Closed golf courses Temecula guides still list: what shut, what is unclear and what to play instead

Closed golf courses near Temecula include Fallbrook Golf Club (2016), San Luis Rey Downs (2014), Diamond Valley in Hemet (2019), Cherry Hills in Sun City (2024) and the Borrego Springs Resort course (2019). Others, such as the Links at Summerly and Castle Creek, have an unclear status and should be confirmed by phone before you plan a round.

Old guidebooks and some directories still list these courses, which is why they keep turning up in search. The notes below come from our research files, read in November 2026. Closed courses are not on the map as playable, and the open alternatives are linked at the end.

Quick facts

Fallbrook Golf Club

Fallbrook Golf Club, on Gird Road, closed in 2016 after a brief reopening. The 116-acre site was sold in November 2016 and planted as a vineyard and winery, according to Village News and Club + Resort Business. Our record says: gone since 2016, do not plan on it. For golf in town, read the Fallbrook golf guide, which covers Pala Mesa, the Golf Club of California and the private Rancho Monserate.

San Luis Rey Downs, Bonsall

San Luis Rey Downs Golf Resort in Bonsall closed in August 2014, and the property was redeveloped as Myrtle Creek at San Luis Rey, according to a 2018 Village News report. It was a public course about 35 minutes from Old Town Temecula by the research estimate. Closed since 2014.

Diamond Valley Golf Club, Hemet

Diamond Valley Golf Club at 31220 Sage Rd in Hemet was a public Bill Martin design that opened in 1999. GolfPass lists it as "closed for business," an editor's note says it closed in June 2019, and the last review is from May 2019. No reopening was found. Its tees played to 6,801 yards at 73.6/138. For the Hemet area, see the Hemet and San Jacinto golf guide.

Cherry Hills, Sun City

Cherry Hills Golf Course, at 26583 Cherry Hills Blvd in Sun City, opened in 1963 and was designed by Milton Coggins. GolfPass says it closed for business in 2024. Ambient Communities bought the property in January 2024 from California Golf and Art LLC. A May 2026 Menifee247 report said the owner had shown residents options of up to 1,300 homes, with no application filed. Closed in 2024 and the owner is floating housing: not a Sun City option. The Menifee golf courses guide lists what is open.

Borrego Springs Resort

The Borrego Springs Resort course closed in September 2019 and has not reopened. Club Circle East also closed. A 2020 letter says the grounds were unmaintained. High confidence on the closure; no reopening found. The same story is told from the desert side in our Palm Springs closed golf courses guide. For Borrego golf that is open, see the Borrego Springs golf guide.

Status unclear: call before you go

These are not closed in our records, but we could not confirm they are playable:

• The Links at Summerly, Lake Elsinore (Wildomar border): a Cal Olson design that opened in 2008. Reviews report flooding closures in 2024 and 2025, a back nine shut, a 13-hole routing and then a closure. New owners (Matt Blackburn and family) were announced in March 2026, and a soft opening was rumoured for April. No source confirmed it was playable in October or November 2026. It is not on our map as playable.
• Seven Hills, Hemet: an old local Rainville design. Directories list rates, but one listing shows "Closed," and no 2026 tee time was confirmed.
• Castle Creek, Escondido: a public 18 about 45 minutes south of Old Town. A JC Golf page said tee times were paused for a renovation with reopening in "Fall 2026," not confirmed as of November 6, 2026. The page was blocked, so this comes from a search summary.
• Small private Hemet-area nines: Lakes at Hemet West, Panorama Village, Colonial Country Club, Highland Palms and Golden Era are listed as private community courses, residents and guests only, with no operator page read.

The Lake Elsinore area is covered in the Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake golf guide.

What to play instead

Rates come from different sources and dates; see each guide. The Pala Mesa guide is at Pala Mesa golf, and the Soboba Springs guide covers the San Jacinto option. The Rams Hill guide covers Borrego.

The full list of open public rounds is in the Temecula golf courses overview, and for private clubs that cannot be booked, see the private golf clubs guide.

How to check a course before you drive

• Look for a live booking page with future dates, not just a directory entry.
• Call the pro shop for a course you cannot confirm.
• Treat a directory listing without a 2026 source as unconfirmed.

Course guides with tees and booking notes: the Pala Mesa course guide, the Soboba Springs course guide, the Golf Club at Rancho California course guide.

Plan it on the map

Open the Temecula golf map to see only the courses you can actually play, with drive times from Old Town. The $49 plan builds a day-by-day golf trip or a winter rotation from open courses, so a closed course never ends up on your card.