Made the drive up to Sandpiper for the first time in about 15 years. Can’t believe I didn’t try it again sooner after moving to Thousand Oaks, this course is well worth the drive.

First, the course makes extremely good use of its seaside location. After the first few holes and until the last few, every hole is either on or along or starts or ends with a great view of the ocean. In this respect it is better than Pelican Hill or Trump National and certainly Monarch Beach.

The course starts with some bland holes, but quickly gets to the waterfront and the fun really starts on the back 9. Several very memorable holes, many challenging but not unreasonably so—this is not a difficult course but it does have its challenges and rewards course management. When the wind is up I am sure some holes are quite difficult. Nice practice green for putting and chipping, the range is small and often closed, so call ahead of you plan to warm up or practice there.

Next, the fairways and greens and tee boxes are in excellent shape, the greens are true and on the fast side with some very subtle downslopes that can make for long second putts. Some of the fairways are truly lush, others not as completely so, but overall in very good shape and the ball generally sits up nicely. Tee boxes are fine. Everything else on the course is left to nature. No frills in the surrounds, which sometimes give off a shabby vibe, but then you see that they simply devote time and care to the playing areas and let the rest be cared for by nature. They even use natural sticks from the grounds to mark the tees and to hold up ropes for GURepair areas, a really subtle but fun natural touch. The bunkers have average sand and not much depth, so beware too steep a sand swing. The “clubhouse” and pro shop are very basic, again no frills, very understated for the spectacular property. Excellent service from checking in to cart barn.

The course is walkable, but only for the hearty; there are several severe elevation changes and wind would make it a real slog. But it is doable, no long treks from green to tee.

This place is 100% about golf. This is surprising given the neighborhood, and delightfully so. Anyone can have fun on this course and make a decent score, but still some good challenges for the better player. I can’t wait to return, but tee times need to be booked well in advance. I expect to start making my own plans earlier because this place is well worth the drive.

Finally have had a couple chances to play Rams Hill related to business and family trips to San Diego. The drive is long and difficult but beautiful; the course is in poor to fair condition due to a fairway fungus, but still in good enough shape to play fairly and has very good greens and excellent traps and lovely surrounds; Borrego Springs itself is an experience one should not miss; and the club’s Stay and Play offerings are top notch and the club is extremely helpful in making quality arrangements at a fair price. I can’t wait to play it when it is in the condition for which it is famous.
I played the blues at about 6400 yards, I would encourage the club to create a combo that is 6600 and thus 200 fewer than the copper tees; several par 4s are just out of rational range for me from those 6800 yard copper tees. With winter rules in effect due to some severe bareness throughout the course due to a fungus suffered a few months ago, it was not hard to find good grass from which to hit when necessary, and on a few holes (4 stands out) one could see the usual excellent and lush conditions. I also played twice in very high winds, which was annoying but still fun because the routing is excellent with a great mix of hole lengths and hazards. I spoke with the superintendent and he promised everything will be back in excellent condition for the fall reopening. The overall care and attention to detail is still evident in the surrounds, despite the fairway fungus issue. Can’t wait to see it in top shape.
The bunkers are excellent, and fairly placed; always had a way out, and good shots did not go in at random. The greens are very good and the breaks less than they appear, good putts are rewarded. There is no trickery on this course and you can see it all in front of you. Several long par 4s require a good short game if you miss the greens with a long club in, but the green complexes and surrounds are fair and give you a fair chance to get up and down. Overall the course is challenging but fair and quality shots are rewarded consistently.
The range is very good and includes a bunker and good target options. Not to be missed is a cart drive to the north end of the range, where an excellent bunker and chipping area awaits, rarely used but really a great touch for anyone who likes to practice.
The staff are outstanding. And the free tacos at the halfway house and the free cookie at the end of the round are a nice touch. The grill and bar are very good. Some argue they serve the best breakfast in town.
Stay and play offerings abound for groups of all sizes and even for a single or double, right at the course property. Just down the road is an old school resort, La Casa del Zorro, which is a mini La Quinta Resort with many different room offerings to accommodate all sorts of groups and a plethora of pools; they work with the golf course on stay and play offerings. The Bistro restaurant there has a fantastic menu and a superb cook, outstanding eating. Stanlund’s Inn and Suites is also an old school and less expensive good choice a little closer to town, with some rooms with kitchenettes. The town is old desert, no fast food chains but several good places to pick up groceries or to dine. The surrounding desert is really a sight to see, and the many metal sculptures throughout the local desert give the place a touch all its own. Stargazing is breathtaking, it is a “Dark Sky” community and, well, wow.
The drive is a challenge but well worth it. Coming over the mountains from the west is a slowish and windy trip but worth every glance out the window, and the drive down the mountain into the town is exciting stuff.
This is a golf course I could play over and over again and I plan to do so. It is perfect for a 3 golf day trip. Worth the drive. Kind of a must play in my book. Can’t wait to return, sad it has to be shut down all summer, but yeah, really too hot.

