This cult-classic golf course ripped my heart out — but I still loved it

It was 3:28 p.m. on a Thursday with sunset coming at 4:42, so I ran up to the 7th tee, placed my peg in the ground and ripped a pitching wedge at the middle of the green on the par-3 green.

The ball seemingly landed just right of the hole, kicked left and disappeared. Suddenly, the constant drone from the highway just a few hundred feet away was interrupted with, “Did that go in?”

“Yeah, that went in!”

“I think that went in, Jacky-boy!”

I started laughing as I let my five playing partners, all colleagues here at GOLF and our 8AM Golf family, convince me I had just made my second-ever hole-in-one as we rushed to get in as many holes before dark.

But — spoiler alert! — the ball hadn’t gone in. When I arrived on the green, I discovered that my ball was 15 feet beyond the pin, hidden by contours. Still, that moment encapsulated the magic of Goat Hill Park, and late-afternoon golf (late afternoon for this time of year, anyway) with great friends.

In 2024, I was lucky enough to cross off three from my bucket list in The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.; Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in South Carolina; and Cabot Highland’s Castle Stuart in the Scottish Highlands. Scotland’s Royal Dornoch and Nairn, and frequent trips around Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon course, rounded out my dance card.

These courses dot GOLF’s lists of Top 100 U.S. and Top 100 World courses.

But if we’re talking about the most fun I had on a golf course this year, I’d nominate two rounds chasing the sun at Goat Hill Park, a beloved and legendary muni in Southern California that cost me $80 total. There’s a reason many of our staff have come away raving about Goat Hill.

If you’re unfamiliar, “The Goat” was originally a regulation nine-holer, the first course in San Diego County on a wildly undulating plateau in now-golf-crazy Oceanside, right next to Interstate 5. In the 1990s, the course was redesigned into its current 18-hole, short-course form, but the place took a downturn in the early 2000s.

In 2014, a group of locals successfully fought back against the redevelopment of the land, and a new management team led by John Ashworth transformed the 4,500-yard design into the gem it is today.

These days, the course isn’t in perfect shape — the tees have brown spots, the rough is light and some of the cart paths are cracked — but the greens are smooth and true and fairways well-maintained. It’s an incredible value for a $25 walking fee.

How a golf course was built on this site is mystifying. The 75-acre parcel has incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding mountains, but the terrain has you go up, down and around massive undulations of earth. Many locals walk, some with furry companions at their side, but often with lighter bags and fewer than 14 clubs, a fitting way to play the short course. Which isn’t to say you won’t need all 14 clubs.

The best part of Goat Hill is the chill vibe: golfers, dogs, range goers, music listeners, beer drinkers all coexisting with not a care in the world. There’s not much of a dress code, aside from shirt, shoes, etc. You wouldn’t want one either for a place whose motto is “World Class / Working Class.” If you’re looking for a course to spot Tour pros practicing in street clothes, this is it.

We played as a sixsome and were told only to make sure we kept up, which we did.

There are even shorter tees for kids called the “Baby Goat.” Want to play frisbee golf instead? They have that, too.

Both afternoons-into-evenings we played the course, the parking lot was packed well after sunset. Playing just after 2:30 p.m. earned us a twilight rate of just $35 and enough time to zip around 16 holes.

Also, just because the holes are short, doesn’t make them any less challenging. The second green plays to a green perched above you and over a chasm. Miss short, your ball funnels down some 60 feet and 60 yards away. Miss too far left and you might find yourself in the bowl of the 16th green.

Holes that might seem drivable, like the par-4 4th, require a 270-yard forced carry over another chasm, or face another long uphill pitch to a blind green.

You need to hit shots at Goat Hill Park, but you don’t have to. There are no water hazards and it’s difficult to lose a ball.

But you can easily lose yourself in the experience.