Aviara Golf Club

Arnold Palmer, Ed Seay, and Robert Walker designed this par-72, 7,007-yard layout in 1991, sculpted around rolling coastal hillsides overlooking the Batiquitos Lagoon nature preserve in Carlsbad. The course — Palmer’s only design in the San Diego area — has hosted the LPGA’s Kia Classic and JTBC Classic and serves as the centerpiece of the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, which completed a $50 million transformation in 2020.

Aviara Golf Club opened in 1991 in Carlsbad, California, designed by Arnold Palmer, Ed Seay, and Robert Walker. Located at 7447 Batiquitos Drive approximately 20 miles north of San Diego, the course holds the distinction of being the only Arnold Palmer signature design on the California coast. The design team sculpted the par-72, 7,007-yard layout across 250 acres of rolling coastal hillsides overlooking the Batiquitos Lagoon, a protected tidal wetland preserve that adds both scenic character and ecological significance to the setting. Arnold Palmer's design team, led on-site by the firm's longtime managing partner Ed Seay, routed the course in two distinct loops through the coastal topography surrounding what was then the Four Seasons Resort Aviara. The front nine climbs to an elevation high point at the sixth hole before returning toward the clubhouse, while the back nine flows through a valley on the opposite side of the resort grounds.

Three of the four par threes are pond-laden holes demanding precise club selection. A distinctive double green serves both the 12th and 15th holes. The finishing 18th plays back to the clubhouse between the Batiquitos Lagoon and a double-tiered green set beside a rock-lined pond with cascading waterfalls. The course is landscaped with wildflowers native to Southern California, providing seasonal color that shifts throughout the year. Aviara established itself as an LPGA Tour venue when the Kia Classic moved to the course in 2013, after earlier editions of the tournament were held at La Costa Resort and Spa (2010, 2012) and Industry Hills Golf Club (2011).

The tournament became an annual fixture on the LPGA's West Coast spring swing for eight of the nine seasons from 2013 through 2022, with only the 2020 edition canceled due to the pandemic. Champions during the Aviara years included Beatriz Recari (2013), Anna Nordqvist (2014), Cristie Kerr (2015, −20), Lydia Ko (2016, −19), Mirim Lee (2017, −20), Ji Eun-hee (2018), Nasa Hataoka (2019), Inbee Park (2021), and Atthaya Thitikul (2022). In 2022, the event was renamed the JTBC Classic when the South Korean television network JTBC replaced Kia as title sponsor, marking its final year at Aviara before the tournament was discontinued. The course was originally developed as part of the Four Seasons Resort Aviara. In 2019, the property transitioned to Park Hyatt management, and a 0 million transformation of the resort was completed in October 2020.

The renovation encompassed redesigned guestrooms, new restaurant concepts, 80,000 square feet of upgraded event spaces, and seven distinct pool experiences while the golf operation continued under its established identity. Golf Magazine awarded Aviara its 2004 Gold Medal Resorts Award. In 2022, a significant sustainability renovation was completed on the course itself. All 18 holes were re-grassed with Tiff Tuff, a warm-season Bermuda grass variety that eliminates the need for overseeding and reduces chemical and water usage while maintaining playable conditions year-round. The change reflects the course's proximity to the Batiquitos Lagoon ecosystem and the water-conservation demands of golf course operations in Southern California.