Returned to Sand Canyon 11/25 to play the Mountain nine (paired with Valley) because I never had played it. I enjoyed it and found it comparable to Desert in that it has some narrow spots, is a little shaggy here and there, and again has some trees that interfere with tee shots, i.e., overhanging the tee box, which is like dreams I have where I can’t find a place to tee the ball. An odd lack of maintenance quirk. Mountain is very heavily treed generally, many very mature oaks throughout the nine holes. There is water on a couple holes but not in play, almost can’t even see it. No idea why they call it “Mountain” and why the Valley 9 is called “Valley,” both end with some elevated tees on a hillside.

Greens, fairways, bunkers, rough, surrounds consistent with the other two nines—tee boxes on Mountain were a little more uneven and divoted, and a couple greens had some damaged areas being worked on, but overall the greens roll well and don’t have a lot of undulation. Small to medium sized greens like the other 2 nines. Like Desert, Mountain can be narrow off the tee, and trees come into play even on some good drives if you are on the wrong side of the fairway or greenside. Like the other 9s you will lose a lot of balls if you are not in reasonable control of your drives. Fairway lies generally quite good, bunkers very good, rough spotty, surrounds very shaggy and often bare.

POP was 1.5 on Mountain, but Valley 9 was 3 hours on a fairly busy day before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The practice putting green has now been cut and is rolling well despite some patchy spots with some weird grass. I did not use the range, but it looks very mediocre to me, the mats are basic and worn. It also was crowded, clearly gets used by locals for practice alone, not just by players that day. There is no short game or bunker practice area that I could find.

Now that I have seen all three 9s, I rate Sand Canyon as a good but not great place to play. The courses are ordinary, the unique features like some very elevated tees and trees in the fairways and the like seem contrived. Range is muni-like, pro shop is very good, personnel are very good, and the ownership seems to be focused on the right things on the course but the course really needs help on its expansive surrounds, their shabbiness detracts from the overall look and feel. Valley is clearly the best of the three 9s, and seems to get the most play. I suspect a Desert/Mountain combination would be an excellent pace of play on most days and a fun outing when one is hitting it straight off the tee and wants to focus on iron play. Any of the 9s would be a good place to tune up for an eastern or Midwestern trip because of the trees, even on “Desert.”

Played Desert/Valley today 11 am as a single, from the blues. Haven’t played here for years, since the old Robinson Ranch days. I am glad I came back.

Very friendly and easy check-in, nice pro shop, but oddly does not have a GHIN computer. I had 11:30 tee time on Valley/Desert; shop suggested Desert was wide open and to go ahead early and reverse the two nines unless I wanted to join someone, so off I went. Had Desert to myself, played in 1:15, which then had me run into traffic on Valley, but still played that 9 in 1:45. I like a club that can look at what is happening on the course and let people freewheel a bit. Course overall was not very busy, though.

I did not use the range, but it is mats and a little worn. Supposedly has a short game area, I will report next time. The once incomparable practice putting green is clearly under repair, quite shaggy, not sure why it is even open at all, not a good introduction to the course.

Carts had ball washers and ice chests, and an ice machine is available and a free bottle of water was given out, but no GPS on the carts. Ball washers and ice chest and GPS should be required, but can’t think of the last time I got all three anywhere! With all the portable laser finders and GPS systems available, I guess I would rather have the washer and ice chest. I used free “GolfPad” app and it worked perfectly. Carts also had a plastic divider between seats—a first for me, annoying, but whatever. On the other hand, there were no cup shallowing inserts; the Marshall told me people were stealing them (WTF?) so they just removed them all. Pro shop staff had masks—most golfers and the Marshall did not. (I don’t care about any of this stuff, it is all overkill to me but I can live with it. It does point out the almost total randomness of the rules, though; they are all over the lot from course to course even within the same county.). No cart girl at least today (a Monday).

