Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course

Some sand traps have only a thin layer of sand & irrigation leaks all over the place.

Played Easter Sunday so the pace-of-play was unusually good. I’ve played RSJ many times, however, not for a few months. I was surprised to see that several Fairways had been aerated leaving plug-marks in certain areas. The Fairways at RSJ have usually been the biggest knock when it comes to rating the 'course conditions'. Clearly they have got the message and are trying to do something about it—t will take time though: Several areas of various Fairways appeared browned-out (don't think it was dormant turf). But, I could tell they had also received plenty of water to revitalize them.

A very noticeable change was on the left side of the #3 Fairway: A row of Trees were removed and some pruned back. It was a welcomed change that helps open up the Fairway some. But more importantly, it allows semi-errant shots to the left side to continue further down the fairway. Clearly this change can increase the pace-of-play on this hole by reducing time spent looking for your ball AND giving a golf a shorter shot into the green.

The Greens were in good condition and rolled fairly well albeit challenging to read at times for most in our group.

Suggestion for the PIN PLACEMENT at the (2) side-by-side Par 3’s (I believe #7 & #15?).

They should be JUDICIOUSLY thought out (if not, you might as well add the Clowns-Mouth & Windmill challenges too). The slope is so severe in spots that placing the Pin adjacent to them only slows down the pace-of-play (an almost inevitable 3-4 putt). Btw--I suspect that the lone Mt. Everest-like uphill hole on the Practice Green is to prepare the golfers for these two holes.

Just hope management continues to improve the course conditions and thereby improve the golfing experience at RSJ.

A one time preferred course has gone downward. Slow play, driving range with no space to warm up at noon during the week on a day where they have spiked the greens. Wow! Frustrated and left after a few holes.

Perhaps under new management and far to many deals to catch the highly price sensitive market. Price without value is nonsense.

This is an unfair review of the course on this particular day as I've played this course many times before. Normally the course is "fine". It is not difficult. While there are a lot of dead and dirt spots in the middle of some of the fairways, this is a good course to practice on. However on this particular day, the weather was not nice and we had just experienced a lot of rain in the area the week prior. The course was very muddy and soggy. I was not the only one who believed that course would have drained better as it was extremely crowded there. While I normally have no issues with 5 somes, the pace of play was ridiculously slow. There was a marshal out on the course, however this did nothing to speed the pace of play up, nor was anything said that I witnessed to the groups in front. On the particular day, it was "cart path only" which was understandable given the wet conditions of the course. However it was normal to wait up to 15 mins between shots. This was due to golfers ahead not having the common decency of each golfer going to their ball and hitting when their turn came. Instead what I witnessed was one golfer walking to his ball, hitting his shot then walking back to the cart. His cart partner then getting out, walking to his ball, hitting his shot and walking back to the cart. All the while the other players sitting there watching each shot before getting out of there carts and walking to where their ball was and hitting shots when it was their turn. All the while, the marshal watching this happened and being more concerned about individuals not staying on the cart path.

As I've played this course many times before, this was the first time I witnessed this and it was disheartening. There is not a shot on the golf course regardless of where your ball lands that requires you to stand over your ball for 5 minutes to determine what type of shot you're going to attempt to hit.

It is my hopes that in the future the marshal on the course will notice the slow pace of play and do what he can to speed things up. There is no reason in the world on this particular course that around should take 5 1/2 to 6 hours, even with it being cart path only.

We played an afternoon round the day before Christmas Eve, and it had rained, so it was cart path only. The course was in decent shape. No complaints there. Unfortunately, a decent percentage of the players don't feel that it's their responsibility to rake bunkers or repair ball marks on the green. Throughout the round I kept finding cut rate golf balls that had been abandoned, so I kept a few for practice balls.

Unfortunately, there was a 3-some in front of us that were playing from the blacks, even though they weren't driving the ball more than 150 yards on their longest drives. We would have played through, but there was another 4-some in front of them that was also playing slowly. It would have been nice for the "ambassadors" to at least pretend to enforce pace of play, rather than putting in their time to get free golf.

