Played 3-28-15 in the GK plays with Robstretch, Allan_grant, and Kviser. Second time playing here and course is still in immaculate shape. This is a course in the middle of nowhere and well worth the ... Continue »

Played 3-28-15 in the GK plays with Robstretch, Allan_grant, and Kviser. Second time playing here and course is still in immaculate shape. This is a course in the middle of nowhere and well worth the drive to get there. Customer service is excellent and very friendly. Cant wait to play here again.

I took a while to think about this one after the GK Plays on Saturday, 3/28/15. Thanks to Johnny for setting up the group – I had made comments on GK previously regarding how far the course was from m... Continue »

I took a while to think about this one after the GK Plays on Saturday, 3/28/15. Thanks to Johnny for setting up the group – I had made comments on GK previously regarding how far the course was from my normal play area, and I doubt that I would ever get out here without the event discount and GK company.

My initial impression on arrival was that there was a lot more elevation change than I expected to find in the “desert”, as the course plays across a broad slope trending down from the Anza-Borrego Park to the Borrego area valley floor. Being met at the car with your cart was a nice touch, as were the pyramids of balls on the (smallish) all-grass range, and also the clock on the range – I don’t know why more courses don’t have them! Putting green was pretty small - any shotgun event would be hard-pressed to allow everyone to warm up. But it was very indicative of what we would see on the course. Parts of the clubhouse were being renovated and I didn’t spend much time in the shop. And as everywhere in the desert, there are those flies!!!

As many others have stated, course conditions were excellent. Maybe not my “best ever”, but certainly very fine. Tees and fairways wonderful, good sand in the bunkers (many of them deep-faced, sloping, and difficult for someone like me with a weak sand game), rough not too high, and good lies around greens for chipping (which I did a lot of!).

Greens were smooth, and rolled perfectly at pretty quick speeds. Minimal old and new ball marks on the greens (see below re: firmness!). While additional plays would help, it looked like most putts broke away from A-B and toward the valley floor. Greens were the main reason I held off on the review – I needed to reconcile my impressions against the fact that I played poorly and didn’t make a putt all day. But that’s my game’s problem, not that of the course. That said, I think the greens are too firm for most golfers to enjoy the course. I only hit 4 greens, but thinking of the hole layouts and my game, I don’t think I would be very successful hitting into these greens even if I drove the ball well and approached from the fairways. And the greens have a lot of internal movement (no crazy tiering, really) and many slopes and noses that make it imperative to not only get the ball on the green, but get to the correct area to have a chance to make a putt. When chipping from off the green, players who don’t spin the ball much have very little chance of recovering to have a chance at par. I think that’s my main comment – I didn’t feel like I had a decent chance to get up and down after missing greens. That’s mainly my game talking, but I think for golfers to enjoy the course, they need to feel like they have a chance to get up and down, and I didn’t feel like the green designs, and especially the green conditions, gave me that chance.

I think that with more plays I could score better here. But it’s difficult to envision all the travel that would be involved to make that happen. I highly recommend the course for better players.

Played in the March 28th outing @ Rams Hill and all I can add to the other reviews is WOW! This is one of the best conditioned/challenging courses I've ever played. And the staff was first class in cu... Continue »

Played in the March 28th outing @ Rams Hill and all I can add to the other reviews is WOW! This is one of the best conditioned/challenging courses I've ever played. And the staff was first class in customer service! Make this course a MUST play!!!!! Thanks Johnny for another great outing!

I played on Saturday, March 28, 2015 on a beautifully renovated course with GKers JohnnyGK, dconnally, and Mattwelch55 in 95 degree weather with low cooling winds except for a lone trash mover that vi... Continue »

I played on Saturday, March 28, 2015 on a beautifully renovated course with GKers JohnnyGK, dconnally, and Mattwelch55 in 95 degree weather with low cooling winds except for a lone trash mover that visited us briefly! Upon pulling into the parking lot I was warmly greeted by staff who took my bag and made me feel welcome. This was typical of the interaction with all of the course's staff; courteous, attentive, professional!

The course is in near pristine condition especially with the drought California is enduring at present. Steven Gregory and his maintenance crew have exemplified the art of greenskeeping with their hard work and dedication to making the course particularly gorgeous! Thank you, Steven for your warm welcoming post. Greenskeeper members welcome you to Greenskeeper.org Stevengreg52 and value your contributions to our forums!

Course attributes: Tee boxes were clean and level, fairways lush and green, rough though short was tricky, sand traps had friable sand and were quite playable, greens were fast with subtle breaks near the hole and as mentioned in earlier reviews had some evil pin locations. The grain gave me fits as the ball would roll faster uphill then downhill so beware and read the greens closely with particular attention to grain direction. Speed control is also paramount! Landing an approach shot was exasperating! One bounce and the ball is rolling regardless of spin. Learned too late that bump and run was the best approach to try and even then it was precarious!

Overall, the course is postcard!

