Temecula Creek Inn Golf Course offers an excellent base from which to discover the many golf courses and wineries around Temecula, as well as the chance to hone your game on its 27-hole championship layout. The three nine-hole loops, radiating out-and-back from the hotel and clubhouse, each have their own distinctive characters. The Creek-nine is a relatively easy-going, flat, parkland layout, with parallel fairways separated by a liberal scattering of fir trees. Water hazards are sparingly used, and most of the bunkering is saved for around the often large and sloping greens. Your main priority on these gently dog-legging holes will be to stay out of the trees. Moving up a gear, the Oaks-nine introduces slightly more elevation change to some of the holes, while water hazards play their part at the par-3 3rd and challenging par-4 9th. The Oaks is the quietest of the three nines, the other two both having several holes within earshot of the busy Interstate Freeway (I-15). Certainly the toughest and most undulating of the three nines is the also partly tree-lined Stonehouse-course. The par-5 opener demands you hit a tight, blind, draw from the tee; the next three holes also require blind tee-shots. From the higher elevations, as on the Oaks, you will enjoy some picturesque views onto the surrounding boulder clad hills and away to mountains in the distance. Although less dramatic and not as demanding as some of its neighbours, each of the three-nines at Temecula Creek Inn finishes in great style, with the need for precise tee-shots and water threatening around the final greens.