Another great GK visit to Rams Hill. I'll never turn away any opportunity to make this drive and play this fantastic course. Thanks to the course staff, Johnny and Andrew "Mr. Linksoul" for such a fun... Continue »

Another great GK visit to Rams Hill. I'll never turn away any opportunity to make this drive and play this fantastic course. Thanks to the course staff, Johnny and Andrew "Mr. Linksoul" for such a fun event and amazing prize table.

As others have noted, the course was in very nice condition overall. It's been a dry winter so far, but they keep this place plenty lush and green. As others have mentioned, this was easily the softest I've ever seen this course. The greens have matured and are much more receptive than they used to be. Definitely changes the approach on some holes here because you can fire at the pins more often, though the crazy green complexes and tricky slopes will always have influence (sometimes helpful, sometimes not). The practice green was definitely firmer and faster than on the course. I was timid all day as I normally am here, and left a majority of my putts short (even the usual scary downhillers). Bunkers all seemed to have brand new sand that was super soft. Too soft in some instances, but it will eventually settle down and be ideal.

I don't know if you can call Rams Hill a hidden gem anymore because the secret is pretty well out. Despite being well off the beaten path, it's always worth the drive. It's the crown jewel in the more-golf-rich-than-most-people-realize Borrego Springs community!

Another great day with GKers at the wonderful Rams Hill GC – I grouse about the long drive but love the course and the great conditions. I think the thing I like most is that on almost every hole you ... Continue »

Another great day with GKers at the wonderful Rams Hill GC – I grouse about the long drive but love the course and the great conditions. I think the thing I like most is that on almost every hole you can pull your driver and not be nervous about a disaster unless you totally wig out. There’s room off the tee on every hole – you can be rewarded by a good drive with a look at the green and a chance for birdie with a good second. I hit a couple poor offline drives and found bunkers – from there you have to work to make a score, as it should be. But the overall approach is relaxed and enjoyable.

All aspects of course conditioning were great, especially compared to other SoCal courses recently played. Greens were more receptive this year than in some past years, and rolled great at consistent speeds. I think the practice green was a little firmer/drier than the on-course greens, and we spent much of the day fearing the runouts and leaving putts a little short, especially on the slick downhillers. Fairway lies were great everywhere, and rough near the fairways was cut fairly short and playable. Tees were good, with some being a little more wet than others. Sand was consistent and wonderful – after having to chip out of concrete greenside bunkers last week at Hidden Valley, sand in these was ample and consistent.

Had a great time with Steve, Keith, and Dave – although the K/D ongoing in-depth discussion of Phoenix-area golf got a little old after a few holes. Good food and many great prizes available afterward, and good to see familiar faces again. As usual, we’ll see about making the trip next time(!).

Played in the Rams Hill outing yesterday with many other GK'ers. Always great to see so many friendly and familiar faces. I'm sure everyone else has touched on the conditions which were amazing as we'... Continue »

Played in the Rams Hill outing yesterday with many other GK'ers. Always great to see so many friendly and familiar faces. I'm sure everyone else has touched on the conditions which were amazing as we've come to expect here. This is my 5th time playing the course and the more I play it, the more I can really appreciate all the subtle nuances that went into the design and allow players several different options to play most of the holes. I find myself falling in love with this course more and more each time I play it (although I dread the trip out more and more too lol!) The green complexes are huge for the most part but with all their undulations and backstops, they allow for a variety of ways to attack them and get close to the pins. Service at all levels was fantastic. Huge shout out to Johnny for setting this up and the team at Rams Hill for welcoming us every year. Already looking forward to the next one!

First time at Rams Hill and I'm realizing that I should listen to GK and ignore golf magazines on the great courses to play in California. I've never noticed Rams Hill get much love in articles on wh... Continue »

First time at Rams Hill and I'm realizing that I should listen to GK and ignore golf magazines on the great courses to play in California. I've never noticed Rams Hill get much love in articles on where to play but it's a darling of the GK world and now I know why. This place jumped into my top 5 by the end of the first hole.

Unlike flat ground forced into holes by pencil and bulldozers - this Fazio design uses the rolling hillside Rams Hill is built on to it's fullest. Forest green fairways and rough pop out against the the desert landscape. Bunkers are ringed in a hilighter pen of light green and brown grass.

The holes themselves are challenging, interesting and fair. Plenty of bowl shaped green complexes and friendly hillsides to keep a miss hit from traveling too far away. As a first timer - I never felt confused on the the tee box as to what the hole demanded. The couple of holes where my ball went out of sight over a ridge - there was never some secret punishment lurking - if anything it was in a better spot than I was expecting. There were no gimmicky holes - no forced lay-ups - no 3 wood or more par 3's - just great variety. Only on real property could you have and all downhill par 5 and Rams Hill has a pretty good one.

I guess my only complaint would be a hole or two have houses lining them. If it hadn't been for a fortunate ricochet off a tree - I'm pretty sure I'd owe someone a sliding glass door or perhaps my ball would have entered the open back door and taken and tour of the kitchen and invited itself over for dinner.