The Desert 9 is narrow and heavily treed, on some tee boxes the adjacent trees actually block the tee shot. Weird, but not a big deal. This is not a difficult course if you can regularly find the fairway. The Valley 9 is wider off the tee, also well treed. Again, not a difficult course, but there are some angles to get familiar with. Both these 9s feature some big elevation changes and each has a ninth tee tee high above the fairway; the Valley’s 9th has an infamous large oak tree in the middle of the fairway off the elevated tee, and it is a bad feature, is just too large and right in the center and right in the landing area for all but the longest hitters. Like a putt putt feature. Neither course has water, each has a dry barranca or two to cross at one or two points. I used almost all my clubs, and each has a par 4 on which driver might not be the play from the tee. Each has a long par three, 200+ on the Desert side from the blues. If you are not hitting well off the tee, you will lose some golf balls, the areas surrounding the fairways are pretty impassable.

These 2 nines overall can best be described as ragged around the edges but generally lush in the landing areas, with high quality greens. The surrounds of the course are in very poor shape, lots of dead and bare dirt areas, but then few of these are in play; they just don’t give the course a luxe appearance. The fairways have some poor spots here and there, but generally not in normal or intended playing areas, and if you are hitting it straight and well, you generally find nice and often lush turf. The tee boxes are pretty beat up, some a bit uneven and shaggy, but not a big deal other than aesthetically. The greens are in very good shape, they are relatively fast and very true, especially around the cup (no Dave Pelz “lumpy donut” to knock your ball off line as it nears the hole). But the greens also have very little undulation; I haven't had this many dead straight putts, well, ever. The green surrounds are lush and present a fair challenge. The bunkers have a dull, ugly sand but there is enough sand to give you a fair chance at getting out with a normal effort. No rakes (COVID), but the carts have sand/seed mixtures for filling divots, a first for me since the pandemic. (See above re the randomness of the rules.)

It appears they are putting money into the course where most important at present, the playing areas. One example of raggedness is the hole signage—they are really worn and have an abandoned look. The Desert 9th still has a sign for “Valley 18th,” which is a bit confusing for a newbie here. But the surrounds and little touches are not a priority, while the greens and fairways and some tree planting seem to be—appropriate if funds are limited and they seem to be. The course has a long way to go to support a “resort” as is planned, but the bones are there. If Industry Hills could do it, they can do it here as well, though these two 9s are not as good as Industry Hills in terms of design. I would also note with appreciation that they did have a Marshall out and he spent his time filling divots and fixing ball marks, which all marshalls should be doing everywhere they exist. I would say, so far, this is a well run operation and worthy of support.

There are nicer looking courses (and surrounds) for the money, and some much less expensive, but I would say this is a reasonable value and I definitely will return, perhaps regularly. I never played the “Mountain” 9 even in the course’s prior iteration, and am eager to try it.

Played the blues Fri 8/14 at 12:30, POP 4.5 hrs, only slow on last three holes. Always a group trying to reach 17 from the tee. Otherwise would have been 4 hrs, not bad for a tough track on a very hot day and a pretty full tee sheet. Turf in excellent shape, greens very good but never are very fast, always lots of ball marks to repair. This is a high end daily fee course that always gets some groups having an outing with a couple golfers who probably should not be playing there and they always are playing the wrong tees. Tends to slow things down a bit, and there are three places the course backs up when busy (3, 6, and 17). Wide fairways but almost no room for error off the tee, if you miss it is likely a lost ball. Range is open, but not the putting greens or short game area. Efficient check in, Snack bar open and has balls and gloves, everything else closed. Challenging course with fun routing—flat and walkable but not allowed, which is a shame. Expense does not seem to limit play, usually pretty busy esp weekends, 5 hour rounds the norm. Sometimes during the week you can catch an opening and get around in 3.5 or so, esp if willing to jump a hole or two to get past the three and four-somes here and there. Twosomes very common here. Tight-looking lies but turf has give, they dont overseed. Rough is narrow but lush and green complexes have good thick grass around them. They filled the bunkers a few months ago and they are very playable. Wind can be a factor on some holes, but rarely really blowing hard. Sans COVID, they have frequent cart service and a great 19th hole grill and bar. Clubfitter on site (Pat Dempsey), and good instruction available. “Membership” deals but you can also just hang your handicap there as I do for a slight cost above the SCGA fee. Range deals as well. A very well run operation with nice people and a challenging course in excellent condition year round. I never am disappointed there, except sometimes with my play.

