004: Rams Hill Golf Club

Rams Hill is one of those courses that leaves you replaying shots in your head and itching to go back before you've even exited the property gates. A special piece of golf in the east county desert of Borrego Springs, it captures everything desert golf should be. The beautiful two-hour drive east from San Diego through the Julian mountains makes for a great adventure even before you set foot on the course.

Designed by one of the most decorated golf course architects, Tom Fazio, he once stated, “Rams Hill is one of the most amazing pieces of desert real estate I have ever been able to design.” It’s not the complimentary tacos at the turn or the post-round cookie that earned Rams Hill a spot on Golf Digest’s Top 100 Public Golf Courses—it’s the unique Fazio layout that rewards you off the tee and stumps you around and on the greens. In recent years, thanks to a revival and constant investment in the course, Rams Hill has cemented itself as a must-play for the San Diego golf crowd.

For those unfamiliar, Borrego Springs isn’t traditionally a golf destination, more so attractive for its camping and off-road desert adventures. But Rams Hill might change that in the coming years. While this is purely speculation, the area seems like a canvas for a future desert golf destination, given the right developers. That said, Rams Hill is already enough of a sight to see and well worth the trip to no mans land.

A bold claim, but in my opinion, there isn’t a bad hole on this course—not one hole where you walk off feeling annoyed or bored. Off the tee, Rams Hill isn’t overly demanding, offering wide landing zones and minimal forced carries, but it certainly rewards a long ball. Our crew often plays from the gold tees at 6,800 yards, which feels like a fun and fair distance with the firm and fast fairways. If you're up for a challenge or consider yourself a true stick, the back black tees stretch to 7,200 yards and offer a great test. Many of these back tees are their own elevated tee boxes, giving a much different visual to every hole. This is particularly noticeable on holes 1, 7, 11, 12, and 14 in my opinion.

One of the course’s biggest challenges comes from the bunkers—not just their placement but the visual deception they create regarding distance. It takes a round or two to truly understand what’s in your landing zone versus what your eyes are tricking you into believing. A great example is holes 6 and 12, where it appears a bunker is guarding the front left side of the green. However, on hole 6, there’s about 10 paces between the bunker and the green, while on hole 12, around 20-30 yards between the bunker and the green.

Once you reach the greens, creativity with your short game is essential. Since its green renovation a few years back, Rams Hill features some of the firmest and fastest greens I’ve ever played—rolling at a true 11 on the stimpmeter. The tightly mown surroundings and firm desert base force you to think twice about chipping versus putting. In typical Fazio fashion, the greens have huge breaks and tiers that make three and four putts not uncommon, especially with their speed. Depending on the day’s pin positions, you often need to play to the front number or middle of the green, as they’re too firm and fast to fly a ball to a tucked pin on a tier.

As mentioned before, I don’t think there’s a bad or boring hole on the course, but there are a handful of standouts. One of them is the par-5 11th, a downhill beauty, and the par-4 12th, which is nearly drivable under the right conditions.

Hole 11 puts you in a special corner of the course—turn off the music at sunset and take in how calm this part of the property is. The view of the desert ridge ahead and to your right, with a creek flowing down the left and a pond sneaking into view behind the green, is spectacular. A solid tee shot usually funnels left, leaving you around 210-230 yards (depending on the tee box) for your next shot. I don’t think I’ve ever laid up here, as you can land short right and still get a kick onto the green. However, if you pull one left or find the bunkers right, a double bogey is almost inevitable. I’d go as far as to say that Rams Hill’s 11th is near the top of my list of best par-5s I’ve ever played.

Then there’s the par-4 12th, which can be drivable with no wind, a great drive, and a fortunate kick forward. But anything pulled left is in the desert, and anything right leaves you with an awkward 40-yard bunker shot. From the back tees, you're on a secluded box just in front of the pond—a 100-yard carry that adds great visual character to the hole. Near the green, you encounter another one of Fazio’s deceptive bunkers, which appears to guard the putting surface but actually sits 30 yards short. It’s still a must-carry at 270 yards, though. The green also features a nasty false front that can send chips rolling right back to your feet.

Rams Hill is nothing but good times and absolutely worth the trip. Enjoy the tacos, the cookies, and, most importantly, embrace the special golf course that it is.

Hopefully, the wind isn’t too bad.

-Hewgss