You can keep reading all the superlatives you like about Rams Hill, but you just won't get it unless you get out there and play it. It's a truly marvelous golf experience from soup to nuts. From the m... Continue »

You can keep reading all the superlatives you like about Rams Hill, but you just won't get it unless you get out there and play it. It's a truly marvelous golf experience from soup to nuts. From the moment you pull into the parking lot and see that wonderful contrast of plush, carpet green with the surrounding desert, it's not hard to understand why this place is truly special. I enjoyed having two first-timers at Rams Hill in our group as well as they were completely struck all afternoon by the beauty and awesomeness of the course and its location amongst the hills. There is simply not one hole wasted in this layout - every single hole is a unique and challenging spectacle, and the rewards of playing them well are spectacular. The Fazio design used every contour of the land surrounding the property and filled in the gaps with green goodness. It's an amazing place to play the game we love. Conditions were simply excellent and some of the best I've experienced anywhere in quite some time. Absolutely perfect lies in the fairways all day long. And not just nice, green grass, but thick and healthy. The rough was even more uniform and spectacular - cut just high enough to make you think about putting away that hybrid, but not penal enough to discourage you from going for it when the time was right. Fantastic visually and in terms of playability. Tee boxes were immaculate and there's no shortage of options. We were awed all day by the positions of the black tee boxes, but that's way too much length for most any amateur, so we 'settled' for the blue tees, which were more than challenging enough. Bunkers were wonderfully stocked with fluffy sand and any mistakes out of them was more user error than anything else. Can't have a single complaint. Greens were glassy righteousness, coming in around an 11 on the stimp I'm guessing. No shortage of tiers on Fazio's greens, so either be very good or very lucky to keep it close. There are a lot of double breaks and undulations that must be skillfully navigated, but if you hit your ball solid, you'll get a perfect roll every time. Just need to get that speed down! And even low trajectory shots for the most part seemed to find a home on the greens just fine. Epic. Fantastic service all around from the pro shop, the attendants outside and a cart service that came around so often it was almost comical. Felt bad not ordering more! Great patio with an incredible vista of 18 and the surrounding mountains and desert. What more is there to say? We were the first group out for the GK event so hopefully our pace (right at four hours) set a good tone for the day. Thanks to Johnny for putting this awesome day together yet again. We're looking forward to coming back again next January to do the same big Borrego weekend all over again. It was that fun and memorable.

Played on 1/7 at a GK outing. Course is in FANTASTIC condition! Tee to green it is a well maintained oasis in the desert. Started the round with a nice conversation with the starter who not only let m... Continue »

Played on 1/7 at a GK outing. Course is in FANTASTIC condition! Tee to green it is a well maintained oasis in the desert. Started the round with a nice conversation with the starter who not only let me know that the course does have a combo card but went to get me one! (forwards makes it too short so a combo for me of white/red was perfect!) Tee boxes were lush and LEVEL. Highest praise for that treat. Fairways were green and well mowed. Rough was just rough enough to make you stop to think about your club choice. Sand traps, which I played a LOT of, were in very fine condition with nice fluffy sand- tough to do in the desert. Greens were medium fast to fast, and challenging in all their undulations and almost hidden breaks. Fun! Refreshment cart was around a sufficient number of times. Actually saw the marshals on the course regularly. Restaurant afterward has a delish portobello burger done just right. This track really requires some thought due to layout and strategic placement of the numerous traps. It's always in good condition but this was the best its ever been in my experience. I always have a great time at Rams Hill.

Played the Blues (6369/70.9/131) with Ron, Matt and Brian in the GK Plays in 4H, 20M. Overcast and calm in the 70's, excellent golf weather. Thanks to John and everyone responsible for a well run even... Continue »

Played the Blues (6369/70.9/131) with Ron, Matt and Brian in the GK Plays in 4H, 20M. Overcast and calm in the 70's, excellent golf weather. Thanks to John and everyone responsible for a well run event. Tom Fazio design, I like the course layout, I can see the high slope rating. Concerning course conditions, everything was in the 9-10 out of 10 range across the board. The tees were lush and very well maintained. Large, level with few divots, mowed down close, near immaculate. The fairways were lush with few divots. A couple of discolored areas but still excellent overall. The rough was also very lush. Thick and even though the ball usually sat up, long enough to make longer clubs a chancy play. Get outside the maintained rough and the native rough is lost ball thick. The sand traps were nicely maintained with good quality sand. I don't see how a public course in a windy area could maintain their traps any better, and there are close to 100 of them total on this course. The greens were firm, smooth, medium fast and rolled well. Perhaps not as pristine as prior visits, but still excellent overall. The customer service was excellent. The pro shop staff, Starter, Marshall and Drink cart were all excellent to deal with. Had a salad after the round, efficient, friendly service. The setup of the all grass driving range with the complementary Pro-V range balls is top notch. Most of the range is sand, with numerous grass greens set up as targets in 25-30 yard increments so you could hit almost any club and feel like you were hitting into a green. Many holes are visually intimidating with 97 well placed traps and a decent amount of water. Four different sets of tees for men, all varied by 400-500 yards. The course was fair, not overly tight and an excellent test of golf. Definitely recommended.

Played in the GK outing on 01/07 and all I can say is WOW. The course is amazing. The fairways are so lush that I did not want to leave a divot. With the exception of a few fixed divots on the green... Continue »

Played in the GK outing on 01/07 and all I can say is WOW. The course is amazing. The fairways are so lush that I did not want to leave a divot. With the exception of a few fixed divots on the greens they looked perfect and the grass on a few par 3 holes being a little long there is nothing to complain about.
Great company playing with Ben, Kevin and Andrew.
Good food after the round, and thanks to Johnny and Andrew (linksoul) and to everyone who donated raffle prizes made this a great day

Fabulous GK outing at Ram's Hill once again! Course is in great shape greens running fast and true holding well struck approaches. Fairways pristine, rough uniform and healthy, bunkers filled with nic... Continue »

Fabulous GK outing at Ram's Hill once again! Course is in great shape greens running fast and true holding well struck approaches. Fairways pristine, rough uniform and healthy, bunkers filled with nice fluffy sand and the layout fun yet challenging. I had the cheeseburger at the restaurant and it was very tasty with delicious fries, service was quick, friendly and great. Great warm up areas, putting green (smooth and rolling perfect), pitch and chip green in a separate area (again smooth and perfect) and a driving range featuring Pro V1's. Fantastic!