The NCAA is coming to La Costa

The Omni La Costa Golf Course has been home to some legendary players over the decades. Both celebrities, Hollywood elites and professionals have frequented the Champions and Legends Courses. The Sentry Tournament of Champions was hosted at La Costa from 1969 to 1998. Additionally, the Omni La Costa hosted the WGC-Match Play in 1999. These events brought every PGA household name from Jack Niclaus to Tiger Woods.

But like all things, in order to keep up and attract top level guests and tournaments, you have to upgrade. So, in 2023, the Champions Course started a multi-million-dollar overhaul. And this upgrade was orchestrated by a legend as well: Gil Hanse. Gil has become the most sought-after golf course architect in the business. He has designed courses used for everything from the U.S. Open to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

His resume is beyond compare. Gil’s design is already bearing fruit for the Omni La Costa Champions Course. For the next three years, the Omni will host both the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Golf Championships. This will mark the first time in 26 years that the Women’s NCCA Golf Championship has been in Southern California and first time for the Men’s since 2012. The Women will get the first crack at the newly redesigned course as they tee off May 17-24, 2024. The Men’s tournament will be played immediately following, running from May 24-29.

This is not just a big win for the Omni, but also a huge win for Carlsbad, as the golf course renovations are just the tip of the iceberg. The entire resort is getting an upgrade. Said Craig Martin, the General Manager for the Omni, “Since its opening in 1965, the resort has been a glamorous refuge for Hollywood’s elite; this new phase of renovation is poised to uphold the property’s longstanding position as a world-class destination for generations to come.” Over 500 renovated guest rooms, including villas, suites, hospitality rooms and presidential suites, will unveil a fresh new look that blends history with modernity, enhancing the resort’s beloved architecture with light airy spaces, soft casual textures, and neutral tones.

The Omni is Carlsbad’s largest resort with over 600 guest rooms in total. Its award-winning Spa at La Costa is also getting an upgrade. In days past it has hosted famous guests such as Richard Nixon and Jackie Kennedy. Its updates will include three luxurious new salt rooms for unwinding and decompressing, refurbished steam rooms with new aromatherapy features, and new state-of-the-art equipment in the showers, locker rooms, and select treatment rooms.

While the newly upgraded course and these tournaments will return Carlsbad to the golf map (and the Golf Channel), the resort truly has something for everyone.