How do I begin?...it's been awhile. Oh yeh, date/time... Played Thurs 4/26 @ 1000; Friday 4/27 @ 0810; Saturday 4/28 @ 0800; and one more go round on Sunday 4/29 @ 8:20 (my birthday/anniversary) - As... Continue »

How do I begin?...it's been awhile. Oh yeh, date/time... Played Thurs 4/26 @ 1000; Friday 4/27 @ 0810; Saturday 4/28 @ 0800; and one more go round on Sunday 4/29 @ 8:20 (my birthday/anniversary) - As Winner of the House on the Hill (overlooks the 15th fairway and gorgeous mountain vistas) getaway, I was blessed to have had the opportunity to stay and play with family and friends at this, my absolute FAVORITE golf course. Friends bsparks; tobster; cpennbo; and sboggio flew in from TX and drove down from the mountains to join us for the stay and Unlimited Free golf for four days. Two of our sons, nephew and brother in law also joined us for a couple rounds each. I certainly would've played twice a day if I could've, but family and friends at the house clamoured for our attention as well. Invited folks from our home club Friday afternoon, and several from GK for Saturday afternoon rounds, and only ones available and brave enough to venture the windy rounds were dconnally, itslikeimsayin, and ratpatrol (Huge Thank you for joining us and glad to see you enjoyed the free round and dinner - sorry you couldn't make it by the house...it was EPIC!) As the fellow GKers relayed the course played hard in the afternoon winds...our morning rounds were beautiful in the early morning and by the turn, winds started making you work for that perfect shot to the green. Very nice practice area past the clubhouse, and large chipping area (adjcent to Hole 1). As the season wanes down for this course you do see some brown/thin areas which I've never seen on this course in early season play (ever). But, it was still in much better condition than those in the local areas we play for sure. Ground crews were hard at work on Thurs/Friday reworking several bunker areas on the 18th. Nice roll out in the fairways, and if you know where to hit the ball to benefit from the 'speed slots' and slopes around the greens, you could certainly capitalize on pars/birdies. Seed bottles for divot repairs, but it seems some golfers simply don't know or care to fix their divots/ball marks or rake bunkers. Common theme it seems. So we simply fixed ours and then some to do our part as us GKers often do. Bunkers were deep and penalizing, with the sand being moist and firmer in the morning then drying out to soft fluffy consistencey later in the day, making adjustments critical. Rough was very easy to hit out of only being about an inch or so in length, and still quite lush/minimum thinning. Greens ran pretty true, and in the morning were quite receptive. Difficult to read at times with the subtle breaks. You'd think it would run toward the valley, but not always so. As the day's sun dried things out, and the winds became a factor, keeping shots on track increased the difficulty factor, but a fun challenge for everyone nonetheless. No GPS on the brand new comfy carts, but coolers w/ice and 2 bottles of water were great; only saw several ball washers throughout the course. New snack bar on 10th (take the dirt path right over the hill to the building), or wait until heading to the 14th for your stop. Other than that, there is only one other rest area stop to get ice/water on the front nine. No cart girl while we were out there as I believe the course is prepping to close down for their season to help get this emerald in the desert back in tip top shape for next season. The pride they have for their course shows. The staff here at Ram's Hill are TOP NOTCH...the restaurant staff were the Best!!! Always very welcoming and accomodating to our large/ever changing groups. Pro Shop staff and Concierge were professional and ensured our stay and play was nothing short of remarkable. Sad to have missed sharing a cheery (shared birthday) Hello with GM Bill, but maybe next time. I can't thank him or his entire staff enough for making this 'House on the Hill' hoorah the most AMAZING EPIC MEMORABLE Birthday/Anniversary celebration for Us, Our Ohana (family), and fantastic friends. You simply can't beat RAM'S HILL. You just want to keep going back again and again...I know we will.

