Lives
South Florida
Handicap
0-4
Age
45-54
Gender
Male
Skill
Advanced
Plays
Once a week

Review Statistics

Average Rating

3.9
3.9
Total 8 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

8 Reviews
5 Stars
1
4 Stars
5
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Recommended Courses
7
Not Recommended Courses
1
Helpful Votes Count
2
Not Helpful Votes Count
0
First Review
06/10/2014
Last Review
07/03/2023

Reviews Map

Reviews

3.9
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First time playing this course
Recommended
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Dunmaglas Golf Course

Played On 07/01/2023
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great Track, lacking a lot of TLC.

This course was designed during the boom years of course design. It is a great track. However it never took off and over the many years began falling apart. The owner puts little money into the course and it is only a matter of time before it fully closes. The guy who runs the shop is funny and nice. He is a one man show running the entire place. Just realize you won't play a course that is near as nice as Bay Harbor, Hidden River or even Charlevoix Country Club. You will however have a good time. It is a coirse everyone should play once before it is no longer available.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Very enjoyable!

The course is extremely fun to play. Having some knowledge does help on a few holes, but for the most part there are no surprises. The location and beauty of the course are some of the best in Phoenix. The course doesn't play as long as some other courses over 7000 yards due to elevation changes on some holes, but there are a few very long par 4's and par 5's.

Most fairways are fairly wide and forgiving, but bunkers are strategically placed at times such that positioning off the tee is important.

The only reason the course didn't receive 5 stars is the lack of overseed in the rough. You will not be penalized at all for missing the fairway. While many other courses in the area overseed the rough this was a disappointment. Dormant bermuda just takes away from the enjoyment factor for such a great place.

We will return if we are ever in Phoenix as the views of this course are awesome. The holes are spaced so you do not feel crowded.

One last negative. Do not expect towels so bring your own. For the cost they should have towels. The ball washers and club washers on the carts are not adequate. They never work well...if at all.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Fun round, somewhat slow for a weekday, conditions nice but not great.

1. The course is well over seeded except for around the bunkers. That area was left bare and considering almost every hole has a fairway bunker the rye should have been seeded up to the bunkers, not 3-4 feet from the bunkers. The greens were well cared for and I liked the annoying cart warning on every hole to repair your ball marks. Averge to below average golfers care little about repair and it seemed that the constant reminder was doing a fairly effective job. The greens were not overly difficult but many were tiered so you need to be somewhat accurate from the fairway. The fairways are fairly tightly mowed but the roungh is too short (3/4 inch at most). You could miss the fairway and still can add a lot of spin to your shot. You would never get a flier lie. The worst part were the bunkers. Many had the liners showing and everyone we tried or hit out of (including at the driving range} were densly packed. They needed sand and a good firm racking which they apparently never receive. Had the bunkers been better the conditions rating would have received 5 stars.

2. The driving range is mediocre. This day the boxes were up and since the driving range has a crest every shot over about 155 yards were landing blind. The longest flag was 152 yards per my laser. Even if the boxes were back you would never have the ability to hit a fairway wood or 3-5 irons at a flag or see it land.

4. The chipping areas and putting greens were great and well cared for except for the bunkers. Overall except for the driving range the short game practice areas are top notch.

5. For a desert course there are a decent amount of rolling fairways and topography changes to make the course fun and interesting. The width of each hole makes for a somewhat forgiving course. Also do not expect views. The course is lined entire on two sides with high-line electrical wires. Everywhere you look you see them blocking the mountain range, or you see a building or the main entrance road and highway.

6. Most of the courses and clubs my wife and I play worry about details and top notch customer service. Everyone here was generally nice but the proshop lacked any sort of helpful attitude. The entire time noone at the counter would even look at me directly while speaking. It was if they just wanted us to leave. The locker rooms have no lockers and nothing other than soap. In a desert area even hand lotion would by nice as your hands are cracked at the end of a round. I could go on about the lack of attention to detail, but in today's public course world it's like visiting McDonald's and every once in a while you find one nice where everyone cares about their job and the customer. The majority however do not.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good

La Cantera Golf Club

Played On 11/02/2018
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Overall an overall good course, but not worth $100+ a round.

