Waited until the last second to decide if and where to play today, and ultimately couldn’t resist a last-minute (after-midnight booking) tee time at 8:40 this morning for about $38 ($45 minus 15% off ... Continue »

Waited until the last second to decide if and where to play today, and ultimately couldn’t resist a last-minute (after-midnight booking) tee time at 8:40 this morning for about $38 ($45 minus 15% off promo code) on TeeOff.com. Arrived around 8:10 and the course was far less busy than I expected. Only the North & West nines are open. Looks like they didn’t overseed the South this year, or maybe just recently did so. A twosome headed off before me, and I played by myself. I have often jokingly said I think you should get one free stroke on every hole that you “play through” another group, and today I would’ve received three free strokes from that twosome ahead. They waved me up on my approach to 2, but then after I hit they putted out and went and hit their drives on 3. Then I rushed over and hit my tee shot on 3 before driving ahead and finishing the hole. But then one of them sprayed their approach over on the 4th tee and so I felt hurried again, and dunked my tee shot on a watery par 3. Anyway, was happy to play through and finished the front nine in a little over an hour. Back nine was slower but overall POP was outstanding at 2:47.

Conditions are really great! The greens are just about perfect: Smooth, medium-fast, accepting of full shots and very few blemishes. Fairways are lush with great coverage and attractive mowing lines. The rough varies from lush rye on some holes to a mix of rye and dormant bermuda on others. The bermuda is a little thin but the rye rough is great. Black tee boxes were mostly good; some of them are a little small (Black tees almost seem like an afterthought or were maybe added later here) so some of them had lots of divot damage because there’s not much room to move the markers around. Still good, though. Bunkers were not all that well maintained (no rakes) but played really good anyway, filled with sufficient sand.

When this course is in really nice shape like this, I enjoy it quite a bit. It has some nice elevation changes that you don’t often find on some of comparable “resort courses” around the Valley. It’s not very long at all (except the 645-yard par 5 on the West nine), but it requires you to think your way around and rewards players who can move the ball both ways. On that note, the GPS seemed a little weird. Either it was wrong or the yardages on the scorecard are wrong on some holes. Some of the par 4s listed as in the 330-340 range on the card said only like 310 on the GPS, and it wasn’t like the tees were moved up. GPS said the 645-yard par 5 was only about 610. Pro shop staff and starter were very friendly. Overall a lot of fun and a ridiculous value for this time of year at the rate I got.

Rode the Blacks on the South/North combo (6343/69.2/124) twilight with Foti and Terry in 4H. Low 70's, sunny and fairly calm. Tees very mixed bag. Alot of divots, some poor, some excellent, most medi... Continue »

Rode the Blacks on the South/North combo (6343/69.2/124) twilight with Foti and Terry in 4H. Low 70's, sunny and fairly calm. Tees very mixed bag. Alot of divots, some poor, some excellent, most mediocre. Fairways were semi lush and usually nice to play from. Rough was semi lush and not overly penal. Sand traps were fairly compacted with decent sand but had lots of footprints. They looked terrible but actually played alot better than they looked. I had ample opportunity to try out a new SW this round. Greens were fairly smooth with few ball marks. They putted medium speed and held irons with a little run out. The customer service excellent all around. Tee sheet right on time. No drink cart, but there was a snack stand at the turn that featured somewhat overpriced food that was decent. Single rider carts @ no extra charge. Grass range looked decent. Recommended.

Played Rancho Las Palmas (South then North) 11/11/20 as the first ones out on a cold start to a beautiful warm and sunny day. The greens were good, not really fast but definitely smooth and well taken... Continue »

Played Rancho Las Palmas (South then North) 11/11/20 as the first ones out on a cold start to a beautiful warm and sunny day. The greens were good, not really fast but definitely smooth and well taken care of. The fairways and tee boxes were in really good shape. The pace of play was excellent, as we flew through this round in right at 3 hrs and that was with a stop at the turn. The North 9 is much better taken care of as opposed to the South 9. The sand traps which I was in pretty much every hole, were either very hard wet sand/dirt or full of water. Not ideal whatsoever. Also, on at least 4 holes there was no tee markers, so we had to find the marker ourselves. One of the members said that people steal the tee markers. Would I play here again? Yes. Is it one of the better courses in the desert? I don't really think so. If this course was in perfect conditions it would have been a little less frustrating. If it was in those great conditions, low handicappers would tear this course apart, because it is very forgiving.

