Two straight days at Marriott's Shadow Ridge resort in Palm Desert and the course, while not in its typical pristine state, did not disappoint. We rode two per cart and played from the gold tees for $... Continue »

Two straight days at Marriott's Shadow Ridge resort in Palm Desert and the course, while not in its typical pristine state, did not disappoint. We rode two per cart and played from the gold tees for $63 - a great price for this fun and fairly open Nick Faldo design.

A few stalls on the range are open and there is a putting green to practice on, but there are no small flags or anything else out there you can touch, like sand bottles or ice coolers to deal with the heat. Unfortunately you have to bring everything with you right now - no drinks or food of any kind served on the course or in any snack shop. You're on your own!

Course conditions are pretty good as stated above, but far from lush. A lot of the fairways are on the dry side and look a bit burned out, but you'll still find mostly good lies, if not a little bit thin, especially near the greens. Rough is fine, and the tee boxes are mostly in good shape but odd there's only one tee marker for each set of tees. Bunkers don't have rakes but are in good shape and the greens themselves are not super fast but hold shots well and run pretty true. Nothing spectacular right now, but all very playable and of course the scenery in the Coachella Valley on gorgeous blue sky days is second to none.

Fun track that is still in very playable shape right now but not quite near its best. Still, it's a great option right now if you're in the area and want to play a fun round with 20-minute intervals between tee times so you'll have the place mostly to yourself.

I played on Friday, teeing off (right on time) at 8:15. I really enjoy the layout here. There is plenty of room to hit driver on the longer holes, with trouble lurking for bad tee shots. There is enou... Continue »

I played on Friday, teeing off (right on time) at 8:15. I really enjoy the layout here. There is plenty of room to hit driver on the longer holes, with trouble lurking for bad tee shots. There is enough bunkering off the tee and around the greens to get one's attention.The greens have accessible sections, along with some spots that are very difficult to attack. Course conditions were very good for the middle of summer. Tee boxes had fine coverage. The fairways were very nice, and the rough was a consistent length that was not too punishing. If there was an area where some improvement might be needed, I would like to see a little more sand in the greenside bunkers. The greens were smooth, though the 110 degree days require the pace of the greens to be a little slower than they could be. The pace of play was four hours, on the button. I also have to mention that the customer service was excellent from start to finish. I highly recommend this course for a fun round of golf.

Round 5 of 5 was played here by me and a pal on Tuesday after Memorial Day. I am glad I stayed another night and missed all the return traffic from the previous day; it looked bad going west on I-10 a... Continue »

Round 5 of 5 was played here by me and a pal on Tuesday after Memorial Day. I am glad I stayed another night and missed all the return traffic from the previous day; it looked bad going west on I-10 as I headed east from Mission Lakes back to Palm Desert. We used an Underpar voucher for $99/two players. I really enjoyed this course. It's very lush and the conditions were superb. I think this is becoming one of my favorites in the area. Great customer service from bag drop, check in, and starter. We got a couple of breakfast sandwiches from the snack bar down by the cart barn; very tasty, filling, and only $8 each! We had a 9:00 tee time, but since we arrived two hours early and it was a quiet Tuesday, we started at 7:50 after a little practice time. This is a great facility to practice! I can't say enough about it: grass range, nice balls, two large putting greens, bunker range, chipping greens, all nearby the starter who will come and get you before your tee time. Love this course. I will be back! Greens: Bermuda grass greens. Medium fast speed. Medium firmness. Balls would run if you did not have a high shot or came in hot. Very few ball marks, but all easily fixed. Fairways and rough: Lush conditions from tee to green. We did fill a few divots with sand and replaced a couple of good ones. These were some of the nicest fairways I played all weekend. The rough was in great condition. No bare spots, consistent height, and easy to hit from. Tees: We played the gold tees, which were described to us as equivalent to the typical men's whites. Mostly level, but several markers were at the plates (good); however, the plates were at the back of the tee box and the cut was rounded off within a few feet of the plate and did not allow two club lengths back of the markers and still have level ground. Sand: The bunkers here were almost all in great condition. I landed in one that had a few weeds and grass growing, but there was ample amounts of white, soft sand. POP was about 3 1/2 hours with a couple of twosomes allowing us to pass. Like I said, I love it here and will be back. As a side note: I just noticed that this is my 600th review; sweet!

Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) in 4.5H twilight using Forelinx. Paired with Ed and Heather, we waited on most holes. The weather was in the low 90's, clear and fairly calm. The course has mostly tr... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) in 4.5H twilight using Forelinx. Paired with Ed and Heather, we waited on most holes. The weather was in the low 90's, clear and fairly calm. The course has mostly transitioned back to Bermuda for the summer. Fun Nick Faldo design with generous landing areas for most tee shots. Few forced carries. Great variety of holes. Several par 4's I can barely get there with 2 solid shots, other risk/reward shorter par 4's I can almost get there in one good shot. The par 3's offer a good variation in look and length. The tees were mowed close, with only a few needing divot attention. The fairways were semi lush and firm. Well maintained, mowed low, nice to play from. The rough was mostly lush, not overly tall and nice to chip out of. Numerous traps on this course are large, deep, and need to be avoided by most amateurs. The green side sand traps were well maintained with good quality white sand. Some fairway traps are waste bunkers & less maintained. The large Bermuda greens have lots of break/undulation. Rolling well at medium fast speed, they were firm but held approach shots with some run out. Usually no significant ball marks because of their firmness. The customer service was very good from everyone encountered. Drink cart out and around numerous times. Water stations on the course every couple of holes. Nice GPS on the carts. Excellent practice facility is all grass and includes balls with your fee. Recommended.

4/13/19
7:21
80°

Took advantage of a underpar voucher yesterday at Shadowridge. I had never played here before and after seeing Sals review it made the choice easy. I met up with an old high sch... Continue »

4/13/19
7:21
80°

Took advantage of a underpar voucher yesterday at Shadowridge. I had never played here before and after seeing Sals review it made the choice easy. I met up with an old high school friend who was out in the desert this weekend and off we went. We paired up with a father and his 11 year old son who was playing on a big course for the first time. We kept the pace at 4 hours and they were a pleasure to play with.

Conditions right now are spectacular as expected after a wetter than normal winter as well as the heat had only been turned up this week. Everything from tee to green were lush as can be with only a hand full of spots on one fairways looking like GUR from flooding. Greens ran smooth and medium pace as well as being receptive. The only issue I had was a few bunkers need to be turned up as they were a little more firm than some people like.

The UP voucher is a steal for the place right now. I highly recommend!

Played this course for the first time ever (3/17 - 7A.M. tee time) on a quick weekend getaway to Palm Springs with fellow GK member molebio (Nat). As with the Desert Willow review, this choice came ab... Continue »

Played this course for the first time ever (3/17 - 7A.M. tee time) on a quick weekend getaway to Palm Springs with fellow GK member molebio (Nat). As with the Desert Willow review, this choice came about in much the same way. It's hard to decide if I like Shadow Ridge more than Desert Willow, but they were almost identical in terms of conditions. Not sure if every high-end course in Palm Springs looks like this right now, but conditions may have been just a shade below perfect. What really helped today was getting off as the third group today behind a threesome with good pace, allowing us to enjoy a very casual 3.75 hour pace and feel like the course was all ours.

Tee boxes: Nearly perfect in just about every way. As with Desert Willow, the amount of tee boxes really helps and the conditions were everything you look for in a place like this.

Fairways: Also near perfection. Beautiful green carpets that were lush and offered very good roll, especially as the sun came out. Never once had a bad lie.

Rough: Not sure you want rough to be perfect, but the grass used in the rough was thick and long. It was penal but not overly so in that you could easily take your medicine if you chose to do so.

Bunkers: A dream to hit from. The amount of sand was just right and just enough to be able to hit behind the ball and not fear it shooting out. Not even a pebble in these bunkers.

Greens: Absolutely perfect sans maybe two or three divots from the group in front that never came into play. The roll on these greens, which themselves were devilishly difficult at times, was like putting on glass. No bumps in the road anywhere. A joy to test your skills on.