Played here for the first time Weds after relocating to Thousand Oaks. Overall, this is a terrific par 70, old school feel with reasonably wide but tree-lined fairways and medium/small greens, reachable par 5 or two, a couple long par 3s, some long par 4s, good elevation changes (some severe), pretty to look at, and in excellent shape generally, not just for the amount of play it gets, which seems to be a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed the round despite some backups on several holes and playing a bit poorly. I look forward to playing this course often. Used every club in the bag. Premium on accuracy, and a great change of pace from more wide open desert like tracks. For a muni, which it is, it is really a cut well above standard. Great staff. Lots of walkers, would be a slog on the hilly back 9, but will try it myself. Conditions very good and greens are first rate and very fast, big mistake to ever be above the hole. Drive placement key on many holes to avoid tree obstacles to green. POP was 4:40, but honestly did. To seem like it; just a couple par 3 backups and waits but otherwise moved along well. Nice range and putting green and chipping area.

Been a few months since I last played here; I keep my handicap here but play all over, and every time I play here I wonder why I bother going anywhere else. I can’t say enough about what they have done sine the fire damage a year or so ago, the course surrounds have been carefully attended to and the place looks fantastic right now. Most importantly, they have re-sanded the bunkers and they are almost fun to be in. Played on a Saturday morning, 7/27, I think the heat kept some folks away and there were a number of foursomes, more twosomes, and I played as a single and never really had an issue getting around in just under 4 hours. Twosome in front of me clearly did not want company, so I lagged back and the foursome several tee times behind me never got close. As always, the range is in fantastic shape, the short game green is terrific, and right now the fairway turf is very green and seemingly tight lies on these lowcut fairways have plenty of give in them without being mushy. Staff is great always, and while the green fees are probably a little much for some, you can really see what you are paying for while playing—the maintenance is second to none. Can’t wait to get back.

Played Pechanga for first time, with a tribe member who plays there regularly to show me the way, and it was needed—at times the cartpaths were so long and windy I was sure I had made a wrong turn. I enjoyed the round and played well, and there are some really good holes and some pretty ones and awesome views of the valley—but much of the layout is not to my taste. Many holes on the hillside are a bit gimmicky, designed more for the view from the tee box than for the golf hole itself. The place is extremely well kept, and maintenance crews were everywhere doing lots of routine stuff, and never in the way but the caretaking really shows. The practice facility is terrific, especially the short game area replete with several greens and many bunkers (but oddly designed without a lot of room to hit greenside chips of varying length). The main range—which along with the short game area is open only to those with tee times or guests of the resort—has grass, but today we were on mats, but the really nice spongy ones that are as close to grass as one can get. Excellent food service at 1 and 10, and the beverage cart came by 4 times. Pace was right at 4 hours, mostly because, seriously, sometimes the ride from green to tee is itself 5 minutes long. Terrific staff, and a good starter paying attention to groupings on a day when there were a lot of twosomes and singles, putting people together to keep the spacing right, and it worked. Good water features, greens in excellent condition, overall course condition was first rate. Hit every club in the bag, and thanks to my playing partner guide I avoided some unseen hazards. My playing partner also knew a lot of local history and I learned a lot about the Pechanga tribe and the area—we had one backup on the back nine due to a fairway maintenance project, which gave my new friend the chance to show me the Great Oak just off the 12th green, an amazing place (and absolutely off limits, but I figured it was okay with a tribe member showing me the site). So, all in all, a great day on a very well-maintained course with a great practice area, some great golf design holes, some beautiful holes and views, and then some odd and contrived holes on the hillside. Of the courses in the area, it now is my second favorite behind CrossCreek (which also has a few odd hillside holes). My guess is that pace of play is a real issue here when it is busy—Tues thru Thursday are probably the best days in terms of pace, and this is not really a course for “resort” golfers, but there are a lot of them playing and that likely often impacts pace. I look forward to a return visit. The Temecula area is now, for me, a rival to Palm Springs in terms of a place to go for a few days of good golf.

