Rio Rico Golf Club

Course has really gone downhill from previous visits. The fairways were in poor condition and the bunkers were even worse with weeds throughout and the sand hard packed.
The rough was especially bad as even the edges of the fairways had not been mowed in some time.
To be fair, it was evident efforts had been made to manicure the the greens, and they were acceptable. It had rained heavily in the past few days which would certainly account for the lack of mowing but not the poor condition of the bunkers and fairways.

Fairways (if you can find them) covered in long crab grass and weeds. Greens were cut but contained lots of weeds and other grasses and very rough. Sand traps had more weeds growing than there was sand.

Rated the pace of play "good" because no one else was playing. Course difficulty as "extremely challenging" because of the course conditions.

It is a shame because this R.T. Jones course is a great design and at one time was a jewel. It seems to be going the way of a lot of golf courses these days.

Some of the greens need some work overall ok course

The Truth is it the Desert. My credentials: I am 53 and shoot under 80's and played a lot of golf all over the world so here you go:
Club house opens at 630, i.e., golfnow.com tee-times at 600 or earlier don't matter, oh you will get the price, but the time you start is not what you wanted.
Continuing Truth, the course does not get a lot of play, so conditions suffer; you know no money in and more out how does an owner survive? The just aerated the fairways not long ago so spotty holes; there is grass and all over the place and weeds (tee-boxes, fairways, greens, and in the bunkers# the greens suffer too--- oh there's grass and again #weeds on 75 - 85%# of them some greens are actually good. Two greens are cracking due to lack of rain 14 and 15. Overall the Greens don't roll so well ball bounces #OK it was 0630 when I played) but you picking up what I am laying down. Bunkers well they had not been racked in years? Question mark because they were terrible condition one looked like cherry bombs where set off in it. I get it is the Desert hot as heck, Monsoon’s are coming and that is what there are backing on.
If you are a single handicapper you won’t want to waste your time playing here, sorry that is the truth. If you just want to golf and don't about score go right ahead.

Like this course a lot. Very rural, inexpensive and never crowded. The Summer course conditions are tough. The climate is just too harsh to maintain good conditions during the Summer.

Always have a good time down there. Lots of wildlife - a friend had a bobcat cross the tee box, we had a mother coyote and puppies just off one tee box.

A good value if you're not to fussy about conditions. Had a delicious $6 lunch after our $14 round of 18 which include cart. Tough to beat.

This course needs some real attention. It is in rough shape. From the greens to the dry fairways and sprinklers we have to play through. Wasn't a real good time.

This course has undergone some major improvements. And the greens are looking great. Love this course. Price, quality and food and drink are great here!

Much improve condition, great day. Tees and fairways good, greens ok.

The golf course looks much better!
The greens have improved a lot.
Bunkers are nice and groomed, it looks like the staff finally put some resources into the traps.
The fairways are green and are in better shape than other courses in the area.
Great value!!

bunkers like concrete with rocks some fairways drying out need water several greens in poor condition with deep holes unable to putt with any accuracy some greens very dry and brown and bumpy . would be poor value if free

Early Bird special and it was not busy. Staff was great! Helpful, fun and yet professional. This course is the best in the area

My threesome had a great time, but it wasn't due to the greens. The greens were not in great shape. It was an improvement over last Fall, but still needs a lot of work. Fairways, rough and traps have improved.

Is the glass half full or half empty? In Rio Rico’s case it’s half full since it is coming back from complete abandonment due to bankruptcy. Is it in great shape, no! Is it playable Yes! This course is one hour from my home and I would not drive that far to play it but I was in the area for business so it was a fun 2 ½ hour round of golf. My recommending this to a friend is based on that friend also being in the area and not having the golf course as the destination.
I played as a single and I was waved through by the 4 groups in front of me. I will be interested in seeing how much the course improves when I go back in the fall.

The greens are in horrible condition. Ball would bounce inches into the air or veer off line by 30 degrees. Couldn't hit it hard enough to reach the raised lip of the hole. I love golf and understand temporary conditions, but this doesn't compare to anything in this area. Won't be going back.

aside from a few bumpy greens, the course was in great shape and is always a pleasure to play. keep up the good work and the rates make it affordable for people like myself on a fixed income.
thank you.
john brozo

This course use to be a really good Pete Dye designed course. I played here 4-5 years a go and was in excellent condition. This course has really taken a dive. Would not recommend this course to anyone that enjoys playing a round of golf because of the condition of the greens. Every hole has bunkers that are so hard you can putt out them . In final thoughts the course really needs to get a good greens keeper to get everything back to par.

course is slowing coming around. fairways were ok. greens were not up to par but playable. for the price it is a good value

Greens aerated. Z

Should be better. Played in 4 hours course is a great layout.

I played this course first about 4 years ago,k and it was in bad shape. I have played it every year since, and can say that in the last two years it has been getting much better. Whoever owns it now is apparently spending money to improve this potential gem. Although I have to still rate it at slightly below average, it is on the way back, and I enjoyed playing it twice in the past week.

The greens were in bad shape a couple of years ago, but they are on the way back due to a lot of work on them. The bunkers are still a bit hard in some places, but they, too, are improving.

The driving range is rough and there is no real practice green for putting or chipping, but I expect those things are on the list for improvement, too,

The club house has all kinds of character, and a nice bar for a drink after a round. I don't believe ther is much in the way of food, however.

Give the course a shot now and watch what it becomes if the money doesn't run out to keep the improvements going. It is a pretty good value now, but it will probably be going up.

This golf course is getting better each time I have played it. The greens are somewhat better, but still have a ways to go. The speed of play was ok until we got to the 10th hole. There were two groups who were holding up the entire course. They happened to be women, but who would notice that. I asked the lady in the clubhouse to maybe get them sped up, but there was never a change in the pace of play.