There were some unrepaired ball marks on the greens but that is expected at a busy course. It is still appalling to me that informed golfers continue to not repair their ball marks. I fixed a couple of them and some that were "iffy", just in case, but most were too old. Sad, but it continues....

We were the last group in the outing and there was an incident involving being hit up on by the group following us that was graciously handled by the course staff and very much appreciated. Thank you!

It was great to hear cassiusclay aced #5! Way to go Jim. A great ending to a wonderful day at Rams Hill Golf Course!

This course is highly recommended and the hype about it is absolutely valid! Get out and play!

Jesse

This is a very enjoyable, out in the middle of nowhere, worth the drive golf course. I could play here everyday and enjoy the course without fail. I love how each hole sets up with fair landing areas ... Continue »

This is a very enjoyable, out in the middle of nowhere, worth the drive golf course. I could play here everyday and enjoy the course without fail. I love how each hole sets up with fair landing areas but still require thought to avoid bunkers. The difficulty occurs on all approaches no matter what the distance. You need tour pro finesse to get the ball to stop on the green near the pin. Once the ball lands it really skips. Any slight miss hit (like I did yesterday) and the ball will not stop until well past the hole or over the green. A typical winning score if a tour event were played here would be 25 to 30 under. However, it is really a great experience to play in tour like conditions. I can't afford to always play a Tom Fazio course but the ones I have been lucky to play I have really liked including this one.

Played Rams Hill with a bunch of GK'ers. The course was in great shape and in the middle of nowhere. I won't go into course details as the previous posts say it all. This was my first ever GK event an... Continue »

Played Rams Hill with a bunch of GK'ers. The course was in great shape and in the middle of nowhere. I won't go into course details as the previous posts say it all. This was my first ever GK event and I must say I enjoyed it very much. I was very nervous around new people, but everyond made me feel welcome. I played like crap and I thank Mark, Steve, and Vince for making me feel comfortable, although I should apologize for playing the "wrong" tees. I was trying to fit in and should just have moved up. Sorry. Car pooling down there with Allan, had great conversations. Thanks everyone for a great day.

Really enjoyed the GK Plays out here today. As others have said, the conditions remain outstanding. I rated the conditions the same as when I played here last month – nearly all 10s across the board. ... Continue »

Really enjoyed the GK Plays out here today. As others have said, the conditions remain outstanding. I rated the conditions the same as when I played here last month – nearly all 10s across the board. These slick, firm green surfaces not only factor into putts, but also on approach shots because you really have to think about where you want your ball to land. Because of this, I developed a much stronger appreciation for the layout today. (Don't get me wrong; I liked it the first time, but really loved it today.) There are some wonderful short holes out here that are defended by subtleties around the green complexes that force the player to put the ball in the right places. The par-5 sixth, for instance, plays very short, but the green is extremely demanding and difficult to hold, even on high-lofted approaches. Same goes for No. 7, where a false front and a lightning-fast surface demands your full attention when hitting even short chips to the green.

Had a lot of fun with my playing partners, Steve, Vince and Keith, and big congrats to Jim for the ace!

Played in GK outing and this course lived up to it's hype.
It is in fantastic shape. Tee Boxes, fairways fantastic. Rough is not that high but thick enough to cause some problems. Sand traps were ex... Continue »

Played in GK outing and this course lived up to it's hype.
It is in fantastic shape. Tee Boxes, fairways fantastic. Rough is not that high but thick enough to cause some problems. Sand traps were excellent. Greens are hard and fast, especially if you are above the hole. Customer service was great.
Congrats to Jim on his hole in one

Yes, yes another beautiful day at Ram's Hill with a great group of GKers! Course was in fantastic shape, weather was a bit warm, but the breeze helped keep it in check. As six said greens were hard an... Continue »

Yes, yes another beautiful day at Ram's Hill with a great group of GKers! Course was in fantastic shape, weather was a bit warm, but the breeze helped keep it in check. As six said greens were hard and fast, I had two three puts, TWO! That's a testament to how tough they played! :) That and the fact that my shot on 16 that ended up 68' 7" from the hole held up for the greenie (. . . 68' 7", they don't even have greens that large at Balboa Park!) is more proof to the hardness of the green complexes.
Tees: great
Fairways: almost perfect
Rough: short-ish, but sticky
Bunkers: fluffy . . . it took me awhile to realize I needed to use all the bounce I had to get out effectively
Greens: hard and fast . . . they seem to get harder as the day went on, but also seemed to slow down ever so slightly (that or all just got gun shy?)
POP: just short of 4.5 we weren't in a hurry and weren't getting pushed :)
Customer service: "Top notch! Top notch!" From the time you enter the gate until you leave you are treated very, very well by a friendly, helpful and professional staff
Restaurant: We all gathered in the restaurant/bar after our rounds and I found the food tasty and reasonably priced.
Overall: If you haven't been to Ram's Hill you really need to get out there!

. . . and oh yeah, thanks for the drink Jim and congrats once again on the ace!!!!!!