Enjoyed the Blues today as a single, off at 10–starter kindly saw I was putting and might be ready, invited me to go early to get ahead of potentially slow twosome with an earlier tee time than mine; smart and aware, not as common as it should be for guys who get paid to “start” players off. Finished in 3.25 hours, easily could have been 2:45 but I have some new irons and took some extra shots here and there to test wedges and the like. Really never saw anyone else all day except from a distance of several holes. Haven’t played here in some 12 years, was great to find it in such nice shape overall, and the routing and variation is really something to see—front nine is flatter and woodsier, back is very hilly and a bit more quirky. There is a vineyard in the middle of the course, and a lot of environmentally sensitive areas and a need for regular brush clearance on the edges of the course, but they keep up with that and it looks cared for, not scraggly. The grass range is not what it should be for a course this good, lousy targets, bumpy grass, no sand or chipping green despite room to have those—I like to practice, so a good practice facility is essential to my enjoyment, but it was passable and, again, is grass. Large practice putting green with some flat areas, always a bonus (should be required, but is rare). No cart service today. A very quiet clubhouse and pro shop—weekday yes, but still surprised this place is not way more busy, it deserves to be. Some roughed up tees, and the traps need beaucoup work (from thin to muddy), but the fairways are great, the greens roll true if not quite as fast as they should be, and there are some beautifully designed holes front and back, really good use of the topography, I used every club today. Some great vistas on the inward 9, and front 9 is very “Oregon.” Overall this is a terrific facility with nice staff and a reasonable rate and good pace of play and it beats Redhawk and Temecula Creek Inn easily, so is not to be missed when in the area—and worth a drive for its own virtues. I recommend it highly, especially the front 9.

Played Redhawk blues two weekdays this week, first time in 15 years. Course is showing its age, but they are spending money in the right places, fairways and greens, all in quite good shape. Very ragged around the edges, though, even the crumbling driveway and parking area set a ragged tone as you arrive. Range is all worn mats, plentiful targets, and oddly, three chipping greens but two are wildly undulating and not much use, one flat one at top of hill is easily missed but the best for practice. Nice practice putting green, mimics well the greens on course, which are not very tricky and roll slowly but fairly. Good tee choices, and an interesting layout and routing, challenging but not penal, little surprise trouble (though the first hole features a tricky first shot), but good water features and a locally famous island green par three that is quite fun and has very well maintained surrounds (unlike the rest of the course, where the attention is on the fairways and greens only). One oddity is starting and closing par 5’s on which you can’t hit driver. Fairly hilly, would be hard to walk this course but I did see several doing it. No GPS and not a lot of sprinkler heads, so bring your own measuring device. No beverage cart either day. One standout to me is the turf—even the fairways are po annua, so very tight-appearing lies but the turf is still quite receptive to well struck irons. The bunkers are undergoing work, so some are fine, others very thin. Greens are mostly protected by very deep grass surrounds and a lot of deep grass bunkers, chipping and pitching often quite challenging. Pretty busy both days, but decent pace at 4:15 each day in a threesome and twosome, in both instances they started me out alone and I caught up to others and joined. Very nice staff at check-in and starter podium, but they probably could do a better job of managing the tee sheet and starting times by putting more people together from the outset. With some extra spending on the edges, Redhawk could look as good as it plays, this is well worth a stop in the Temecula area and do t be put off by the ragged appearance.