It was clear that we were never going to make the full 18. At the turn we decided to skip 10 to get in front of the slow pokes. I figured out why the second group (2 fathers with their sons) was so slow. While we waited for them to tee off, one of the boy took a wild baseball swing and lost track of his ball, though it hadn't traveled more than 75 yards. He teed up another ball, took another wild baseball swing, and ended up with the same result. Still unhappy, he teed up a third ball, and repeated the scene.

I figured out where the abandoned balls were coming from. I realize that there are going to be newcomers on the course. I'm okay with the occasional mulligan. But there's absolutely no reason to allow someone 3 or 4 tee shots on each hole. And dad, you're not doing your son any favors by letting him swing out of his shoes on every swing. Teach him to club up and swing at 80% so he can practice making clean contact with the ball.

The fairways were in rough shape which is not unexpected given the drought however the greens were in excellent shape, as good or better than local courses costing 2X or 3X the cost. Pin position on 16 was just plain silly, perched on top on a big mogul this hole was only missing a clown and windmill.

Overall a very pleasant, challenging and rewarding round. An excellent value to be sure!

I booked my tee time on line via Golfnow. It's one of their special so the price is fairly inexpensive. Since I travel a bit far I got there 2 hrs before my prepaid tee time. I had the chance to have my lunch at the bar. The food is great as recommended and the bartender, Rachel is fantastic. She is knowledgeable, courteous and professional.
Ashley, the Starter came in the Bar to ask if I like to tee off sooner due to some cancellation. Now that is great service . I'll definitely give the staff members a 5/5 stars for customer satisfaction. Al, the starter at hole #1 is warm and welcoming too.
The pace of play is very slow and it seems like the Golf ambassador cannot do much with it. In fact the back 9 was even worse than the front. The friendliness of the staff is bringing me back to eat, drink and play.

Have played this course many times, I find that no matter what they do to improve the fairways, it just will not happen due to the soil that was damage from being a landfill many years ago, but for a quick find during the week it's great,, keep trying

The course was pretty dried out but you always have a fair amount of wet areas at RSJ. The greens are in good shape.

Greens were great. Some of the fairways needed some work but that is why some holes were cart path only due to over seeding.

They were setting up a putting contest on the putting green. Staff was very rude, wouldn't allow us to warm up on the edge of the putting surface, not on their putting course. half hour later saw others doing what we intended to do. Very unfriendly.

Very friendly n great staffs. Including all golfers.

Played here 1000 times. Love coming here because of the location and the great price. Like to tee off early to avoid the hackers. I was really impressed by the conditions. Fairways have filled in nice and are getting closer to matching the challenging greens the course has. The greens are the most challenging around. Great layout and many nice views of the surrounding area. It's not pelican or strawberry, but this course is getting better and the rates are awesome.

A GC ranger went around and hassled the golfers. We(threesome) hated the hassle. Please do not bother golfers.
The course did not have enough yardage signs, red/white/blue stakes and no signs for cart path only.

Half the greens were punched and no discount was offered but I still had a good time. This course is a bit longer than most in this area and the greens are tricky. The fairways are pretty rough, need much attention but they appear to be trying to improve it a little every year. I need to play this course more often!

Teed off at 4pm. Took 3 hours to play 9 holes. Greens here covered with sand.

I went at 5p on a Sunday afternoon expecting for it not to be busy. I ended up only playing 9 holes in 3 hours - not expected. The starter didn't pair anybody up, it was at least 10 minutes waiting on each hole, and a lot of people did not understand how to keep up the pace of play. Wouldn't recommend if you know for a fact it will not be busy.

Had a great morning at this course. 1 player was late so they allowed a few groups to go ahead of us. Very friendly staff.

We walked off the #9 green and 30 minutes later we walked off the #10 green. When we teed off #10, there were 3 groups on the tee box: our 3some and 2 others. That tells all. AND, we got paired with a guy who talked for 5 hours straight. Don't go there.

Don't plan on finishing 18 if you tee off in the PM