Like the fellas said Ram's Hill is a treasure and an absolute pleasure to play. The extreme wind definitely added an interesting challenge and as was said made the course play very differently than wh... Continue »

Like the fellas said Ram's Hill is a treasure and an absolute pleasure to play. The extreme wind definitely added an interesting challenge and as was said made the course play very differently than when the ball isn't moving so much on land and in the air. You really had to adjust to the lengths (and lack thereof) the ball was traveling.
Great conditions, fun layout, great customer service and a nice oasis at the clubhouse/restaurant makes for a beautiful golf experience.
Thanks again to Donna and Willie . . . you'll see her beautiful smile if you scroll down on the Ram's Hill web page.

Played at RH on Saturday afternoon, 4/28/18, on a sunny, hot day. But not too hot – the breeze took the edge off the heat. The breeze took the edge off everything! – a steady 15-25 mph out of the west... Continue »

Played at RH on Saturday afternoon, 4/28/18, on a sunny, hot day. But not too hot – the breeze took the edge off the heat. The breeze took the edge off everything! – a steady 15-25 mph out of the west, with gusts much higher. The ball was vibrating while sitting up on the tee, and I had sand in my hair under my hat after the round. Some of that likely came from the 9 bunkers I visited! Thanks to GKers dcricket and rstang06 for their gracious invitation to come out and join their party, joined by itslikeimsayin and rat-patrol. My previous plays at RH were in December and January – right now the course is in end-of-season condition, less lush than on my previous visits, and with some scattered brown patches on greens and fairways. However, conditions overall were very good, and much better than many OC/LA/SD courses we play in their prime condition. With the wind and time of day, the entire course was playing dry and firm, and keeping shots online and controlling spin and rollout were challenges all day. Greens were firm and dry but rolled well at medium speed. We saw lots of old ballmarks. Fairway lies were good. Rough was short and dry and easy to play from. On fairway runups to greens and in short, firm rough areas around greens, the wind made good contact for pitches and chips essential. Sand, as I can attest, was very good – good depth, slightly coarse loose consistency, and very playable (my technique - not so much!). Tees were great. We had some crazy long rollouts on shots downwind, and headscratcher moments when shots died a quick death into the wind. I spent the first three holes being too worried about my hat staying on, and never got into a good mindset and rhythm. RH will beat you up if you aren’t hitting the ball well – the wind was just the extra kicker. That westerly wind makes for a brutal closing stretch – 5 of the last 7 holes play straight into that wind! Plenty of water available. The new snack bar at the 10th/14th tee is now finished, but not open at 5pm on this Saturday. Saw a dirt path next to the 10th tee leading down that way, but I’m not sure exactly how to get to the snack bar from there. The left front bunker on #17 could use a little sand in the bottom – the baggie is starting to show. Always recommended.

There are two ways to rate a course: One is the aesthetic value and lushness and maintenance of the grass, while the other is based purely on the playability of the course. I bring this up because sin... Continue »

There are two ways to rate a course: One is the aesthetic value and lushness and maintenance of the grass, while the other is based purely on the playability of the course. I bring this up because since it reopened several years ago, Rams Hill has been THE STANDARD for that first description. Yesterday’s round was the first time I’ve ever seen a little browning in the fairways, but here’s the catch: The course is arguably playing better than ever despite not being perfectly green from edge to edge.

Firmer fairways mean the already-present contours become accentuated, and more fun. The greens are running slower than I’ve seen them in the past, but if they hadn’t been, the course might’ve been unplayable with yesterday’s insane wind. I’ll wrap up this preface to my review by saying that it seems Rams Hill is exceptional either way: Manicured to perfection or a little drier but faster and bouncier.

Played with dconnally and Rat-Patrol yesterday and we started around 1:30. We pretty much had the course to ourselves, but extremely strong winds slowed our pace, and we finished in a little under 4:30. (Huge thanks to dconnally, dcricket and Rams Hill for the circumstances that led to me playing there yesterday.)

