The Springs at Borrego RV Resort & Golf Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.0

Golf - Public Course · 9 Holes · Par 36
Borrego Springs, CA
Website

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The Springs at Borrego RV Resort & Golf Course Review

Wow, what a pleasant surprise when we approached the first tee box at The Springs at Borrego Golf Course and saw a lush and plush wide fairway the turns right around a well manicured natural area with towering palms, a variety of plants and bushes, and several boulders on the right side plus a magnificent view of the mountains along the left side of the fairway.  The Springs at Borrego Golf Course plays beside their RV resort which is a first class very impressive RV resort with excellent amenities - an outstanding place to camp and explore Anza Borrego State Park, play golf, and enjoy the Park's amenities and activities.

The Springs at Borrego Golf Course has three tee boxes with yardages ranging from 2646 to 3084 yards - pick a different set of tee boxes on the back nine to make the round more interesting.  There are some great holes on this track, for example:

  • #2 is a wide expansive 491 yard fairway that leads to a slightly uphill green guarded by 3 bunkers
  • the two par threes are demanding at 210 and 194 yards
  • #8 is a beautiful 454 yard par 5 that dog legs right past tall palms on the right and along the left side of the fairway are more stately palms lining a cascading bubbling creek that forms a pond three quarters of the way around the green
  • on #9 that same bubbling creek comes from a waterfall that forms a small lake with an island green and three bunkers in the middle of it - an island green in the middle of the desert just doesn't seem possible!

The fairways at The Springs at Borrego are wide and generous and lined by a well manicured natural sand area with palms, a variety of desert fauna and native brush.  If you miss the fairway, you should be able to find and play your way from the natural area back to the fairway and possibly save par.  The fairways are lush and plush and we felt guilty talking a divot!  From the tee box you can typically see the pin and what you're up against.  On each hole you play you'll have a majestic view of the mountain ranges, some of which were snowcapped when we played - doesn't get much more scenic than that.  The Springs at Borrego is a perfect walking course, but carts are available for rent.

The greens are about average size, very smooth,  fairly flat with some gently slope, and in perfect condition.  They held the ball very well and run true.  We played the morning after a heavy rain so they were a little slow - my guess is they would normally run around an 8 to 9. 

The bunkers were also in perfect condition with soft thick sand.  Most of the lips were small and very manageable. 

Bottom line - a great track, an excellent value,  in near perfect condition, and with some fun holes - a great way to spend a few hours with friends or family. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,168 34.7 115
White 5,788 33.9 111
Red 5,292 35.1 111

Course Information

Greens Condition
9.5
Greens Difficulty
7.5
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Yes
Beware of water on 3 holes and the 26 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.0 out of 10
Beauty:
9.0
Difficulty:
7.5
Variety:
8.5
Fun to Play:
10.0
Value:
10.0
Condition:
9.5
Front Nine Rating:
9.0
Back Nine Rating:
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $25.00 to $35.00

The pro shop has some of the basics, the staff is very friendly, and the pace of play should be good. There is a putting green and beautiful driving range where your ball will seem to disappear into the mountains

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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.