Rode the Blacks on the South/North combo (6343/69.2/124) with Davad, Soo Young and Doug in 3.5H on a GN "Hot Deal". Weather was nice, around 70, sunny and fairly calm. W course closed for overseedin... Continue »

Rode the Blacks on the South/North combo (6343/69.2/124) with Davad, Soo Young and Doug in 3.5H on a GN "Hot Deal". Weather was nice, around 70, sunny and fairly calm. W course closed for overseeding, they have not overseeded the S/N courses yet but they were in very solid fall shape. Ted Robinson Jr. 1977 design. Plenty of water hazards that you have to play over on approach shots. A few grip/rip it holes, but many holes have OB down at least one side if not both. The fairways are not that narrow and are lined with hundreds of towering palm trees. However, if you miss the fairway by more than a few yards you are in trouble on this course with few exceptions. Tees had alot of divots and several in use were topdressed with sand/seed. Overall, not very good even though some were excellent. Fairways were semi lush and nice to play from. Rough was semi lush and not overly penal. Just low enough that the ball often sat up. Sand traps had decent sand but had not been raked recently and were fairly compacted. Greens were fairly smooth with few ball marks. Medium speed and held irons well. The customer service from the pro shop & starter/cart person were excellent, they had me matched up and out at my tee time. Single rider carts, the couple rode together. Grass range looked decent. No drink cart, but there was a snack stand at the turn. Overall, these are 27 fun holes of golf. I enjoy playing the North 9 the most and the West 9 the least of the three 9's. Fun course(s), Recommended.

Rode the Blacks on the West/South combo (6391/70.1/121) as a single in around 2H on a GN "Hot Deal" for less than $15. The weather was sunny, fairly calm and slightly above 100. The condition of the... Continue »

Rode the Blacks on the West/South combo (6391/70.1/121) as a single in around 2H on a GN "Hot Deal" for less than $15. The weather was sunny, fairly calm and slightly above 100. The condition of the tees was hit and miss. Some were nice and semi lush, others were ragged/thin. Several were crowned and could use leveling. The fairways were semi lush and usually nice to play from. There are some thin patches, almost hard pan from the heat. The rough was semi lush and was not overly penal. Good POP rough and good to chip out of. The sand traps were decently maintained with fine grain, thick sand. The greens were very firm and putted medium speed. Fairly bumpy with few ball marks. The customer service from the pro shop & starter/cart person were excellent, as has been the case on every visit here. Grass range looked decent. No drink cart, but there was an operational snack stand at the turn. Recommended.

Rode the Blacks on the South/North combo (6343/69.2/124) with Caligolfer1031 in 3H on a GN "Hot Deal" for less than $20. The weather was in the low 100's, sunny and fairly calm. The heat has really ... Continue »

Rode the Blacks on the South/North combo (6343/69.2/124) with Caligolfer1031 in 3H on a GN "Hot Deal" for less than $20. The weather was in the low 100's, sunny and fairly calm. The heat has really taken a toll on RLP in the past few weeks. RLP was in excellent condition when I played here in early April. Today, it's still very playable but getting rough around the edges. The Bermuda is taking over but not yet 100%. Ted Robinson Jr. 1977 design. As you would expect from "The king of water features", there are plenty of water hazards that you have to play over, mostly on approach shots. A few grip/rip it holes, but many holes have OB down at least one side if not both. The fairways are not that narrow and are lined with hundreds of towering palm trees. However, if you miss the fairway by more than a few yards you are in trouble on this course with few exceptions. The condition of the tees was all over the place. Some were nice and semi lush, others looked like they had been scalped. Several were crowned and could use leveling. 85% of the fairways were semi lush and nice to play from. The other 15% was thin patches, almost hard pan. The rough was usually lush and was not overly penal. Just low enough that the ball often sat up. The sand traps were decently maintained with thick, fine grain sand. The greens were fairly bumpy with few ball marks. Very firm, they putted medium speed. Not nearly as good as my last visit here. The customer service from the pro shop & starter/cart person were excellent, they had me out before my tee time. Grass range looked decent. No drink cart, but there was an operational snack stand at the turn. Overall, these are 27 enjoyable holes of golf. I enjoy playing the North 9 the most and the West 9 the least of the three 9's. Fun course(s), Recommended.