The greens were smooth, mostly firm and rolling about medium speed. Putts hit into the wind really needed to be smacked, which felt odd. Downwind shots were very difficult to stop on the greens. Fairways were mostly great except a few thinner spots here and there, but even those areas were fun. For instance, on the 419-yard par-4 14th, my drive must’ve caught a speed slot and I only had about 40 yards downhill to the green. Rather than attempt a precise chip off the tight fairway, I opted to putt and ran it onto the green. It would’ve been fun to putt a whole bucket of balls from that spot. Most of the rough was lush and very easy to hit from, probably about an inch deep. Blue tee boxes were good overall. All the bunkers I was in had plentiful sand.

I think I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I enjoy Rams Hill more and more each time I play it, and I can’t wait to get back out there.

Cliffnotes: Worth the money, but the drive is horrible. They just need to dynamite a road straight to Borrego from San Diego region. If you read Johnny's previous review, I'll pretty much piggyback on... Continue »

Cliffnotes: Worth the money, but the drive is horrible. They just need to dynamite a road straight to Borrego from San Diego region. If you read Johnny's previous review, I'll pretty much piggyback on that - re: the playing conditions.

Today, we had 40mph sustained winds with upwards of 50mph gusts. Almost made the course unplayable, as in - my 3i usually gives me 220; today I had a 165 approach shot and came up about 10 yards short of the green. On 18, I had 126 in - my 8i gives me 158, and I came up about 10 yards short on that, as well. The ball was ballooning like I've never seen.

That being said, the course is in decent shape. The greens are pure, but are getting slightly beat-up due to people not fixing pitch marks. Traps are in fantastic shape; I was able to pick a 5 iron out of a fairway bunker and had no issues (sans wind, lol).

IF YOU PLAN ON PLAYING ANYTIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE - the pro shop said this is the most wind they've had since the re-opening. Also, they've never had an issue with frost, but they are expecting to, starting on Wens. of this week. Make sure you check the weather - if you catch RH on a windy day, it wont matter how well your ball striking is or how far you hit the ball - it is brutal.

Played 2-12-18 with John, Keith, and Alex on a very windy day, teeing off a little before 11 and finishing a little after 3 for a relaxing round with some minor waiting. Tee boxes were level and lush ... Continue »

Played 2-12-18 with John, Keith, and Alex on a very windy day, teeing off a little before 11 and finishing a little after 3 for a relaxing round with some minor waiting. Tee boxes were level and lush with minimal divot damage on par threes. Fairways were very nice with great lies and descent roll out with some minor thin areas on outer sides of fairways. Rough was in really good shape, maybe 2 inches longer than fairways and very green and lush. Was in two greenside bunkers and two fairway bunkers all of which were in great shape with a good amount of sand. Greens were really nice rolling smooth at medium pace and holding shots very well. Really nice golf course that unfortunately is a little out of the way but still worth the trip.

Played Rams Hill Golf Club Monday 2/12 with sixpez, rgm2525 and Alex326. Awesome time. It was a challenging day of golf with cooler temps and very gusty winds. I had never played Rams Hill Golf Club i... Continue »

Played Rams Hill Golf Club Monday 2/12 with sixpez, rgm2525 and Alex326. Awesome time. It was a challenging day of golf with cooler temps and very gusty winds. I had never played Rams Hill Golf Club in these kinds of conditions and can safely say the golf course played about 7 strokes tougher.

Rams Hill was in great condition although not its typically immaculate self. It’s been very dry, warm and windy January/February in Borrego Springs. This is a recipe for the following to take place: 1. With very few cold nights that drop below freezing, the bermunda turf base is never going to truly go dormant and thus compete for water/nutrients with the overseeded rye grass. 2. With little rain so far this winter, the golf course has not got fully saturated so areas where the irrigation system has little coverage is going to struggle due to warm temps and wind. 3. With very windy conditions, not only does it dry the course out sort of like a hair dryer (not that extreme, just an example) it presents a challenge for the irrigation system (ever turn your lawn sprinklers on during a Santa Ana wind and watch half of the water that supposed to be on your lawn turn into a mists and blow all over the place?). That all said, the golf course is still predominately lush, an absolute pleasure to play and a golfer should not hesitate to play it. I spoke with the GM after the round and one of this year’s Summer projects is improve the irrigation system for all green complexes. Most people think the golf course closes in the Summer due to high temps and potential of less play … that is not the case, they use every Summer to do projects to continually make Rams Hill Golf Club a better and better experience for their season. The ownership is totally committed to excellence.

