Played the Blues (6441/71.0/127) on the Classic2/Lake combo with 140ver in slightly less than 4H. The course was not busy, it was around 112 with a little breeze that was welcome.

My 1st time here, really enjoyed the historic layout that has hosted Bob Hope PGA events back in the day. The course conditions exceeded expectations considering the recent heatwave. The Class... » More

Played the Blues (6441/71.0/127) on the Classic2/Lake combo with 140ver in slightly less than 4H. The course was not busy, it was around 112 with a little breeze that was welcome.

My 1st time here, really enjoyed the historic layout that has hosted Bob Hope PGA events back in the day. The course conditions exceeded expectations considering the recent heatwave. The Classic1 nine was closed for maintenance, but we did get in a bonus 9 on the Classic2.

Not a tight course, most fairways are generous. Many mature trees surround the fairways that are often well bunkered. The green complexes were very traditional. Average in size and sloped from back to front, falling off to each side with few tiers to contend with. While there were no holes that made you go "wow", there were 18 solid holes of golf that kept things interesting as we made our way through mostly older but very nice homes.

The Bermuda tees were good. Mostly level with few unfixed divots and good coverage.

The Bermuda fairways were mostly good with a few browned out areas that they were actively watering. Nice to play from overall.

The Bermuda rough was not high or overly penal. You could often play longer clubs from the rough.

The sand traps were the only part of the course not above average. Many were crusty and the depth of the sand was very inconsistent.

The greens did not look good because the heat has about killed off the over seeded winter grass and the Bermuda has not taken back over. However, they putted medium fast and were relatively smooth. Only complaint would be the firmness. Almost everything hitting them from full shots to chips had more run out than you would usually expect.

The customer service was excellent, quick efficient check-in and complementary range balls on the range. Only complaint would be that in the summer they close at 2 pm, we had intended to play more than we did. Overall, very fun course in better than average condition. Definitely recommended.
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Played the Blacks (6716/71.8/129) with 140ver in 3.5 hours. We practically had the course to ourselves due to the 115 degree heat and little breeze.

My 1st time here. The layout is traditional old school Palm Springs. Fairly tight with a decent amount of water coming into play. A few really tough and good holes and a bunch of mediocre ones.

The course footprint ... » More

Played the Blacks (6716/71.8/129) with 140ver in 3.5 hours. We practically had the course to ourselves due to the 115 degree heat and little breeze.

My 1st time here. The layout is traditional old school Palm Springs. Fairly tight with a decent amount of water coming into play. A few really tough and good holes and a bunch of mediocre ones.

The course footprint is a rectangle bordered on all 4 sides by busy streets blocked by trees and high walls. This results in roughly 1/3 of the holes playing right beside the property line, bringing OB prominently into play. The layout did about evenly split the holes that ran along the property line so that some had OB right and some OB left. Nothing remarkable about the layout, it was okay.

However, the conditions were less than okay. I realize it is mid June and there have been a string of hot days.

Many of the tees were shaggy. Obviously had not been recently mowed. Decent coverage and reasonably level.

The fairways were mostly okay to play from, but every single one had numerous areas that were burned and browned out due to the heat/lack of watering to a specific area. Same for the rough.

The sand traps were below average. Not well maintained and inconsistent from trap to trap.

The greens putted medium slow and were somewhat bumpy. Not many ball marks, they did hold irons well. Several greens had areas that had not been adequately watered recently and looked dead or dying.

The customer service was good. However, they close up the place around 1pm in the summer. We played on a special that was slightly over $1 a hole. Under current conditions, that is about the maximum I would pay to play here. Not recommended at this time.
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Guru outing today with David, Lee, and "the boss" on a 72 degree and breezy day. From the second you drive up and see the clubhouse you know you are in for something very interesting. The pro shop is beautiful and well set up for any need. The staff are very friendly and are on top of things on the course via radio.

Stepping outside and down to the cart staging area, ... » More

Guru outing today with David, Lee, and "the boss" on a 72 degree and breezy day. From the second you drive up and see the clubhouse you know you are in for something very interesting. The pro shop is beautiful and well set up for any need. The staff are very friendly and are on top of things on the course via radio.

Stepping outside and down to the cart staging area, the bag is awaiting you on your cart which is powered with lithium-ion batteries and has a USB port if you need a recharge. I didn't make it to the range to hit, but it appeared from what I could see to have all the targets necessary to be ready to go. There are 2 practice pitching greens with a sand bunker between to hit shots from all green side conditions. Finally, the practice putting green is large enough for a good group of players and is close to the speed of the course greens.

The course itself is an interesting beast all to itself. The front side is built around some larger fairway targets and greens with some interesting tiering. When you get to the back side, you best be straight and use your brain to get around. The greens are a bit more severely tiered and being in the wrong place will get you into trouble.

I have been thinking about it since we stepped on the course, and the best way I can explain it is this is the "average guy's Augusta." By this I mean, when the pins are on the toughest tiers (we had a few today), the landing areas for "great" shots are no more than 5-10 yards wide on the greens. You need to use your eyes and brain on this course and think your way around. This is NOT a "grip it and rip it" layout... unless you hit it dead straight every time. Johnny and I hit long irons or 3w many times on the course instead of driver to set up the right angles to the pins. Shots into the greens are not long in general when you set up in the right positions. The longest club I had in all day was a 5 iron at 180 with the exception of a miscalculation off the tee leading to a 3 iron at 200 home on a 430 yd par 4.

Tees, fairways, and the short areas around some greens are in spectacular shape. The rough is just that: something you will want to avoid if you can. The ball can sit up a bit or nestle down and give you very little chance to get close to the hole on your approach or around the green. The bunkers in the fairway are a bit hard due to being watered and settling down. This isn't much of an issue but could use with a little raking to loosen up the top layer.

Around the green, the bunkers appeared to be in great shape. I was in one bunker and found it a bit irregular in sand depth. The spot where I hit the sand splashed and showed a bit of depth, and where I took my stance had some soft sand, but where my ball ended up was lacking enough sand under the ball to splash it out (I hit a miserable chunk that just cleared the lip trying to get a bit cute on a longer shot). From seeing other shots I think my bunker shot was the anomaly.

If you get a chance to play here, do it! Bring your "A" game (or at least know your misses and account for them), enjoy the amazing scenery (birds, bunnies, and tons of environmental areas), bring plenty of balls if you don't have your "A" game, and just have a blast playing this course. I can't wait for another shot at this one, and now that I have been out here I will correct a couple mistakes and shave some strokes.
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