St. Mark Golf Club & Resort

Getting To Know: St. Mark Golf Club & Resort

An Insightful Interview With Max Reinhardt, Marketing Manager

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Max Reinhardt who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
St. Mark Golf Club is a mature, semi-private golf course nestled in the coastal foothills of north San Diego County near Lake San Marcos. The Harry Rainville designed layout boasts a links style experience with stunning backdrops. St. Mark Golf Course, with its spacious, angular holes rewards mindful play. Designed to challenge players of all levels, the course provides many options for the thoughtful golfer.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
St. Mark Golf Club is one of the oldest layouts in San Diego County, and for that reason it's play is quite a deviance from many other area courses. For one, it is nestled in a valley surrounded by beautiful Lake San Marcos. Breathtaking views and captivating golf shots are sure to fill your day. As a resort facility, once you arrive in Lake San Marcos, there's little reason to ever leave. Commonly regarded by locals as the most popular "value" facility in North County, St. Mark (formally Lake San Marcos Country Club) has now been positioned in steep competition with other exclusive (and expensive) golf clubs in the county. If it's been a while since your last visit, prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
1) All greens break subtlety towards the lake and away from the hills in the background.

2) Though the holes themselves are shorter, many greens are raised and reward high launch angles

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
- Awarded the honor of being named the host of Golf Fest San Diego 2017

- Best Pro Shop award according to San Diego Reader 2014, 2015

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
The par-4 14th is our clear signature hole. An incredibly elevated tee box provides impeccable views of the surrounding community, while a refreshing ocean breeze makes for a comfortable photo opp. But the fun doesn't stop before you tee off. Big/risky hitters will choose fly the water with their tee shot, leaving themselves a fantastic birdie chance, provided they hit the fairway and not a house.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
The par-4 1st is an underrated hole but a definite local favorite. There are two ways to play this short, 300 yard par 4. The prudent play would be to lay up to the left side of the fairway and cash in on an easy par at worst. However, many longer hitters will opt to roll it up to within chipping distance in the search of a round-sparking birdie. Buyer beware with this play, though. Green side bunkers and a strategically placed Pine guard this smaller green, and have stymied many, many otherwise great tee balls.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
SMG Burger. Half pound patty topped with bacon and a fried egg, this monster will be sure to fuel your back nine or ride home.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
J.B Sneeve with a sizzling 60. What a name, and what a game!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 6400
Slope: 123
Rating: 70

More Information
St. Mark Golf Club & Resort
1750 San Pablo Drive
San Marcos, CA, 92078
760-744-9385
www.stmarkgolf.com

Revised: 02/15/2017 - Article Viewed 13,535 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.