Gary Player was the first. Others followed: Jack Nicklaus. Johnny Miller. Tom Watson. Lee Trevino.
For nearly three decades, a single tournament, played on the same course, produced a list of winners that reads like a Hall-of-Fame roster. At La Costa, fans could count on being treated to compelling leaderboards.
Built in 1965 on what had been a horse ranch just north of San Diego, the property today known as Omni La Costa Resort & Spa was partly intended as a stage for the game’s best. In 1969 it was chosen as the home of the Tournament of Champions – Player won that first edition – a role it would retain for the next 30 years. When the event moved to Kapalua in 1999, La Costa remained on television, hosting the newly created WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship. Jeff Maggert claimed the first title. Tiger Woods won three times. He also suffered one of the event’s most memorable defeats in a final upset by an unintimidated Darren Clarke.
You get the idea: championships are part of the DNA of the accommodation. But that also applies to recreational play.
La Costa has always been a resort first and last, designed for family getaways, romantic getaways and every kind of getaway in between. More recently, that dual identity has been polished with a multi-million dollar restoration. Completed in spring 2024, the project has updated almost every corner of the property, from accommodations and event spaces to the spa and – natch! – golfing.
The Coast offers two complementary 18-hole layouts. The North Course, formerly the Champions Course, reopened in 2024 after a renovation by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, with the resort ready to pick up the thread of the tournament. The work coincided with La Costa being named the site of the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s championships through 2028. Stretching to 7,500 yards from the back tees, the par 72 is suitable for elite competition, with risk-reward options well suited to match play. Notable examples include the drivable par-4 11th, a relocated par-3 16th green that nods to the 12th at Augusta, and a closing par-5 that plays long and demanding against the prevailing wind.
The South Course, formerly known as the Legends Course, presents a different kind of test, with fairways that gently curve past mature trees and humpbacks and tight edges that demand a deft touch and creativity.
The courses anchor a trait that has developed alongside them. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa now includes more than 600 Spanish Mission-style rooms, suites and villas, with eight swimming pools, extensive racquet sports facilities, a full athletics club and an award-winning spa. Families will find no shortage of distractions, from two 100-foot water slides, a Sandy Beach Family Pool and Kidtopia programming to s’mores roasting and poolside dive movies. Even getting around has taken on a lighter touch: The same terrain once trodden by Nicklaus, Woods and Mickelson can now be tackled on golf boards and scooters.
The next tournament chapter takes place in May, when the NCAA Championships return. Until then – and long after – La Costa will remain what it has always been: a year-round destination, open in every season, and for anyone who wants to play.
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