Played here this morning in a POP of 4 H.

This a Ted Robinson design originally opened in 1996 under the name ... » More

Played here this morning in a POP of 4 H.

This a Ted Robinson design originally opened in 1996 under the name Summerset then became Rio Vista Golf Club and is now named The Golf Club at Rio Vista.

The course is open to the public $54 with cart/no GPS weekday rate regardless of age. Its a 55+ community so many members have their own carts and no doubt pay annual dues to the club.

The original design has been brought back to life and its great. A wonderful collection of holes and over 6,800 yards from the Championship tees and 5,300 from the Forward tees. With a slope of 73.6 and a rating of 131, it is a true test for any level of golfer.

Having played here not long after it opened I was looking forward to playing it again. But also worried about past bad reviews and operational issues.

To my delight I found a very nice golf course that is being loved and cared for by the HOA and Shea Homes.

"This is a links-style course. There are ten lakes, numerous bunkers, and waterfalls highlighting the design. Fairways are spacious and forgiving, although there are out-of-bounds areas on each side. The signature hole is #18, a 372-yard, par 4, which features a large pond that comes into play 100 yards in front of the green."

The water holes are intimidating and w/o local knowledge one can easily get into high digits. So we made sure we drove up and looked at many holes before we either teed off or hit 2nd and 3rd shots.

I think all of us found the course to be in very nice shape, though a little soft from lots of watering and many areas of sod repair.

But the tee boxes were all great.

Fairways had excellent coverage and good lies. But little rollout.

Bunkers were all fine and I heard no complaints.

Very little rough at all to deal with but having the water hazards and the wind was more than enough.

The wind this AM was probably 5 to 10 miles an hour and gusts of maybe 15. It died down later in the round but being so close to the Sacramento river and delta + the flatness of the area one can assume the wind will always be a factor when playing here.

The greens are large and undulating and are in excellent shape. I fixed 2 divots today. Both of them mine. Have not seen greens so devoid of divots like this course. Members take good care of them.

Excellent customer service in the shop. Restaurant on site but did not visit.

Two areas of concern I have for the course is (1. Location is on Hwy 12 between I 5 outside of Stockton and I 80 coming from Fairfield. And the road is under heavy construction at this time. Anyone familiar with this stretch of Hwy knows well the problems one can incur. (2. The wind. I am not sure it is ever very still and will always be a factor.

But if you are a fan of links golf then you won't be disappointed if you chose to play here. It is a recommended course to play.
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played sun 7/5, 8:40 tee time, 4:40 round. nice cool am, got warm by end of day. Course in pretty good shape. Greens ru... » More

played sun 7/5, 8:40 tee time, 4:40 round. nice cool am, got warm by end of day. Course in pretty good shape. Greens running about a 10. I enjoyIthis course. It's challenging, need to stay below the hole on these big greens. Restaurant is good. Cart girl going around. Hilly and fair, but difficult.
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Played in June, 830am shotgun, cold windy day. First time here.. a fun hilly course overlooking the golden gate bridge.... » More

Played in June, 830am shotgun, cold windy day. First time here.. a fun hilly course overlooking the golden gate bridge... but it was foggy this am. Some areas were a little soggy. Greens running medium speed, tricky. A really fun muni in good muni shape. Small range. I would like to play here again.
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Played here in June for the first time, 830am shotgun. Surpassed my expectations. I remember watching this on TV and n... » More

Played here in June for the first time, 830am shotgun. Surpassed my expectations. I remember watching this on TV and not being impressed, but it was a really fun layout. Parkland course, but a lot of interesting shots and beautiful all around. The course sits underneath Olympic Club, so it's fun looking up at that course. Lots of walkers, so a few unfilled divots. Rough is sticky. Greens were medium speed. I walked in 4:15. Nice cool day. a little bit of wildlife. I would play this over and over if given the chance.
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Played in June on a Fri, 1130 tee time. Second time here, and it was one of my top courses, and it was as good as I rec... » More

Played in June on a Fri, 1130 tee time. Second time here, and it was one of my top courses, and it was as good as I recall. The renovated since I was here last, and I can't tell you what was different, but its a quality course, with awesome holes. Greens are fast , huge and undulating. This is definitely a course you need to play often to score well. Tons of deep bunkers. This is a top 15 course I've played, #1 public in Nor Cal. I wish this was my home course.
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Played in June, thursday 2pm tee time. warm day. 1 club wind most of the day. Required forecaddy helpful, nice guy. C... » More

