golfbabe49

The overall layout of the course, originally done by the designer of Torrey Pines, is traditional, with trees bordering the fairways and with strategically placed bunkering. The staff is friendly, the greens fees are reasonable and overall this would be a great experience if the carts actually had GPS devices and/or the course came up on hand-held devices. The other drawback is the loud, boorish behavior of many of the players.

Ambiente is a challenge. The fairways looks deceptively wide, but the contours will take your ball in the waste areas or bunkers. The greens roll true and are firm, making approaches tricky. The overall facilities are outstanding, with practice putting areas that mirror what you will find on the course. The staff was friendly and accommodating, and make you feel like you are a welcomed guest.

Princeville Makai is an outstanding layout that features excellent fairways and very well-maintained greens. The course went through an extensive renovation within the past few years and yet has the look and feel of a course that is mature. The pace of play was just right: very little waiting and no one pressing from behind. And, if we did wait at all, we had beautiful views of the ocean. What we particularly enjoyed was the fact that design is both challenging and playable. The fairways are relatively wide, but the wind makes it a challenge to keep your ball in the right position.

We were paired with two prospective Red Mountain Ranch members who proved to be arrogant and unfriendly. The practice facility had some of the worst, scuffed practice balls we've seen. Perhaps the "crowning" moment was when the ranger/starter informed us, after we finished the first nine holes, that we needed to pick up the pace because we were TWO MINUTES behind the target time for nine holes. Of course, the fact was that we had to wait on nearly every tee throughout the back nine -- sometimes coming up to a tee only to find that there were already two groups waiting.