This has become my new favorite course. Although soon will be under new ownership and it remains to be seen what changes ,for better or worse,will happen. But this course is very nice in many good ways. beautiful vistas on several holes. the housing community that is built around this course, is just far away enough,up the slopes of the hillsides, or somehowis not so 'in your face' as other golf /housing communities,such that when you get on the course, your mind sees mostly the golf course and not so much the houses alongside it. there are ,however a few holes where the houses are dangerously close to the fairway and you can see some shattered windows that have met golf balls. but the architectural layout of this course is pretty enough to keep my attention on the beauty of the fairways and not the houses that too often ruin the natural beauty. the layout is nice. Its a links style, no trees to speak of, but the shape and contour of the hillsides,uphill,downhill, makes me not miss the trees. thats a great accomplishment in course design to make a course look beautiful without any trees. Roddy ranch achieves that as well.
So this course is challenging but not overly so. fairways are pretty wide.greens are mostly accessible.the wind plays a big factor on several holes, especially in the afternoon. the par 3's are tough. I just find it a pretty golf course, very well maintained and manacured. staff is helpful enough and casual.in this hot climate,summer is very hot here, but they Do keep water barrels full on several holes. the greens are very fast and undulating. I have few complaints,but one is the sandless traps....all traps seem to have very little sand and what sand there is ,is very wet and hard. This course has many greens,very elevated,as in, hitting up a big steep hill,where all you can see is the flag. between that and the wind, you will play 2 extra clubs sometimes. other holes,downhill,will play 2 clubs less. its a little tricky like that.
For such a nice golf course, it is rarely crowded.tee times are easy to arrange,often they tell you to just come by. So you may find you have the 'whole course to yourself' feeling...which I like alot.you enjoy your own pace of play. I play slowly ,enjoy the views, and with no pressure,take my time, and still finish in 4 hours or less. twilight time ,with lower rates,will crowd the course a little in the afternoon,but even then the pace of play is not much of a problem.
IF this course wasnt part of that awful real estate phenomenon ,housing community golf course system,and this course could be unblemished by houses on the hilltops, this course would be very beautiful from start to finish. like roddy ranch. roddy ranch would cost me 35 bucks. shadow lakes cost 25.(twilight) I would drive the 50 miles to get to either course. Its a good golf experience.

I finally played this course this summer, after expecting it to be as good as all the publicity hype says it is,and here's what I found.... It is half great and half ordinary. When you get there,it looks like a luxury private club/resort place with giant luxurious clubhouse. the staff is helpful enough.Lets see what the course looks like. The view from the first tee is surprizingly ordinary,a short ,straight ,flat par 4,that looks well manicured,but hardly breathtaking. the next 6 holes are pretty much the same,well manicured, short,and ordinary. a few of these holes had a glimmer of quality,style,like what you'd expect of an exclusive private course, but just a faint glimmer.
But then ,at hole 7,on the other side of the course,it suddenly became a totally different golf course.Beautiful landscape,and vistas that you just want to stand there and enjoy.A dogleg uphill,with undulations,and ancient style;followed by a par 3 shot across a gulch,another brilliant view;followed by another spectacular view down the 9 th hole.3 wonderful elegant,beautiful golf holes on the front nine .
Then,back to the boring flat side to hole 10,11,and 12,all dull,ordinary,uninspiring layout(what's up with this golf course?!)... and Then...back across to the other hilly side to the final six holes.... and these holes,13 through 18 are without doubt,six of the most beautiful vistas I've ever played golf on. These handful of magnificent holes are what makes Stone tree special,and while I wouldnt pay full price to play this course,it is worth playing if you can get a discount,if only to enjoy the last six holes.