Borrego Springs Resort - Mesquite Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.0

Golf - Resort Public Course · 9 Holes · Par 35
Borrego Springs, CA
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Borrego Springs Resort - Mesquite Review

We understand that Borrego Springs Golf Courses have bee permanently closed - what a shame!

Borrego Springs Resort is home to twenty seven holes and each of the three nines has it's own unique personality and characteristics:

  • Desert Willow is the most lady and couples friendly nine because it is the easiest and prettiest of the 27 holes
  • Mesquite is a par 35 and  the middle of the road nine with some fun and challenging holes
  • The Palms is the most demanding of the three because it's longer and requires some shot making to avoid the huge treacherous bunkers

Common to all three courses are good conditions, a good restaurant and bar, snack bar, pro shop, and practice area.  Borrego Springs Resort has lodging and some good stay and play packages. 

The first hole on the Mesquite Course at Borrego Springs starts you off with a 437 yard par four with rolling contoured fairway with a wide landing zone off the tee box, 3 fairway bunkers, and two greenside bunkers protecting a sloping fairway - par this one and you'll have a good round.  

On this nine, which is a par 35, and the shortest of the three nines with yardages ranging from 2356 to 3237 yards, is characterized by relatively flat fairways, six dog legs, water on three holes, and some huge bunkers.  #7 is the best hole of all three nines and it's a good one - a very short but treacherous 296 yard par 4 that dog legs right around a pretty lake which sounds easy but you have a carry over a natural area, a tight fairway, and then an approach shot over the lake or along a narrow fairway guarded by some big bunkers. 

Both of the par 3s on this nine are challenging with yardages of 197 and 219 yards and one has a carry over a lake.  And #9 is a good finishing hole with a risk reward opportunity to try and fly a huge long bunker along the right side of this dog leg right 380 yard par 4 - miss the big bunker and you still have six more plus water on one side of the green to avoid. 

The fairways were in pretty good condition and most are flat with some gentle contour and mounding.  The rough is a little rough and patchy but playable - after that you're in the desert and if you can find your ball you'll most likely have a clear shot back to the fairway.

The greens on Borrego Springs Resort's Mesquite nine are average size, in very good shape, with minor slope which is traditionally back to front.  The tall swaying palms and mountains form a very scenic backdrop to the green.

You'll need to do what you can to avoid the bunkers which range from huge (big enough to swallow a tractor trailer) to pot sized with lips that vary from shallow to fairly deep.  The sand is a tad hard.

Mesquite will provide you the opportunity to turn in the best round and it has a couple of very fun holes that will challenge the best players.

The rating and slope are based on playing Mesquite/Desert Willow.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 3,002 68.6 115
White 2,756 66.4 111
Gold 3,237 70.9 123
Red 2,356 66.9 115

Course Information

Course Architect:
Cary Bickler
Greens Type:
Bent
Greens Condition
8.5
Greens Difficulty
8.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Very easy
Beware of water on 2 holes and the 44 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.0 out of 10
Beauty:
7.5
Difficulty:
7.5
Variety:
7.5
Fun to Play:
8.5
Value:
9.0
Condition:
8.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.0
Back Nine Rating:
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $25.00 to $55.00

Service is ok, but there was no cart service when we played. The pro shop has the basics and the range is adequated. The restaurant and bar area are great. Borrego Springs Resort has some good stay and play packages.

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Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this:  links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses! 
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

  • Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
  • Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10. 
  • Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box?  That’s right, it gets a 1.
  • Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
  • Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course.  For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
  • Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
  • Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale.  Condition is self-explanatory.  

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course.  In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40.  We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.