played mid afternoon today in great weather. course/hotel is hidden, had a bit of a hard time finding it, or at least google maps did. led me to some dead end residential street. course is in dorma... Continue »

played mid afternoon today in great weather. course/hotel is hidden, had a bit of a hard time finding it, or at least google maps did. led me to some dead end residential street. course is in dormant condition, with most of the fairways spray painted bright green. kind of turns me off, makes it feel cheap and artificial to me though I know lots of courses do it. especially obvious here though for some reason. some tee boxes were okay, some were littered with divots. fairways and rough were dormant. greens were soft and receptive, in general putted true. bunkers, of which unfortunately I found plenty, were full of a thick layer of white heavy sand, which is nice, except I got 3 fried eggs to play out of. cart girl was by 3 times and the breakfast burrito at the turn (1pm) was good. 4.5h POP. it's a pretty nice course with a nice variety of holes. I'd play it if it was closer, but probably wouldn't make the drive out from OC again for it.

Played the Blues (70.7/129/6272) using Forelinx. The weather was 70ish and breezy. POP was great, played most of the round as a single in around 3H. The tees were average, mostly level. Some of the p... Continue »

Played the Blues (70.7/129/6272) using Forelinx. The weather was 70ish and breezy. POP was great, played most of the round as a single in around 3H. The tees were average, mostly level. Some of the par 3 tees needed divot repair. The fairways were good with decent coverage. I usually had good lies in the fairway, which had been sprayed green to color the dormant Bermuda. The rough had a few bad areas but was decent overall. It was generally good to chip out of, the ball usually sat up. However, I found it tough to get good club on the ball for fuller shots, probably a 1/2 stroke penalty. The traps were very well maintained with good sand, nice to play out of. The greens are probably average in size for a 6000+ yard course & putted nice. Medium fast speed, usually firm but held iron shots well. A couple greens had some bad spots close to the outside, but that did not affect play, they were excellent in the areas that mattered. Fun layout, now that I have played here a few times I appreciate a few holes more than I did initially. There are only a couple of holes that jump out as really demanding, however there are no real easy holes either. Also, almost every hole has some sort of penalty stroke lurking on the outer edges if you get too aggressive or crooked. There are a decent amount of lakes and many holes have OB left where you find condo's and parts of the Inn located. Factor that in with a red hazard drainage area that runs through the middle of the course that comes into play on probably 1/3 of the holes. The customer service from the pro shop to the starter was excellent. No drink cart out today. Good to very good course in better than average condition. Recommended = Yes.

Played 11-26-15 with Nickesquire first out playing in about 3 hours riding. Tee boxes were a bit on the shaggy side and seemed to be a little more un-even than last time I played here but that could h... Continue »

Played 11-26-15 with Nickesquire first out playing in about 3 hours riding. Tee boxes were a bit on the shaggy side and seemed to be a little more un-even than last time I played here but that could have been because the stones were not in the same place. Fairways were in nice shape with good coverage and good lies. Rough was not much longer than fairways and fairly easy to hit from. Didn't go into any sandtraps but they all had what looked like nice white sand. Greens were in descent shape ( except for 3, and 13 which were still showing signs from being punched) rolling medium/fast, but very soft and a little bumpy at times.

Played the Blacks (72.3/133/6613), teeing off 1st a.m. with RGM2525 using Forelinx. We played as a 2some in slightly over 3H. The weather was overcast and getting comfortable as it warmed up by the en... Continue »