First time Creek/Stonehouse combo on Friday 4/19/19 @ 10:30 with a single mid-handicap and a twosome of high handicaps. Very steady stream of threesomes and foursomes all morning, but pace was good despite some slow play by some in our group, especially on StoneHouse (more below); nobody pushing behind us until the last several holes. Creek made me wanna take off my shoes and play barefoot with a walking bag of a few clubs like when I was a kid—it’s picture should be in the encyclopedia under “resort course” in its worst connotation. Possibly the most boring course I ever have played that wasn’t a 9-hole muni. Great for a practice 9 holes to work on one thing or another, great for kids and beginners, and in fine shape, but flat and utterly devoid of character. If it went back to nature, the golf course indicators would disappear in a month. But then on to Stonehouse, which is basically an extremely hilly miniature golf course without the clown’s mouth. Almost every tee shot is blind, and some second shots as well, even on one or three par 4’s. Fortunately the other single knew his way around, else we would have been all over the place with even decent shots impossible to find. The contrast with Creek could not be more drastic. In slightly worse shape than Creek, but probably because even the grounds crew get lost out there. I found this almost not fun at all, if any golf can ever be not some level of fun. I like getting to know a course’s quirks, but one shouldn’t have to consult a map every time just to get direction. Even good shots well-aimed often are not rewarded, not due to bad bounces so much as just general topography that makes almost everything run way off one way or the other. It is sort of like Ojai Valley Inn on LSD, beyond quirky and just weird. What is worse is that the club actually lets beginners and kids who can enjoy Creek also play Stonehouse, which is borderline cruel to them and to more skilled golfers who might find something to like in getting to know Stonehouse—that is golf course operational and game-growth malpractice. Oaks 9 was closed for renovation, but from what I could see it was a lot more like Creek than Stonehouse, and I am told trees often obstruct the lines of play. It looks pretty flat. I have zero interest in finding out if it is a good 9. The range is mats and very ordinary. The starter was uninformative about either course, and lost track of a family threesome with a young child when they stopped for a full lunch after 9 and then just wandered out to Stonehouse to insert themselves into the existing lineup, causing an awkward delay that they, not the starter, remedied by being aware and nice about letting us go ahead. Overall conditions were good, greens quite good except even more than usual unfixed ball marks, always annoying but sadly endemic. Bunkers are soft dirt on top, hard clay underneath—no real
sand. I am happy to have tried the place out, I love the area and Old Town Temecula is a blast, and Greenskeeper reviews here gave me reasonable caution ahead of time, but there are way better offerings in this area and except for kids and beginners and a 9-hole tuneup for one’s approach shots or the like, for which Creek is perfect, there is scant reason to return and the other 9 holes could not possibly be good enough to make me give Stonehouse another look. The only good news is that I now know not to play here again.

I played the combo blue/white course twice this week, and the course plays longer than 6000 yards from this set of tees due to some serious hazard carries here and there, and several shortish par 4s that really tempt you but are very well protected. There is a lot of water, for any course let alone one in the desert, and the other principal feature is enormous bunkers, like everywhere. The fairways are wide but well bunkered and there are a fair amount of waste areas not difficult to find. Second shots are at a premium: good drives still leave you with very challenging approaches. Number 7 is a very long par 5 with a very difficult second or third shot (or both) over water—one of the best designed holes I ever have played, could take a long time to figure it out and one needs three excellent shots to reach the green in regulation. The short par 4s all are challenging, again especially on the second shot. The greens are, mercifully, not too undulating and thus a good approach and a good chip are rewarded, no tricks around or on the greens. The course also features one of the strangest par 3s I ever have seen, #11, not exactly over water but water runs all along the left side of a non-existent approach area with nothing but a waste area hill sloping up to the right from the water, you can barely see the green at all from the tee box—it’s kinda fun and pretty at the green with water around it, but it’s also weird, looks forced, I guess part of the redesign done to make room for a hotel basically in the middle of the back nine. The course has a fantastic practice area, huge grass range with good target distances and a large pretty flat practice putting green and a separate large chipping green and huge practice bunker. Range balls included in fair rack price. Overall course condition is excellent, but rough around a lot of edges due to work being done all over, especially on the back nine where a lot of landscaping is disrupted by the planned hotel and it leaves a ragged impression. Staff was very welcoming and efficient from the bag drop to the pro shop to the cart area. Lots of people in the restaurant, some clearly not golfing, so it must be good. Beverage cart seen 4 times a round. Pace of play in foursome both days was perfect—10 minutes between tee times meant two weekday rounds in a foursome with another both in front and behind (both days busy) that each took just over 4 hours, almost never waited to hit and basically never saw the group behind us either. Still, overall I have mixed emotions; I would play again for sure, but probably as a fallback when the location is convenient and other area courses are full. I would go here to practice anytime, possibly the overall best practice area I ever have seen. (I love a large relatively flat practice putting green. Why are so many so undulating? And it mimics the courses greens very well.)