ETC: Another resort/property that does everything right. From the moment you park, all of Shadow Ridge is class. Starters, cart attendants, beverage attendant, cashiers, all treated us like we were members at a country club. The carts didn't have the best GPS but they were passable. The layout is fun but probably not as challenging as I would have expected (without sounding cocky). Had lots of fun out there and as mentioned, being alone on a Sunday is a real welcomed change from everywhere else. The rates here are a bit steep because of the resort, but if you can find a good price, I highly recommend!

Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) with Joe and Carol in slightly over 4H. Sunny, calm conditions in the mid 70's. The tees were lush and level. Could use more maintenance on the par 3's. The over s... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) with Joe and Carol in slightly over 4H. Sunny, calm conditions in the mid 70's. The tees were lush and level. Could use more maintenance on the par 3's. The over seeded fairways were lush and nice to play from. The over seeded rough is thick and about 3" tall. Outside the over seeded areas, the native landscape is a probable lost ball. The large/deep sand traps are well raked with good quality sand. However, some could use more sand. The greens were firm and putted medium fast speed. Nice overall but too many old ball marks! The drink cart came by several times and the friendly Starter/Marshall was out patrolling trying to keep things moving smoothly. GPS on the carts is good and the all grass practice range is excellent. Nice restaurant on site. The customer service from everyone was very good. Recommended.

Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) first out with Gary. POP slightly over 3H under bright, calm conditions in the high 60's. The tees were lush and level. Could have been great based on the lushness. H... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) first out with Gary. POP slightly over 3H under bright, calm conditions in the high 60's. The tees were lush and level. Could have been great based on the lushness. However, I could tell from where the divots were on the par 3's where the tees had been in their last 3 rotations because almost none of the divots were filled/repaired. Over seeded fairways were lush and played firm. The maintained over seeded rough is thick and about 3". You hope it catches any offline shots, because the native stuff is a probable lost ball. The large/deep sand traps looked good. Well raked with good quality sand. However, marked down for inconsistent depths. The greens were firm and putted medium fast speed. The amount of pitch marks is very high here, you could fix 20 per green and barely make a dent in the total. The customer service from everyone was very good. The drink cart came by several times and the Starter/Marshall out patrolling trying to keep people moving. GPS on the carts is good and the all grass practice range is excellent. Nice restaurant on site. Recommended.

Day one of our four-day Palm Desert excursion landed my two friends and I at Marriott's Shadow Ridge, a super fun Faldo design that leaves you wanting more every time. The course is in superb shape ri... Continue »

Day one of our four-day Palm Desert excursion landed my two friends and I at Marriott's Shadow Ridge, a super fun Faldo design that leaves you wanting more every time. The course is in superb shape right now after re-seeding, which adds to the fun of the layout while playing.

Rode the green tees today under brilliant blue skies and a very comfortable low 70s temperature. It was pretty ideal. The fairways are all in pretty perfect shape and you can get some nice roll out there with low drives, but every ball sits up just right when you find it. The rough varies from thick to not so thick but found some of the heavy stuff around the bunkers. Speaking of bunkers, they were mostly in good shape with the very rare just okay one. Tee boxes? Immaculate. Flat. Green. Perfect.

The greens looked to be in perfect, glass-like condition, but surprisingly were not super fast at all. Medium to medium fast at around a 9.5 or 10 max, which was surprising, but they held shots well and if you can navigate some of the tricky tiers or breaks on these large Faldo greens, you can get the speed down and make some nice long putts. They were really fun to play in a nutshell.

Great driving range here and very good chipping and putting areas as well. Not the most convenient place for the pro shop, but stop your whining right this instant. Cart girl came around 2-3x and there were plenty of water stations even though it wasn't overly warm at all. It was just perfect.

Great mix of holes here and plenty of trouble to find if you're not hitting fairways or even fairways adjacent. You also get to make some fun decisions off the tee, like the 8th hole which tempts you with a 200 yard shot right for a good angle to the green, a 180 yard layup in front of a central bunker, or bust out the big dog and try to shape it down the left to be close but face a large greenside bunker from that angle. Decisions, decisions … but a decision that should not be hard is to play this course right now. It's fun golf right now.