Looking to stay reasonably close to home, RSJ fit nicely. Not a whole lot to add to Dave's recent review. I echo what he said about the greens. I have played here a number of times, and the ball did s... Continue »

Looking to stay reasonably close to home, RSJ fit nicely. Not a whole lot to add to Dave's recent review. I echo what he said about the greens. I have played here a number of times, and the ball did seem to run out more than usual, although they were not all that fast. Overall, the course was in OK condition. Better than the last time I played, so that's a positive. Fairways also had better coverage.

I enjoy playing here occasionally, but don't think I could make a steady diet of this course. If you have not played here recently, I think you would be impressed with the improvement from a couple years ago.

Got out to RSJ on Thursday afternoon, 11/17/22, for my first round in a month on a mostly sunny, pleasant day without too much wind on the front, and dropping away as we played the back nine and darkn... Continue »

Got out to RSJ on Thursday afternoon, 11/17/22, for my first round in a month on a mostly sunny, pleasant day without too much wind on the front, and dropping away as we played the back nine and darkness approached. Grouped with three very nice visitors from the St. George, UT area – I’m pretty sure they were disappointed in the course conditions and ambiance compared to their home area.

Hadn’t played here in many years, seeing ongoing reports of poor conditions, and that’s what I found – fairways with vast areas of thin turf or bare dirt, inconsistent rough, and many areas closed to carts without any good reason. Tees were level (we played Blue [6,155/69.7/124]); bunkers had adequate sand (though often crusty and unraked); and greens were the best part of the course, with good coverage, rolling smoothly and surprising all of us with runouts beyond the hole, leaving a lot of 4/5/6-footers coming back.

One thing I will say about these greens is that they seem to have a lot of break – more than it looks like initially. Some of this is slope – putts from the side of the green pin-high can finish 5-6 feet below the hole. Putts from above the green can amble well past the pin and skew offline quickly. But overall the greens just break more than it looks. I must admit that I never seem to putt well on Billy Bell greens – I just never have deciphered the lines and speeds required.

There’s a lot of construction going on around the clubhouse and poor signage on the approaches led to a long hump with the bag, and they don’t allow carts in the parking lot so then it was a long hump back out. No advance notice in the clubhouse about carts having to be in by 5pm, just the popup notice on the useful GPS screen, but it was dark by 520 anyway.

Suitable for starting to get back into the swing of things, but not a course I would recommend for the serious golfer.

Played RSJ on 10/25. Conditions are very hit and miss, but not bad for an inexpensive round.

Greens are nice but way too soft. Huge ballmarks, many unrepaired, many poorly repaired. Footprints in t... Continue »

Played RSJ on 10/25. Conditions are very hit and miss, but not bad for an inexpensive round.

Greens are nice but way too soft. Huge ballmarks, many unrepaired, many poorly repaired. Footprints in the soft greens make putts shake shimmy and jump. Fairways and rough - vary wildly. One green on the front was a mess, but the other 17 were pretty good.

Several tee boxes were covered in mulch and seed. Playable, but a broom or rake would help. Outside of those, tees were pretty good. Sand traps very good actually.

Play it up, and enjoy a decent course at a good price.

I've been a RSJ apologist for a while. Sure its not that interesting... or in good condition (to be fair the new owners/crew seem to be working in the right direction)... but its a good location and w... Continue »

I've been a RSJ apologist for a while. Sure its not that interesting... or in good condition (to be fair the new owners/crew seem to be working in the right direction)... but its a good location and walkable.

They allow a particular group out around 11am on Sundays. Its a fivesome. They are slow. They had no one in front of them and forced everyone behind them into a 5 hour round. The marshals would do nothing because there are "ambassadors" - aka marshals - in the group. It was a quiet day on the course. Having to wait for these clowns on every tee is a joke when there are two open holes in front of them.

Not cool.

Played as a single at 1pm, with low expectations for the course… They had 5 fairways at cart path only… it’s good to know they are still trying, as the fairways elsewhere are very spotty, with a wide ... Continue »

Played as a single at 1pm, with low expectations for the course… They had 5 fairways at cart path only… it’s good to know they are still trying, as the fairways elsewhere are very spotty, with a wide variety of “grasses.” Greens were good, bunkers OK, tee boxes that were rebuilt last year are worn out. Seems like tee locations aren’t managed well.

Marshall did a good job early in the round to push groups along and we finished in under 4.5 hrs. The course is overpriced at a walking rate, add a cart fee and you’re disappointed. Don’t bother with the range beforehand, it’s gent too crowded to find a spot.

I try to play Rancho San Joaquin a couples a year. I have noticed the improvement of conditions here each time I return. While there are still numerous bare areas on the fairways, and the rough is rat... Continue »

I try to play Rancho San Joaquin a couples a year. I have noticed the improvement of conditions here each time I return. While there are still numerous bare areas on the fairways, and the rough is rather inconsistent, I can see the progress they are making. Greens rolled OK and had decent pace. Tee boxes are surprisingly not good, which is strange since they only recently put a lot of effort into them.

Price increase since the last time I played, but for Orange County, senior rate is reasonable, I guess. Certainly, much less than all its neighbors. There are a number of holes on this course which I really enjoy, so given its proximity to my home and the relative reasonable price, I'll keep this on my semi-annual rotation

Got a last minute time and walked on at RSJ for a Saturday 8:06. I never expect too much, but the course has been improving over the last few months. Tee boxes are level, but some are wearing thin due... Continue »

Got a last minute time and walked on at RSJ for a Saturday 8:06. I never expect too much, but the course has been improving over the last few months. Tee boxes are level, but some are wearing thin due to heavy use after renovation. 75% of the fairways are in very good shape with reseeded areas filling in. There's still some bare spots out there. Greens and bunkers were very good. POP was good at 4:20. Still think $60 is a lot for walking on this course, but what else can you do?

I needed some practice and got a hot deal at Rancho San Joaquin for 30 bucks walking. I typically don’t expect much when I play there, but I can see they’re really trying to make improvements.

All ... Continue »

I needed some practice and got a hot deal at Rancho San Joaquin for 30 bucks walking. I typically don’t expect much when I play there, but I can see they’re really trying to make improvements.

All the tea boxes had been recently renovated and have matured nicely and are the highlight of the course. The greens on the front nine and then recently punched in sanded back nine greens were in fairly good shape some showing some bare spots in need of some TLC. Call number 15 as a temporary Greene while they rebuild the one at the top of the hill to make it more level.

The fairways were greener than I’ve ever seen them. Several holes were cartpath only as that is their focus for improvement. Still they were several wear grass just wouldn’t grow. They are going to have to lay more sod. One of the green complexes had bare spots also while the rough was quite lush.

They are going in the right direction. As long as the rates do not out pace the renovation it’s a decent value.

Big improvement from when I last played here a few months ago. Lots of sod being put down in the fairways. The tee boxes, which had been closed were now open again. Greens much quicker than the las... Continue »

Big improvement from when I last played here a few months ago. Lots of sod being put down in the fairways. The tee boxes, which had been closed were now open again. Greens much quicker than the last time here. Rolled decently and were receptive. Still a number of issues, but you can see they are making an effort.

Maybe it's the old crew from Coto de Caza which defected here. Anyway, except for the price increase, things are looking better