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Golf course was in excellent conditions. As overall green and lush as I’ve ever played it. Bunker all groomed with high quality sand. Tee boxes lush and great shape. Rough challenging, lush and tough. That Bermuda grass is only going to get longer as the heat picks up so it puts a tremendous price on accuracy from tee to green. Greens running smooth, holding shots and medium speed. When you have bent grass greens like they do you have to keep them a little long in the summer.
The more I play this layout, the more I like it. Most of the time I’ve played it from the black tees, this time from the white tees and it’s so cool how different it plays from the tee boxes as such. Big premium on tee shot accuracy. I was hitting fantastic long accurate tee shots on the front nine and shot 1 over (I don’t keep score but hard not to know it when you are playing that well). Back nine my driver got little loose and played around bogey golf. That’s quick this golf course can hook you up or bite you. Beautiful green complexes and scenery. Check out the photos I just posted.
Great time playing with rgm2525, Jerry64 and robrey85. Joking around all day.
I posted some photos of golf course here and some of the outing in the GK Events page. I’m also making posts about the outing on Greenskeeper.org Facebook and Instagram pages.
On last thing. The service and amenities are stellar. If you ever want to do an outing in Vegas better consider Reflection Bay Golf Club. Just love this place.
Golf Course Review Rams Hill Golf Club Borrego Springs California
Reviewed by: sbarajasjr, San Diego
Guess I am the first review for the GK Plays outing at Rams yesterday (12/9) and as always, it was a blast. Conditions here today mirrored those of almost every other time I have made the trip and it’s hard to walk away from this course unimpressed. Overall, every aspect of the day was fantastic. Played well for the first time here and that probably added to my ratings but here they are.
Tee boxes: Played the blue tee boxes, but anytime a course of this caliber offers a fair amount of tee sets, it’s a huge plus as it helps avoid everyone playing from the same set (incorrectly I may add) thus avoiding major turf issues. Never had an issue finding solid footing, though on a few holes the turf was a tad harder to drive the tee into, however much of a first-world problem that may sound like.
Fairways: Like always, carpet-like and sparkling forest green pathways contrasting the wonderful desert background. Roll felt like it was more than fair, turf conditions were wonderful in that I had no bad lies to hit from and everyone from GK before me used the feed mix in their carts generously. Visually stunning to see a course where the fairways look like the photo on the scorecard.
Additional Thoughts
Rough: The times I found the “rough” yesterday weren’t overly penal, however I’m not certain I found anything that wasn’t fairway, water, sand, or desert more than twice. Those times the rough wasn’t half as thick as Torrey South, but it did hide the ball some and made me club up.
Bunkers: Was only in one all day and the sand consistency was excellent; offered ample amount of off-white beach style sand to at least attempt a sand save. Didn’t really hear any complaints about the fairway bunkers, so I assume all the sand was in good shape today. Did have a few bunkers that were poorly raked so I am hoping whomever that was in the groups ahead of us will give it a better effort next time.
Greens: Like all else, excellent shape sans one or two greens that had some burn out/turf issues that were thankfully on the extreme end of the pin placement. Roll today was fair (as opposed to the glass-like consistency in roll the first time I played here a few years ago) and I didn’t see any issues with the terrain. Again, my group (second to last) found quite a few craters from guys who had a heavy foot with their cleats, but that’s on them not the course.
ETC: Cart GPS wasn’t quite as accurate as I hoped in relation to pin placement, but outside of that, great to see the investment in this software as the digital scorecard even took into account any input handicaps in its calculations. Comfortable ride, USB chargers, and ice/water bottles in the coolers a plus. Staff was attentive and genuinely nice (everyone knew GK and welcomed us multiple times). Very nice to see the new Ram Shack (I believe that was the name) on the back 9, as it was much needed in past years. Cart attendant passed by our group at least 6-7 times. Food in the restaurant was good and fairly priced. Patio after was heated and offered a comfortable environment for post-match celebration. Thanks for everything Johnny and co.; this was a great way to end the year!
Golf Course Review OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa LEGENDS Carlsbad California
Reviewed by: sixpez, Rancho Mirage, CA
Another fun GK Plays outing yesterday. Thanks to JohnnyGK, the sponsors and the staff at La Costa for providing a great venue for the shotgun outing. I was in group 1B with dconnally and kassper7. Pace of play slowed down quite a bit in the middle of the round, but otherwise a very good overall Pace of Play (PoP.)
The course was in very nice condition all around. It was still pretty soft after the rain this week, so not much roll-out on drives and they probably haven’t been able to mow on a normal schedule. Tee boxes were great. Fairways were generally great with some mushy spots here and there, some marked off as GUR. The rough was brutal. It was very deep, lush and thick, so you wanted to avoid it as much as you could. Greens soft and rolling well at medium speeds, just getting a bit scruffy by the end of the round as expected. I was only in one bunker and it was well maintained with adequate sand.
