Temecula Creek Inn...

An interesting day at the Temecula Creek Inn, where we were entertained by general manager Jason Curl and director of golf Curtis Rowe.

I had contacted the facility's public relations people in advance of our trip to the San Diego area and had expressed an interest in playing the golf course. The crew laid out the red carpet, which was a very nice gesture.

(Now, before I go any further, I want to provide a personal philosophical thought here. I have never been impressed by "over-the-top" customer service. I mean the type of patronizing, fawning behaviour that really goes beyond sincerity. However, what does impress me is a commitment to being "consistently above average". This might sound easy to some, and perhaps might come across as too low of a goal, but the reality in my opinion is that it does require commitment.)

It became apparent early on that the entire staff likely to encounter our group had been made aware of our visit. Thankfully, the hostess and our server at the Temet Grill simply went about their business and in the process, they did a great job handling our table of six people. Great food, too...just a terrific start to the day!

The starters and marshals were busy on this day, again, with frost being the culprit. Directing traffic is very challenging under these circumstances. Admittedly, as Canadians, we have some difficulty associating a "frost delay" with golf in the San Diego region, but we've played enough golf in our lives to recognize that needless damage to the playing surfaces makes little sense.

Having said this, and based solely on a one-day experience, I get the impression the crew at the Temecula Creek Inn are a group that really does want to be there. On a wonderful November afternoon, we were able to play the Creek Course and then just five holes on the Oaks Course before we had to depart for a wine tasting set up by the Temecula Visitor and Convention Bureau.

What we did see was a layout in great fall condition. We had learned over breakfast that with three nine-hole courses, the crew at the Temecula Creek Inn had made the decision to begin some overseeding in August. While there is some risk in doing this too early, the result has been noteriety in the region for playing conditions that are a notch above some of the other facilities in the area. It appears that the calculated risk has paid off.

I interviewed both Jason Curl and Curtis Rowe and will post the audio later.