Without the Hot Deal I probably wouldn't play the course again. It just isn't worth $100+ for each round. The layout is interesting and fun, the greens are challenging to putt and your approach needs to be near the flag. The greens were in overall good condition, however the fringe and short grass around the greens needed work. They don't even verticut cut around the edge or keep the weeds under control. In one instance I was forced to putt over a poorly repaired sod repair on the green that wasn't marked GUR. The fairways are fairly consistent with a few sparse places. The views are nice and the best part of the course. Having the GPS in the cart surely helps as distance control is important off the tee. Overall a decent and interesting course that allows for low rounds provided your approach to the green is working that day. I would play maybe once or twice a year at the maximum. Without the Hot Deal I would probably go elsewhere.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate

Rams Hill Golf Club

Played On 04/07/2017
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Fantastic Experience All Around

This review is compared to some really nice places I have played so realize my criteria is fairly high. I have played places like Bonita Bay, Golf Club of Houston, Bay Harbor, etc. all of which are either PGA tournament courses or have PGA Pro's as members. During this trip I also played PGA West Tournament Course which while nice did not compare to Rams Hill in quality.

At the beginning the check-in was quick and painless and everyone was extremely nice. The bag staff was waiting upon our arrival because the gate phoned ahead to let them know we had arrived. We visited the small locker rooms which are very well maintained and it includes a shower for after the round. We did play a late round starting just after 2pm so the course was not crazy busy, however as a 2-some we did wait on a large group ahead. We still finished our round in just over 4 hours.

The course and green conditions were immaculate and the view fantastic. Someone is constantly repairing the ball marks as we all know the general public is lazy. Thus the greens rolled well, were cut well, and not filled with dead brown spots. The fairways always produced a great lie and the bunkers were well maintained and firm except near the edges which are fluffy; pretty much what you would expect from a tournament quality course. The driving range is not as nice as Bonita Bay but it does rank fairly high in quality. (See attached picture) They even give you Pro-V1x practice balls so no real complaints there. We realized later that even the putting green speed and variability was just like the course, so a good decision to utilize before the round.

The course is fairly forgiving. Fazio designed each hole lower than the surrounding hillside so most balls will stay contained and away from the desert if they are not total shanks or mishits. Many landing areas are generous with some holes short (driveable par 4) and others crazy long (470+ yard par4 uphill into the wind). There are also Short and long Par 3's and Par 5's. The variability produced by Fazio made for a very enjoyable playing experience. (I personally hate designers that have four Par 3's all around the same length. They are idiots IMHO)

After the round my wife and I had the Brioche handburgers with fries in the dining room while we watched The Master's on TV. The staff was very courteous and the food enjoyable. The prices were a little higher than our private club in Houston, but overall not anything that would warrant a complaint. The entire time we felt relaxed, having fun, and good views from the table.

Overall my wife and I loved the experience and if we are ever back in the Palm Springs Desert again we will surely play again.

One last comment for any women players. The Red tee's are less than 5000 yards. That is probably fine for most amature women that can't hit a drive more than 100-150 yards. However, my wife can play and her drive is 220+. She found the course fun but a bit short. She shot an 80 that day. The course slope and rating produces an index above an 8 since it is too easy at that yardage. The next set of tees are about 5800 yards but not rated for women. Fazio has a tendency to ignore women players in his designs and tee box placement sadly. A combo tees with a yardage around 5400-5600 would be nice, or at minimum rate the next set of tees for women as well. Still, we fully enjoyed the overall experience and my wife agrees we would play there again if given the chance.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
e4fb46aa-6108-5f66-a7ac-8190d69841d4
Commented on 04/13/2017

Thank you for the great review, texasag! We love hearing the experience our golfers have at Rams Hill! We appreciate the feedback and are happy to hear you and your wife had a wonderful time with us. Hope you can visit and tee off at the course again in the future!

