Skip to content
  • Rams Hill Golf Club is starting to gain notoriety as...

    Rams Hill Golf Club is starting to gain notoriety as being a great course with fantastic long views.

  • The golf course at Borrego Springs Resort is a nice...

    The golf course at Borrego Springs Resort is a nice accompaniment to a stay and play in the region or as an alternative to Rams Hill.

  • Guest rooms at La Casa del Zorro depict the charming...

    Guest rooms at La Casa del Zorro depict the charming region with its calm and comfort.

of

Expand
Author

Borrego Springs is in the middle of somewhere. Located 90 minutes from San Diego or Palm Springs, and surrounded by a 600,000-acre state park, the village is more than a small dot on a big map.

With Anza-Borrego Desert State Park providing hiking, biking and off-roading adventures for the daytime sportsman and a peerless stargazing experience for nighttime amazement, the canvas of Borrego Springs paints an almost mystical getaway. If proof is needed, simply drive the north and south stretch of Borrego Springs Road to see the freestanding sculpture art of Ricardo Breceda.

More artistic scenes can be seen at Rams Hill Golf Club, a fantastic Tom Fazio design that is helping the region attract more visitors. Peak season starts to pop in January, when Borrego Springs typically begins welcoming visitors to a region whose full-time population jumps from 3,500 to nearly 20,000 in the winter.

“In the Coachella Valley now, even if people haven’t been out here they’ve heard of Rams Hill; there’s talk,” director of golf Mike Setchell said about the course that’s beginning its third year under new ownership. “It’s slowly getting better, with our landscaping really coming together. With the developing native grasses, it looks really mature. And the course itself is nearing its true potential; the greens, which were brand new from seed, are so good that they’re just getting better and better.”

As reported in Southland Golf’s August issue, the exploration of adding a second course to the property continues in earnest, with Setchell saying: “We’re still trying to see if more golf is the answer, at this point.”

Another regional golf option can be had at Borrego Springs Resort, where new ownership recently brought in original course designer Cary Bickler to oversee a major renovation.

“The course was broken and needed to be fixed,” said K.C. Crandall, director of golf at Borrego Springs Resort, where on-site accommodations also were refurbished. “We pushed the greens back out to their original configurations and also did a complete renovation of all 79 bunkers out here.”

The resulting polish presents a well-manicured layout that flexes its largest muscles on the shortest tests.

“It’s a fun course, very playable, and the greens roll really nice,” Crandall said. “The par-3s are where you’ll find the teeth. Three of the four par-3s play at over 190 yards. But that’s contrasted with seven par-4s at 380 or less. So you either take out the driver and go for it on those, or take out your hybrid or mid-iron and poke it down there for a wedge play coming in.”

While rustic views are plentiful, opulence can also be found, such as at La Casa del Zorro Resort and Spa, which has been providing salve from the city since 1937.

“There are lots of choices of resorts in Southern California, many of which are located in metropolitan areas,” said La Casa del Zorro general manager Patrick Sampson. “But the peace and tranquility of Borrego Springs is a place that needs to be visited.”

With pools, casitas, tennis courts, a spa, restaurant and bar, the resort provides a one-stop nexus of Borrego Springs’ spirit.

“Our motto here is magical, experiential and tranquil,” Sampson said. “The magic of the stars out here is unbelievable; and the magic is seeing kids that have grown up without knowing what’s above them in the evening time. The experiential speak to our guest history, which is measured in generations, not a numeric count of how many times you’ve stayed here. And the tranquil is sitting poolside and doing nothing. This is a place where it’s OK to do absolutely nothing and simply read a magazine, enjoy your beverage, regenerate and then go home to the madness.”

The region’s communal philosophy echoes an esprit de corps between visitors, residents and businesses alike.

“You’ve got to rally the troops, get everybody together and market the destination together,” Crandall said of getting more people to think of Borrego Springs as a golf harbor. “Ideally, people will come down here, stay at our place or La Casa and play both our course and Rams Hill.”

With winter bringing idyllic temperatures and good playing conditions, Borrego Springs is looking to continue to draw guests from the region – including another popular desert oasis – in 2017.

“Palm Springs now has some hustle and bustle in the peak season,” said Setchell, a longtime golf professional in the Coachella Valley prior to working at Rams Hill.  “Borrego is the same climate, the same beautiful landscape as Palm Springs, but it’s without the people. So, if you’re OK with the quiet, enjoy star-lit nights, like to hike and bike and off-road, or if you’re an artist or painter, this is a special community.”