Rio Rico Golf Club

Looks like they finally got a new rough and fairway mower!!!
From what the guy said in the pro shop they had major problems with their rough and fairway mowers. I guess they broke down in August and got very behind on the grass! To make things worse the monsoons were relentless this season and they said the grass was growing 1 inch every two days.
That being said, I played on 9/11 and they made a complete turnaround. The fairways are perfect, tee boxes look like they are ready to host a tournament and the rough is still high but much better! Greens are o.k. They are overseeding so it is cart path only throughout this month. Things look so much better and I am excited for the course to be in good condition this season.

A total cow pasture. We booked a golf package for 2 rounds for Aug 9 & 10th 2013 The course was in such terrible condition we did not go back for our second round, even though we paid for it in advance. The grass on the tee boxes was so long you could not see the tee markers. Tubac is your better bet!!!!!!

whoever ownes this course needs to buy a lawnmower. The longest rough I've ever been in and I was in the fairway. My foursome spent the day looking for our golf balls. That took all the fun out of golf. Just cut the grass. How hard is that.

I have played cow pastures in Wisc. that look better than this course. I will however mention it has great scenery.

I had not played this course for a year or more and the reason remains. While the design is OK (rather disappointing for a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course) the maintenance remains very below acceptable. Mainly the fairways are poorly cut. I lost a ball in the 11th fairway with grass as high or higher than normal rough. Only number 7 for some reason (the most picturesque and best designed hole) had a decently cut tee, fairway and green. I will not be back.

So frustrating!! Great layout, but the course is soooo overgrown, just cut the grass!!! It starts on the range, that's so over grown it was hard to hit off the deck.

Then you make your way to the tee boxes that are just terribly overgrown. It makes it difficult to determine how high to tee it up.

Forget about finding a ball even 1 yd into the rough. I lost 4 balls all day and 2 of them were fairway shots. BRUTAL!

As for the Greens rolled pretty true but lots of ball marks from folks not repairing divots.

The course was in very poor shape. I lost two golf balls that were hit in the fairway. Many weeds all over. Fairways and rough in poor condition. Not a great experience.

always liked Rio Rico until it was let go and refused to play it. Now that it is being brought back with greens improving all the time I will play it often.

Greens are in very good shape Fairways on front 9 good. Tee box's are terrible. back 9 fairways very poor. If they get the fairways back on the back 9 this is a very nice course to play

We had been advised that the course was rough this year. We found the course to be in good shape. Some of the greens had been plugged, the surfaces remained smooth. The course was better than others we have played in the area this summer.

We did need to swap golf carts for a better charge on the battery. The exchange was done with a smile and they checked with us at the turn as to how the second cart was doing.

The only negative, were the balls hitting up just behind us as we were playing onto the green.

Played in Tucson on 6/18 and it was unbearably hot. I did not even finish the round.
I dicided to head south to Rio Rico. When you go south on highway 19 you are actually climbing in elevation. I learned that the golf course is at 3500ft in elevation. When I arrived at Rio Rico there was a significant temperature change, around 5 to 8 degrees cooler. This is a big difference when playing golf in the summer months of southern AZ.
The course was in pretty good shape. I think the new management is doing a great job and it is actually in better shape than others in the area.
My favorite thing about the course is the vast mountian views and the large pine trees that line the fairways. It is a much different than any other desert golf course.

Even if this course was for free it would still not be worth playing.

Robert Trent Jones Sr. has a reputation for building monsters, but this is not such a course. It was a delightful, very well balanced golf course with the trademark bunkering around the greens. I arrived when the power was out in the immediate area, but the staff got me out with no delay and trusted me to pay when the power returned. At the turn I did so. The fairways are very fair, making this an approachable golf course, but like any course you are best served by being in the fairway. Miss a fairway and you have a tough shot but it is not so penal that you can't get up and down, which adds to the enjoyment. I was concerned about the bunkers initially, but they played very fair with none of the thin lies you might expect in bunkers that look like this. Clearly they have worked in these bunkers to make them playable. Good roll-out on the fairways, greens definitely slow because of the aeration efforts but I did not three putt a green under those conditions. I liked the green complexes very much and the bunkers were fairly placed around the greens. You cannot beat the value offered at Rio Rico nor the pace of play. When in Tucson, it is a must play for me.

I like the layout of this course. The new ownership is working to improve the course conditions and recently aerated fairways and greens. Water is being applied so conditions should improve. There are some dry, grassless spots on a few greens and fairways. The course is not ready for rack rates and bargains from Golfnow make this course a good value to work on your game.

When I played this course 3 years ago, it was a dump. Dead greens that were pitted and scarred, mud and rock bunkers with no rakes and not a maintenance guy to be found for miles. It's a great setup, with some target holes, fun par 3's and long and challenging 4's and 5's. It looked like it was headed the way of Palo Duro in Nogales (dead course).

I played Rio Rico the next time about 4 months ago. First impression, it's green. They reversed the hole layouts which seems like the way it was originally designed with 18 going into the clubhouse. The greens are solid and smooth and being rehabbed, they're not 100% but they're playable. The bunkers have sand in them (too add, there are tons on bunkers on this course, you'll end up in a few of these bad boys). And the place is infested with maintenance guys. The pace of play is quick and it's a shot makers course.

The staff is great. The prices as you see here are great. Fun course, worth the drive.

Nice parkland style course. Bunkers are packed dirt, not sand. Easy to chip out of because of low lips. Generous fairways with forgiving rough. Plenty of tees for all levels. Slow greens were airated, fuzzy and bumpy.

Fairways and greens recently punched. We used 2 put rule on greens and bumped the ball in fairways. They are watering the course unmercifully but still has a ways to go. It is not Palm Desert but it is still fun

My wife and I have played Rio Rico three times over the last two months. The greens and fairways have greened up considerably since our first play in early April. The maintenance staff has been working very hard to return the course to its former glory. We would recommend playing at Rio Rico not only for the challenge but for the beautiful scenery, including the many different birds and animals (deer, coyotes, etc.). The clubhouse staff are very helpful and friendly.

Located forty minutes south of Tucson, The Rio Rico golf course is one of the bets courses in the area, where the player can enjoy the perfect weather that its geographical situation can offer. Even in the summer time the temperature is at least seven degrees lower than in the neighboring Tucson or Phoenix, AZ.

I played this course in April. The staff is very friendly and professional. Course plays moderately long but fair. Tee boxes, fairways, greens, rough, and bunkers are well manicured. Picturesque scenery. Course includes a very nice lounge including an outdoor patio. I highly recommend playing here.