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 list. At La Costa, fans can count on being treated to compelling signage.
Built in 1965 on what had been a horse farm north of San Diego, the property known today as Omni La Costa Resort & Spa it was conceived in part as a stage for the best of the game. In 1969, it was chosen as the home of the Tournament of Champions – The Player won that inaugural edition – a role it would retain for the next 30 years. When the event moved to Kapalua in 1999, La Costa remained in the television picture, hosting the newly created WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship. Jeff Maggert won 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 undaunted Darren Clarke.
You get the picture: Championships are part of the property’s DNA. But so is the recreational game.
La Costa has always been, first and foremost, a resort, designed for family trips, romantic getaways and every type of getaway in between. Recently, that dual identity has been burned away by a multi-million dollar restoration. Completed in the spring of 2024, the project refreshed nearly every corner of the property, from the accommodations and event spaces to the bathrooms and—bunch! – golf.
The coast offers two complementary 18-hole layouts. The North Course, once the Champions Course, reopened in 2024 following a renovation by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, undertaken to prepare the resort as it once again took the tour lead. The work coincided with the naming of La Costa as the site of the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I Championships through 2028. Stretching 7,500 yards from the back, the par 72 is suitable for elite competition, with risk-reward options suitable for play. Notable examples include the rolling par-4 11th, a repositioned par-3 16th that nods to the 12th at Augusta and a closing par-5 that plays long and demanding in a prevailing wind.
The South Course, formerly known as the Legends Course, presents a different kind of test, with fairways gently curving past mature trees and bumpy greens and tight fairways that require a deft touch and creativity.
Courses anchor a property that has evolved alongside them. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa now includes more than 600 rooms, suites and villas of Spanish Mission-style architecture, with eight swimming pools, extensive racquet sports facilities, a full athletic club and an award-winning spa. Families will have no shortage of diversions, from two 100-foot water slides, a family pool at Sandy Beach, and Kidtopia programs to poolside grilling and diving movies. Even movement has taken on a lighter touch: the same ground once trodden by Nicklaus, Woods and Mickelson can now be covered with golf boards and scooters.
La Costa also sits within a wider golf footprint. It’s part of Omni Hotels & Resorts’ growing portfolio of 28 courses at 12 U.S. resorts, a collection that includes Golden Age architects and modern masters alike, from Donald Ross and AW Tillinghast to Tom Fazio and Hanse himself.
The next chapter of the tournament unfolds 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.