So currently the greens are moderately fast, smooth and holding shots. The fairways are mostly lush with a few thin spots here and there. The rough is lush with a few thin spots here and there. The bunkers are in very good shape with quality sand (I found many), the tee boxes (we played the popular white tees - blues in better shape) lush, level with some divot damage.

I did not have an opportunity to warm up, which I love to do at Rams Hill Golf Club due to their outstanding driving range/practice facility that utilizes ProV1 practice balls.

Had a super time and can’t wait to get back there.

Out at Rams Hill again yesterday to play my GK Cup match with Mr. JohnnyGK himself. Also joined by Alex326 and rgm2525. It was a crazy windy and blustery day out there, which really amped up the chall... Continue »

Out at Rams Hill again yesterday to play my GK Cup match with Mr. JohnnyGK himself. Also joined by Alex326 and rgm2525. It was a crazy windy and blustery day out there, which really amped up the challenge on an already demanding course. We enjoyed a nice relaxed pace, keeping up with the groups ahead and rarely being pushed much by the group behind.

The conditions were, as always at Rams Hill, very nice. Pretty similar to the GK Plays conditions last month, with the exception of the fairways playing much firmer and faster after a dry winter and the wind. The tee boxes were good, though it was sometimes hard to get a tee in as deep as you wanted it because there was a very firm layer underneath. The fairways could maybe benefit from a spot aeration as there were more thin/firm spots than usual. The rough is nearly immaculate with lush coverage throughout. The bunkers had good soft sand around the greens and a little firmer stuff in the fairway bunkers, so it's the right combo. The greens weren't quite as soft as last time, but still receptive and rolling smooth at medium speeds. Like last time, I just couldn't adjust to the slower speeds than I had been accustomed to on earlier visits. The surfaces were nice by any standard, but I miss them rolling super fast. The putting green is definitely quicker than any on the course, so keep that in mind.

I'll never turn down any excuse to make the drive out to Rams Hill. Always a great course with excellent service and facilities.

I kept hearing a bunch of hoopla about some course called Rams Hill. Seeing some great reviews on GK I told myself I need to play it and see what it's all about. One slight problem. The course is w... Continue »

I kept hearing a bunch of hoopla about some course called Rams Hill. Seeing some great reviews on GK I told myself I need to play it and see what it's all about. One slight problem. The course is waaaaay out in the middle of nowhere. It's about halfway between San Diego and Palm Springs. Not a bad drive if you live in either of those places but a heck of a haul from Northern Califirnia With so many great options at both locations, Rams Hill just never made the list on any of the So Cal golf trips.

Johnny GK gave me an invite and when the MAN himself invites you, you make the trip.

And let me tell you it Was WORTH every minute of the drive!!

The course had everything that I like in a track: elevation changes, multiple water hazards, great playing conditions, and excellent customer service.

Per my intel this used to be two private courses that is now one "resort" style course. Greens were spacious that offered some fun challenges but gentle enough to give up a handful of birdies to the group (sadly none to me).

Fairways are wide enough that errant shots can usually be found in the first cut of rough which was thick but manageable.

The water hazards are off to the side with hole 11 having a river/stream flowing down the entire left side. It's probably my favorite hole on the course. There are no forced carries over any of the water hazards which takes a couple points off the design For me but not that big of a deal breaker.

The views are amazing and all in all the layout is awesome with a number of fun holes. Most holes are fairly straight with only a couple of severe dog leg holes.

There have been some recent articles about Rams Hill being the third best resort course behind Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. Whereas I can't say that I agree with that statement (there are just so many great courses in California) I can say that Rams Hill is Definitely, definitely worth the drive and a fun track.

I did have several issues with the website, but that may have been a compatibility issue with my iPad.