Out early Sunday Oct 11th. Had not played since O-city back in July. A solid ‘6’ across the board.
Couple of the greens that were having trouble earlier in the year are having trouble now [1/2/8/9] meaning the course is forced to re-sod the severely diseased areas. You are going to be putting over patches and fertilizer. 17 is holding up, along with a few others however, it might be a matter of time before the problems spread. The greens are bent grass with a lot of grain; can be deceptive.
Old habit of using tractor to rack the traps [Vineyard] catching up with Vicky. Was in 3 and you might find yourself in wet, thin stuff.
The fairways might end up making it all worth it. Back 2 years ago when Vicky was a 9-hole and the grass went dormant, they still yielded a spongy lie. Most of the fairways today were going dormant and the conditions were the same as 2 years ago. We’ll see over the next couple of weeks if the ‘keeper has sorted this out and if so, could end up a nice winter course in the roto.
River Ridge website has great hole-by-hole descriptions; the layout +/-‘s are plenty discussed in previous posts.

Out mid-day Friday, Sept 25th. No matter the conditions, Rustic is a great test of golf. Even beyond Olivas, Rustic will challenge your shot making abilities into the greens, and even once on, challenge your putting skills more.
All aspects/overall conditions are great; 7-8. For me, the bottom line remains: would I reco a 50 mile drive to play this course? For Rustic, yes. Try to remember 2 things: the wide open fairways have not much to do with scoring low here: 1] the game is hitting onto the greens correctly and playing off the fringes if you miss; 2] EVERYTHING breaks towards the valley
Good luck out there and have fun-

out sunday, aug 23rd in club tourney [2 man ryder cup format: 6xscramble; 6xshamble; 6x best ball]. had not played in 5 weeks and the course has actually gotten better- which surprised me because it was very good in july's city championship. greens are 8+, fairways as good as they'll get at the 'yard. worth a drive to play.

out yesterday [Aug 17th] for an enjoyable round with fellow GKers [thx for putting up with me!].
been awhile since at olivas. now is the time to play. fairways and greens exactly as they should be: perky and consistent in the fairway- true and fair on the greens.
would recommend to anyone right now- worth a significant drive to play and i understand why this place is always packed.

out again friday aug 7th. course remains in consistent condition save the greens. bumpy as all get out. also, must have repaired 80 ball marks [beyond mine]- just terrible the repair rate by users not better on this course- esp since the greens are absolutely reachable. anyway, hooked up with the usual cordial people typically found at WL on a friday late afternoon for a stroll next to the 101 fwy and will continue to remain in my roto that way.

Out early July 19th for the O-city tournament. Clearly, RR management takes a great deal of pride with this event. From the winter/spring conditions [diseased greens, thin fairways] an incredible improvement into a great course. The club championship is this weekend and sounds like [previous post] the course is holding its own. On the 19th, the greens were running about 12 and the pin placements were just plain tough. On that particular day would estimate 5 strokes harder than a ‘normal’ Sunday layout; if you want to try a course set up a bit more on the edge this weekend will be your chance out at ‘Vicky.

Out early July 18th for the O-city tournament. Clearly, RR management takes a great deal of pride with this event. Interesting for us locals to observe the tracks steady improvement from end-May until the July annual event into a great course. The club championship is this weekend and sounds like [previous post] the course is holding its own. On the 18th, the greens were running about 11 and the general feeling was difficult, but fair- different from years past when the set up was just plain difficult. On that particular day would estimate 4 strokes harder than a ‘normal’ Sunday layout; if you want to try a course set up a bit more on the edge this weekend will be your chance at the ‘Yard.

out sunday 28th/AM. after 5 years of butchering this poor course, finally can say it's home for me. objectively: when the greens are 'ripened' the 'yard rolls as good or better than available. clearly the best feature of the course. fairways will always have a mixture of grass- that's just how it's going to be. the lies are good, rough is fair. sand has gradually improved, tee boxes consistent.
subjectively: finally truly appreciate the layout. figure out where to land the ball, handle the wind/water/elevation [deceptively long] changes correctly and a good score awaits. if not, you'd be surprised what type of whuppin' this course can hand out. it's worth a drive to check out at least once and for me, remains favorable to it's younger sister [victoria lakes].

played here past several fridays after work. fun layout, great value. clever tee box/flag placements shows the crew paying attention. for sundowners, the first 9 moves slow. most vacate at the turn- you'll get the back side in +/- 60 mins. greens 1/4 punched last week- putts can still be made. fairways consistent and perky. have not been in the sand and by looking at it, good thing. tee boxes lukewarm- by late PM furry for a short course. if you can put up with the freeway din for most of the round, play here and sharpen your game.

Out early 16/17th. Due to previous post leery about the conditions. Yes, the greens have poa annua disease spots in some areas- but it seems in the last 30 days there might have been a lot of improvement. Greens held very well and ran true. The holes were not cut anywhere near the bare [diseased] spots which I noticed are not in the mid- center of the greens- only off the fringes. Considering what I have seen up in the VC, DD greens are at least in 6+ condition.
The balance of the course is in great shape. What really caught my attention were the tee boxes- I gave those an ‘8’ and realize now the impact of high quality tee boxes on a round. Fairway condition also noteworthy.
Reminder: the course sits in the San Jacinto Pass wind funnel and therefore can play 3-4 clubs- just as hard going up or downwind. Thursday the wind came up on the backside and afterwards, I heard the pro shop taking calls [from locals I assume] asking about the wind [for twilight play]. So beware. In addition: greens will always run a bit slower on account of the undulation- if those greens ran 9-10-11 and players putted out, the average round at DD would be 5+ hours and remember EVERYTHING breaks toward Indio…

Out early Sunday/5th. Had not played since December [?]. The Lakes is hurting. Would stay away if making a long drive or cannot play during a discount hour.
Fairways remain pretty thin- even at the tail end of the ‘growth/transition’ period.
Greens are inconsistent [speed] and several [1/2/4/8/9/10/17/18] are beyond hammered. Littered with bare spots- putting across yards of bumpy sand [if on the wrong side]. #10 was so bad I absently mindedly walked across it pulling my cart- assumingly my eye simply saw more fairway- not a green.
Tees/traps/rough- about consistent with what the Ridge offers.
The pro shop is cognizant of the greens conditions and I heard them warn callers-in.
I like the layout of the track- rotated tees gold/white/blue that particular day giving me a pretty good look at many angles on the course. It is good. But until the keeper figures out how to fix the greens do not make a special trip or plan an event on the Lakes- and it could be awhile.

Out early Sunday, Feb 15th. Time to play the Ridge. Why? The greens are up to their ‘legendary’ status- absolutely pure. Yes, there are some fungus spots, but they have no affect on how the ball rolls.
The balance of the Vineyard has benefited much more than its little sister [Victoria Lakes] – look, I am not a horticulturalist, but seems an older, more established course would benefit from the rain and up-keep.
I have complained about the sand traps- considerable improvement.
Tee boxes are also in good shape.
No, the fairways are not the consistent grass of Vicky; however, they are actually lush in most areas.
In the end, the greens seal the deal. Deceptively fast, virtually no wobble. With the latest rains passing through, can only image they will improve over the next several weeks [I rated them an ‘8’ on this review].