Played the Blacks (72.3/133/6613), teeing off 1st a.m. with RGM2525 using Forelinx. We played as a 2some in slightly over 3H. The weather was overcast and getting comfortable as it warmed up by the end of the round. The tees were furry and at best average. All the par 3 tees needed divot repair, way too many unfixed divots. The dormant Bermuda rough had some thin areas but was decent overall. The dormant Bermuda fairways had been sprayed green and had good coverage. The traps were excellent with a good amount of thick sand. Tough to play out of on fuller fairway shots because they were very soft. I had 2 plug on high shots into green side traps. The greens putted decently, medium fast speed and a little bumpy at times. A little soft and held iron shots well. Average in size for a 6600 yard course. This is a fun layout, not too demanding, not too tight. Decent amount of lakes and OB, plus there is a red hazard drainage area that runs through the middle of the course that comes into play on probably 1/3 of the holes. Many holes are ringed mostly by condo's or part of the Inn. The way the holes are laid out OB left is a constant theme on this course. The customer service from everyone encountered was excellent. Complimentary coffee in the Pro Shop is a nice touch, especially on dawn patrol! Good course in better than average condition. Recommended = Yes, especially if you can get a deal.

Played 11-17 @ 7:30. POP was 4:15, with nobody in front or behind. Greens have healed nicely. Medium-fast with dark green spots if you look closely that do not affect the roll. Course was a tad sogg... Continue »

Played 11-17 @ 7:30. POP was 4:15, with nobody in front or behind. Greens have healed nicely. Medium-fast with dark green spots if you look closely that do not affect the roll. Course was a tad soggy in a few areas. Tees were a little shaggy as the rye grows in. Fairways had good coverage with a mostly bermuda, some kikuya mix. They were painting the fairways to green up the bermuda, but the lies were fine. Sand was very good, but a high shot to a trap was a poached, not fried, egg. Rough was minimal. Bag boy to cart girl were cheerful and friendly. They are working on their parking lot and it's a bit of a hike with not too much direction.

Played 11-12-15 as a single teeing off at 11 am and finishing at 3 pm with a good pace on the front side but slowing to 2 hours and 20 minutes on the back. Tee boxes were in OK shape mostly level with... Continue »

Played 11-12-15 as a single teeing off at 11 am and finishing at 3 pm with a good pace on the front side but slowing to 2 hours and 20 minutes on the back. Tee boxes were in OK shape mostly level with descent coverage. Fairways were in good shape mostly lush with nice lies. They did have 1,9,and 18 roped off. Rough was not that long for the most part but there were some areas a bit longer where the ball would sit down. Went into two sandtraps that both had very nice sand. Greens were in good shape rolling medium speed and a little on the soft side so holding shots like darts. They are currently re-doing there parking lot so they are using the driving range to park cars on. All the staff from arriving to leaving were very nice and helpful.

I played RBI on Monday and Tuesday, 10/26 and 10/27/15, in the SCGA Senior Net Championship. The course had punched greens only 2 weeks ago (SCGA wasn't told about the planned maintenance) and I was c... Continue »

I played RBI on Monday and Tuesday, 10/26 and 10/27/15, in the SCGA Senior Net Championship. The course had punched greens only 2 weeks ago (SCGA wasn't told about the planned maintenance) and I was concerned about the greens condition going in. The small practice green was closed for the championship - the 144 players had to use the 18th green for putting practice, which was then rolled and repaired prior to play starting each day (and definitely showed the wear!). Greens were mixed in terms of condition, with some being almost completely healed, and others showing a lot of punch marks and playing very soft and slower, so conditions were inconsistent and somewhat unpredictable. Fairways were generally in good shape and provided good lies. Rough varied from bare areas to very lush patches near trees and rocks, along some slopes, and in areas where the irrigation system drained. Some areas, especially near green runoffs, were very mushy and soft. Tees are small, set up narrow, and varied from level to sloping and humped, with par 3 tees being very torn up, as usual. Sand, however, was uniformly good everywhere and played consistently (one of my playing partners, who lives on the course, said the course had replinished all the bunkers a few weeks ago). The shotgun start is always goodf for a long round and this was no exception - POP both days was ~5 hours (Monday at 11am, Tuesday at 8am). Pace always seemed OK on the front but really slowed down at #14 (dogleg par 4, trees and sand and water, 2 hcp) for the rest of the back side. Back side also had a lot of flies that were bothersome buzzing around your face as you tried to hit. Holes 1 and 18 played as 'path only' both days, resulting in a lot of walking. Many elevated greens with kikuyu rough makes for difficult chipping. This course is not amenable to large shotgun tourneys due to limited practice facilities (small putting green with NO contouring, closed as mentioned, and 16-place driving range accessible by long walk or limited shuttle), and the few and small bathrooms available for players. Cart girl frequently drove into our group as we were hitting. Plenty of water available on the course. OK for a casual round, but pretty pricey. Resort facilities and course facilities are starting to show their age - the whole place needs a refreshing.