I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Good Course For The Money

Overall the course is worth the money. The condition is better than average and fun to play. For our day the greens had been just punched on the north course and the south course punched about 2.5 weeks back. We decided as a result to play the south. Even then the greens had yet to fully fill in, and the greens needed to be rolled. Thus they didn't roll true but that is expected this time of year as everyone aerates. The bunkers due to the rain the day before had yet to be raked and repaired, and we didn't see anyone out doing so. The sides had some serious wash out. A few bunkers around the greens were actually under repair. Again we saw no one the entire round working on them. That is a shame really.

The fairways were top notch, not too long and not too short. The rough is not extremely long making a miss off the fairway forgiving. It was probably around 1-1/4 inch long.

My only complaint is the staff in the pro-shop and the dinning room are not very friendly. When answering questions you get the feeling they would rather you leave them alone.

The locker room is nice, well kept, and on par with some private clubs.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate

Falls Resort & Country Club, The

Played On 10/22/2014
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Not 5 star quality but a solid 4!

My rating and comparison is against a perfectly well maintained course (a true 5 star) not something above average. On this site 5 stars are handed out like candy on Halloween.

The course during our round was in good condition. The fairways were a bit long so no roll out off the tee, but the condition was solid with few bare spots. There is no fringe or second cut of ruff and in some areas vertical cutting is not performed to save costs. The edges of bunkers are not edged well but the few played had a proper amount of sand and firmness. They were properly maintained so not fluffy or hard as clay.

Local knowledge helps for anyone with average to above average distance off the tee. A few doglegs and short layups require correct club selection and angles off the tee.

The greens were in very good condition. The course apparently receives less than average traffic as dead spots and holds from inconsiderate golfers not fixing their ball marks is minimized. The greens were cut fair, filled in nicely, and have average speed (not too fast or too slow). The greens have good variation throughout the course with some relative flat sloping back to front, and some having good undulations and slopes. There is a good amount of variation.

The views on the front nine are excellent and the feel of seclusion and isolation does exist provided traffic is slow. At times we felt as if playing on our own private course.

The club house was meant to be high quality with The Falls subdivision nearby but the area has not filled in with homes due to the isolation of the area. Thus the club house and bathrooms have been allowed to deteriorate. During our visit the men's locker rooms actually had a very bad odor.

This was our first time to play and we thoroughly enjoyed the day and the round. The drive was about one hour from west Houston so I personally wouldn't make the drive regularly, but I will probably play the course again at some point.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate

Sweetwater Country Club

Played On 04/19/2014
3.0
Previously Played
Good weather
Walked

Course and Staff Review

Course:

Con's:

Bunkers - not consistent everything from fluffy to hard clay.
Greens - Clearly the course gets heavy traffic with bomb shell markings (ball marks) all over. Quail Valley and Riverbend are significantly better. Very few ball marks get repaired.
Rough - cart traffic and amount of play combined with extremely hard clay type soil makes rough in most places non existent.
Time of Play - On weekends expect 4.5 hours minimum for a round. Too many high handicap players playing White on Pecan (6700 yards) and shooting 100+. Also they allow five to a group.

Pros: Two courses both distinctly different. One long and more open other short and narrow with more water. Cypress requires every club in bag. Pecan more forgiving although longer.
Facilities - Top notch, some of the best in the city. Bar, Locker Rooms and Dinning Room excellent.
Walking - Easy walking course.

Worth playing if you ever get the chance, however from what I hear the members pay for the amenities more so than the quality of the course. With the number of members they have and amount of traffic on the course it will never be a top notch course. If you want the best course in Sugar Land and Missouri City play Riverbend. It is close to PGA Tournament quality.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/06/2014

Not sure which course this player was thinking of, but his comment dose not fit this course at all. This is not reference to Sweetwater Florida. There is only one course and it is fair condition, greens are fair in its roll, (could be faster for me), roughs challenges you, trees to make you think and shape your shots, pin placement on par 3's could make you cuss, par 5 are narrow but rewarding.. So don't agree with this post...

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