Played here yesterday at 7:46 with sixpez and mpisarski01. Great deal on TeeOff.com for $28.50. Teed off right on time and despite waiting on most shots, pace was good at around 4:00. We played the We... Continue »

Played here yesterday at 7:46 with sixpez and mpisarski01. Great deal on TeeOff.com for $28.50. Teed off right on time and despite waiting on most shots, pace was good at around 4:00. We played the West/South rotation.

As Keith already detailed, conditions are excellent across the board. Greens were in great shape, super lush and healthy. They were very smooth, medium speed and held full shots pretty well. A little more firm than soft. Fairways were excellent and provided perfect lies all day. Rough was consistent at about one or two inches deep and in great condition. Bunkers had a little inconsistency but most were very good. Black tee boxes were really nice.

Due to an abundance of palm trees and multiple doglegs, this course requires you to move the ball both ways and provides a fun, scenic layout with many water hazards. I really enjoyed it, especially with the great deal we got.

I made a Flickr photo album of 32 photos that can be viewed here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhKF2ms

Played here this morning with Itslikeimsayin and mpisarski01. We booked a TeeOff deal time with a 25% promo code that came out to under $30 each for a 7:46 tee time. Hard to beat that deal. The course... Continue »

Played here this morning with Itslikeimsayin and mpisarski01. We booked a TeeOff deal time with a 25% promo code that came out to under $30 each for a 7:46 tee time. Hard to beat that deal. The course was very busy. Looked like it was the last hurrah of the season for many snowbirds. We played as a threesome and waiting on the group ahead on every shot, but still a unexpectedly good 4-hour pace. We played the West/South combo.

The course was in very good shape as Nick noted in his review earlier this week. I saw a few little brown spots here and there, but I never had anything resembling a less-than-perfect lie all day. Tee boxes, fairways and rough were all great. Rough cut down with the ball basically being teed up in the fluff. Super soft sand in the bunkers, maybe a tad soft. Matt had one fried egg and I had one that was sitting down a bit more than I would like. The greens were fairly firm and rolling super pure. Nary a ball mark to be seen. They were rolling kind of slow, however. South nine greens seemed to run a little faster once the surfaces dried out.

Solid resort course with some different sections. First few West holes down in the wash are nothing too exciting (though 2-3 are LONG holes, especially from the tips). Some of the early holes on the South nine are a bit unique. Then, there are the more typical Ted Robinson desert resort kind of holes that have a nice look with water hazards. Overall, just an interesting enough course that's worth a visit for the right price, but not a ton of "wow factor."

Rode the Blacks on all three 9's with Tim, absolutely delightful guy to get matched up with. We played in slightly less than 5H total, paying less than $25 through tee off. The weather was close to 10... Continue »

Rode the Blacks on all three 9's with Tim, absolutely delightful guy to get matched up with. We played in slightly less than 5H total, paying less than $25 through tee off. The weather was close to 100, sunny and fairly calm. I last played here approximately 30 years ago. They lengthened all three 9's by adding Black tees 6-8 years ago. On many holes, it is only a small difference in Black/Blue. However, it is extreme on a few holes. #3 West plays 84 yards longer from the Blacks and is a 645 yard par 5. #2 South is a par 4 that plays 86 yards longer and is 446 from the Blacks. You have to thread the needle through the large palms that flank the other tees from the Blacks. West & South are par 35, North is par 36, so RLP would be a par 70 or 71 depending on which 9's you play. Ted Robinson Jr. design from 1977. As you would expect, there are plenty of water features that you have to play over, mostly on approach shots. A few grip/rip it holes, but most holes have OB down at least one side if not both. The fairways are not that narrow, but if you miss the fairway by more than a few yards you are in trouble on many holes. The tees were okay, mostly lush with some divot challenges on the shorter holes. Several were crowned and could use leveling. The fairways were lush and nice to play from. The rough was lush and could be penal. Just deep enough that the ball often sat down. When it did, it could sometimes be a challenge to find your ball. The sand traps were decently maintained with thick, fine grain sand. The greens had a light top dressing that did not affect play. They were the star of the course, Quick, firm and smooth. Loved the greens! No drink cart, but there was an operational snack stand at the turn. Customer service from the pro shop & starter were excellent, they had me out & matched up before my tee time. Grass range looked decent. I was worried when I saw the putting green, the greens on the course were MUCH better than the putting green. Overall, these are 27 enjoyable holes of golf. I liked the North 9 the best, more straight forward. Probably liked the West 9 the least, a few quirky holes they squeezed into a limited area. Fun course(s) in nice shape. Recommended.