Played the Blues (70.7/129/6272) first off @ 642am 10/25 playing as a 3some in 3H, 10M. Played with Mark & Mark, 2 very nice retired Navy guys using my 2nd round @ RBI via Forelinx. The tees were ave... Continue »

Played the Blues (70.7/129/6272) first off @ 642am 10/25 playing as a 3some in 3H, 10M. Played with Mark & Mark, 2 very nice retired Navy guys using my 2nd round @ RBI via Forelinx. The tees were average overall, mostly level. Some of the par 3 tees needed divot repair. The fairways were decent with good coverage. I usually had good lies in the fairway. The rough had some bad areas but was Okay overall. It was tough to get good club on the ball for fuller shots, probably a 1/2 stroke penalty. I found it to be good to chip out of, the ball usually sat up. The traps were decently maintained with good sand. The greens are mostly recovered from their recent aeration. They putted better than the previous day. Medium speed and a little bumpy at times, usually firm but held iron shots well. Probably average in size for a 6000+ yard course. This course layout is what I would call sneaky tough. There are only a few holes that jump out as really demanding, but there are no real easy holes anywhere, and almost all have some sort of penalty stroke lurking on the outer edges if you get too aggressive. I liked the layout a little more the 2nd time exposed to it. #18 is an excellent finishing hole, a dogleg right par 5 with with a red hazard to avoid off the tee right, then a lake with a water feature to avoid left as you play severely uphill to a 3 tiered green. There is a decent amount of lakes and many holes have OB left where you find condo's and parts of the Inn located. Factor that in with a red hazard drainage area that runs through the middle of the course that comes into play on probably 1/3 of the holes. The customer service from the pro shop to the starter was excellent, no drink cart out early a.m. Good to very good course in better than average condition. However, based on the rates. Recommended if you can get a deal.

Played the Blacks (72.3/133/6613), teeing off early afternoon 10/24 with Itslikeimsayin using our Forelinx membership. We played as a 2some in around 4 1/2 hours. It was a fairly typical weekend pace,... Continue »

Played the Blacks (72.3/133/6613), teeing off early afternoon 10/24 with Itslikeimsayin using our Forelinx membership. We played as a 2some in around 4 1/2 hours. It was a fairly typical weekend pace, we waited practically every shot the last dozen or so holes in warm/breezy conditions. Some of the par 3 tees needed divot repair, the tees overall were average. The rough had some bad areas but was Okay overall. Could be tough to get good club on the ball for fuller shots. However, I found it to be good to chip out of, the ball usually sat up. The fairways were also decent, good coverage, no complaints on any lies I had in the fairway. The traps were decently maintained with good sand. The greens were average in size for a 6600 yard course. Mostly recovered from their recent aeration, they putted decently. Medium speed and a little bumpy at times, usually firm but held iron shots well. The layout is fun. Decent amount of lakes and OB, plus there is a red hazard drainage area that runs through the middle of the course that comes into play on probably 1/3 of the holes. Many holes are ringed mostly by condo's or part of the Inn. The customer service from everyone encountered was excellent. My 1st time playing here, and had I not just finished playing @ Maderas an hour earlier, I would have been much more impressed than I was. Good course, maybe even very good in better than average condition. However, based on the rates I have seen posted for RBI on golf discount sites, it would not have met my expectations if I were paying even discount rates. Recommended if you can get a deal.