CARLSBAD, Calif. – It’s been dubbed the Silicon Valley of golf and compared to Detroit for the auto industry or to Akron, Ohio, the rubber capital of the world. Over the last 30 years, Carlsbad, this sleepy little beach town and agricultural community located 35 miles north of San Diego, has exploded into the golf equipment epicenter. And not surprisingly, a haven for golfers too.
Carlsbad rises from ocean to hills. A pioneering speculator dug a well there in 1883, discovered mineral water believed to restore health and earned the city its name after the spa town of Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) in the Czech Republic. Health seekers and sun worshipers have been coming in droves ever since for the fine, uncrowded beaches, and, of course, the water.
