BORREGO SPRINGS — In late May, ahead of a summer that would see record highs on some days of 120 degrees, Rams Hill Golf Club general manager Harry Turner looked out on a golf course that didn’t have a blade of grass on it anywhere but the putting surfaces.
In construction parlance, the ground had been “stripped” and “pulverized” by massive earth-moving trucks, and the sandy landscape blended in with the surrounding desert, the beautiful green contrast completely gone.
At that point, it seemed almost unfathomable that Rams Hill could pull off its planned re-opening in five months.
And this wasn’t just any golf course being completely torn up, but one that is among the most revered in San Diego County. The Tom Fazio design is the only area layout besides Torrey Pines South to rank in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.”
“It was nerve-wracking in the beginning,” Turner admitted recently, “and extremely gratifying toward the end.”
The planned conclusion was that the renovation of Rams Hill would be covered in new and long-tested Bermuda grass that would be more playable, more sustainable and save considerable amounts of precious water — the rare “win, win, win,” as Turner put it.
To see Rams Hill today, with the grass getting greener every day as the temperatures rise, is to appreciate the enormous, multi-million-dollar undertaking and the benefits it will have for the future.
The latest work completes a two-year endeavor that started with replacing the grass on the greens and driving range in the summer of 2023. Rams Hill will stay open all year for the first time ever, as many of the courses in the Palm Springs area do during the summer months.
Does Turner expect to see a run on tee times or big profits in the heat of summer? No.
But with green fees in the $75 range (compared to $190 to $235 in the winter and spring), he’s hoping that more golfers get an opportunity to play Rams Hill. The course will hold shotgun starts at 7 a.m. during the summer to allow more golfers to play earlier. The course will offer frozen grapes and shaved ice at the turn to replace the usual complimentary street tacos.
Keeping the course open also means Rams Hill employees will maintain their usual jobs.
In the past, the ownership group, led by San Diego native Terry Considine, kept the workers employed in the summer with jobs such as painting schools or helping with the course maintenance staff.
The entire staff truly had a hands-on part in the renovation. Before the trucks could tear up the original grass, every sprinkler head had to be dug out of the ground — and there are 3,000 of them.
“They did their work at the end of a shovel, and did an incredible job,” Turner said.
Beyond all else, there was one big factor in why the renovation was needed: water.
Borrego Springs, with a population of about 3,000 that dips by half in the summer, has long faced water supply issues.
Rams Hill’s previous ownership went bankrupt and let the course go fallow, and the course’s rights to potable water were sold to the Borrego Springs Water District. The course’s new owners had to negotiate usage with the district before drilling its own wells. When those came online, the water itself became an issue because it was high in salt.
Over the years, Turner said, the water essentially did more harm than good, “sealing up” the ground and making it tough to grow grass properly. For a facility that prided itself on prime conditioning, it was a disappointing look.
The good news: More durable grasses that use less water and endure higher heat have been developed over the past decade.
Introduced in 2016 after 25 years of study at the University of Georgia, TifTuf Bermuda is drought-resistant and needs far less water. The United States Golf Association has cited it as an excellent grass for golf courses, and at Rams Hill, Turner said he expects water usage to be cut by 25%.
“We’re very, very happy with what we’re seeing,” Turner said, “and it’s only going to get better and better over time.”
Business at Rams Hill has been strong in the pandemic-era golf boom. Turner hopes to cement the property as a destination course similar to Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Sand Valley in Wisconsin and The Prairie Club in Nebraska.
Rams Hill’s motto on the first page of its website is “The Middle of Nowhere. Exactly Where You Need to Be.
Rams Hill may have a leg up on the competition. There are 25 million people within a four-hour drive of Borrego. On-site accommodations are part of the master plan for the future at Rams Hill, while they’ve already scored on the other biggest factor.
“It can’t just be good golf,” Turner said, “it has to be great golf.”