I don’t know if I am in the minority, but I’ve always preferred the Legends Course over the Champions Course. I feel it has more character, nicer aesthetics and a solid layout. Either way, it was a great day out there with the GK crew. Now looking forward to today at Rams Hill!
Upcoming GK Plays at OMNI La Costa resort & Spa — LEGENDS Course– this Saturday December 8, 2018.
Our Rams Hills outing is currently sold out. Want to play some golf with like-minded golfers? Consider joining us at La Costa Resort & Spa and play the Legends Course. Enjoy the holiday season with a round of golf when the course is at it’s peak. Click HERE to find out additional information and claim your spot to play La Costa Resort & Spa.
Latest Course Review
OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa LEGENDS
leef2020
Posted: 10/28/18 1:58p
Member Since: Mar 26, 2016
From: Huntington Beach, CA
Found a great $60+fee deal on GolfNow, with a 1:52 tee time on Sat., 10/27. Free range balls at your leisure. Teed off 15 minutes late, behind a group of 4 juniors (8-12 yrs) with their parents driving/coaching. Dreadfully slow for two holes, they then picked up the pace after some encouragement no doubt from the marshals. The youngsters were pretty good, just too much coaching! Wasn’t expecting we’d get all 18 in, but we did, just under last light, with POP at 4hrs 10mins.
The Review
Cart-path only on the entire course, as they are still keeping the course fairly damp post punching and over-seeding. Course was closed for a month, and was evidently just opened a week ago.
Tees were very green, lush and level, but a bit soft. Fairways were lush, green and few divots to contend with. Good lies throughout. Rough was long and a nightmare – a mix of large areas of kikuyu and something else. Penal and tough to hit from, but even harder to find balls, unless you were within 5-10 feet, as they would sit down. The three guys I played with were 300-yard bombers, and probably lost over 15 balls total, with most of them just being lost in the rough somewhere!
Sand quality was great, but players ahead seemed to think a sand-butler would come by and rake their tracks, as at least 10 bunkers were un-raked. Pretty sad, really.
Greens were pretty good, but not fantastic. Several were lightly sanded, but all showed no signs of the punching. Receptive and held shots well. Rolled smooth and medium-fast. Way too many freshly unrepaired ball marks, however.
The 3 guys I played with all were riding the Phat Cycles. They loved them and looked like a lot of fun. Too bad it was CPO. Only downside of those things is that there is no GPS on them, which for first-timers on the course, you don’t get to see water hazards, etc.
Parting Thought
Great, friendly service all around. From free valet-parking to start, check-in and final club-drop off. Nice bar/lounge with super-huge TV to watch the Dodgers blow a ‘sure-fire’ win in game 4 in the World Series. 😉
Join Us When GK PLAYS Omni La Costa Resort LEGENDS
Saturday Dec 8, 2018 12:00PM Shotgun Start
Join Us when GK Plays La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad California this coming December 8, 2018 with a 12:00 Shotgun Start. Play with like-minded golfers in one of San Diego’s finest Golf Resorts. Be in the know, Know Before You Go with Greenskeeper.org and Join us in Carlsbad at our latest GK Plays Outing!
Click on the image above to view our latest GK Plays at OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa’s Legends course this December 8!
Reviewed by: apisarski, Costa Mesa
Decided last minute to drive out for the GK Event on 7/15 after some convincing by JohnnyGK and mpisarski01. I was at first skeptical about playing anywhere in Laughlin, let alone in July with the heat, but I’m extremely happy I did. Laughlin Ranch is a hidden gem and rivals many of the Palm Springs course at a much better price. I will be playing here anytime I’m close.
The Golf Course Review
Mpisarski01, Kevbig, and teed of first just after 7. It was muggy but manageable with some lingering cloud cover with the storms from then night before. Considering how much it rained conditions were amazing and improved as the course dried out. Tee boxes were lush green and for the most part very flat. Fairways were almost perfect carpet like grass. I dont think I had a bad lie all day.
Rough was short and not very penal. The only time we had any trouble was if you were off in the dirt which was very soft and soaked from the rains. The only real negative to speak of all day was the bunkers. Some had a decent amount of small rocks but really weren’t all to bad. Hard to tell what they are normally like because they were still very wet.
The grounds crew were not able to cut the greens before we played due to the overnight monsoons but the still looked great and roll true. They were pretty slow and soft but not to the fault of the crew at Laughlin Ranch. All in all a beautiful and challenging track that I cant wait to play again. This place is a steal for the price and conditions, two thumbs up!
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