North Course, and reopened on 1 June 2024. The Legends Course became the South Course at the same time.
How much does it cost to play the North Course at La Costa?
For 2026, Omni lists a resort-guest green fee of US$389, with twilight at US$299 and late twilight at US$199. These rates apply only to guests staying at the resort; Omni’s June 2025 sheet had twilight at US$289.
When are the NCAA golf championships at La Costa?
The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s championships are played on the North Course each May, and the NCAA has extended its agreement with the resort through 2028. The course is unavailable to guests while they run.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