Played in June, thursday 2pm tee time. warm day. 1 club wind most of the day. Required forecaddy helpful, nice guy. Course reminds me of a fancy wente vineyards. It was fun, with a lot of fun holes. Caddies and course knowledge crucial for scoring. Course great shape, as it's exclusive and taken care of. Greens running medium speed. I left a few putts short. Resort is fabulous, with spacious villas. Restaurant nice. customer service great everywhere, from the valet to the front desk to the golf course. For the price,and required overnight stay, it's not one I would do again by choice, but glad I did once.
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Had a fast round Thursday starting at 10 finished in 3 hours, that was the positive. Full price $60 (senior) Love the l... » More

Had a fast round Thursday starting at 10 finished in 3 hours, that was the positive. Full price $60 (senior) Love the layout but course is in rough shape. Forget bunker play your hitting off hard or water filled weed infested bunkers fairway and green side. Fairways wet and puddled water everywhere can find good lies but have to move ball a lot. Greens OK not to fast and for the most part good coverage. Course could be good but maybe they need to close one of the two and spend the money on one?
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Played last evening in a great 3H POP.

Course is in good shape as the expected warm weather has not arrived yet s... » More

Played last evening in a great 3H POP.

Course is in good shape as the expected warm weather has not arrived yet so course had some firmness to it. However it is expected this week so no doubt the watering will begin.

Tee boxes good and playable.

Fairways good coverage, lies and rollout.

Traps (in one) played fine but noticed some needed raking as I went by.

Rough was dry and able to advance ball quite well.

Greens were all in good shape and chipped/putted well but slower than usual but thats OK given the size of them and where the pins are sometimes. Only had 2 three putt greens this round.

It's a great public course and the rates are still very reasonable.
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Got a chance to play Western Hills on Monday with Johnny GK’s group and had a fantastic time seeing some dear friends so... » More

Got a chance to play Western Hills on Monday with Johnny GK’s group and had a fantastic time seeing some dear friends so I enjoyed catching up. The course I thought was in great shape greens were quite quick and fairways were great. Bunkers were I felt hit and miss some had good lies while others there was very little sand to speak of. However at the end of day, it was a great time and hopefully looking forward to seeing the group again…
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Back to Rancho Park, one of my favorite old-style courses. Robert's review last month was spot on. I have seen Rancho in... » More

Back to Rancho Park, one of my favorite old-style courses. Robert's review last month was spot on. I have seen Rancho in better condition, but because the greens were so good, I tried not to focus on the negatives. If you did not "play the ball down" you could find decent lies in the fairways, so it all worked out for me. A rather warm day and taking over four hours to play is not my norm and then having to fight traffic all the way to South Orange County, makes for a long day, but I love Rancho, so I bite the bullet and endure. While not in the greatest shape, the course makes it worth playing.
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Played San Clemente for the first time this morning. Walked 18 in 3.5 hours with a 6:27 tee time. Super impressed with... » More

Played San Clemente for the first time this morning. Walked 18 in 3.5 hours with a 6:27 tee time. Super impressed with the layout, condition and pace of play. Fairways and tee boxes are in excellent shape. Greens are also excellent and look pretty straight forward until you putt them and encounter subtle breaks that may not be easy to see at first glance. And they are fast. Fast, but fair. Amazingly, I avoided the sand for all 18 holes so can't comment on the traps condition. Pro shop staff and Marshall were top shelf, professional and personable. I have lived in San Diego area for 25 plus years and can't believe today was the first time I played this gem. I'll be back!
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My buddy and I played Friday 7/3 teeing off@12:020 and joining another twosome. They played blues and we the whites. I ... » More

My buddy and I played Friday 7/3 teeing off@12:020 and joining another twosome. They played blues and we the whites. I hadn't played this course in years and I think the overall conditions are pretty solid by most muni standards. Generally good coverage on the tees and fairways with good lies. Rough could get thicker and costly at times but was generally green and maintained. Bunkers were pretty clean, firm-ish, and rakes were being used. The greens were pretty clean and running a quick medium but not too quick. Minimal pitch marks. Pace varied but wasn't too bad overall — a little over 4.5 if I recall. If you like the course or want to try it out, I can recommend it.

On a totally personal note, I have only played it a very few times over the years and I find it tediously long for my game, even from the whites. A lot of long, mostly straight, fours that seem like short fives to me and frequently narrow windows in the tree lined fairways to make offline shots that much more costly. Too often I needed to hit perfect drive and long second shots to have chance at par and I'm not that consistent. It wore on me at some point. I think it is noteworthy that in roarksown1's review, being required to play from the reds seemed to make it a more enjoyable experience. If I go back, I will have to try that. But conditions are good, mine is a subjective opinion, and it is worth judging for yourself. It is the more popular of the two courses so that says something about me and the course. Enjoy.
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