Carlton Oaks, Santee, CA

The fairways of Carlton Oaks Golf Club give Carlton Oaks its shape, filling the river bottom on the western edge of Santee where the city meets San Diego. The course is split almost evenly between the two cities, and it has been here since 1958, more than two decades before the city incorporated in 1980. Perry Dye reworked the layout in 1989, and it still plays like a Dye course, with railroad-tie bunkers, waste areas, quick greens and a pond guarding peninsula greens on the 11th and 12th holes. The holes past the 12th wind among cottonwoods, and the clubhouse sits on Inwood Drive. Homes here are mostly single-story houses from the early 1970s, and some streets back right onto the course with views across the greens. The neighborhood may be on the edge of a change. The course owner, working with Lennar, has proposed a shorter redesigned course, a new clubhouse, a small hotel and about 240 homes, and the plan went through public environmental review in 2025. West Hills Park, on Mast Boulevard, is the neighborhood's own park. Mast Park West's river trail runs beside the golf course toward Carlton Hills Boulevard, and Santee Lakes, with its seven fishing lakes and five miles of paths, is right next door in West Hills. Lakes Market & Deli, at 9292 Carlton Hills Boulevard, has been making sandwiches since 1994 and handles pizza for pickup too. Farther south at 8918 Carlton Hills Boulevard, Bad Hombres Good Mexican Food is the counter shop for red tacos dipped in consommé and the quesarito, a burrito wrapped in a quesadilla. Coffee is close by at The Coffee Corner near Mast Boulevard or Kaffee Meister in Carlton Hills. Errands mean a drive to Sprouts or Vons on Mission Gorge Road, and State Route 52 heads west toward Interstate 15 and La Jolla. The open question about the course hangs over the area, since the construction would come in phases over several years if it moves ahead. For now, mornings in Carlton Oaks still start with golf carts rolling out under the cottonwoods.