Hit up Los Amigos with the amigos yesterday.

810 tee time and the place was packed. One of the few courses wit... » More

Hit up Los Amigos with the amigos yesterday.

810 tee time and the place was packed. One of the few courses without punched greens.

Round was slowish and a lot of 5somes. Funny how the 5some selection process works. There were some guys working on the fairways and several maintenance guys doing their thing.

Course was in typical shape, a little choppy but still playable. a couple of tee boxes were getting work which was nice and the tee boxes are way more level than Santa Anita.

Greens were good and rolled ok. Still happy to play on non punched greens.

Los Amigos is a fun course with a couple of quirky holes.
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Played on Wed 10/1 with an 11AM tee time 4some. Nice 4.5 hour pace with minimal waiting. We had 2 beginners with us wh... » More

Played on Wed 10/1 with an 11AM tee time 4some. Nice 4.5 hour pace with minimal waiting. We had 2 beginners with us who actually play pretty fast so it was pretty good.

Course is in pretty good shape considering they are punching greens in a couple days. All I can say is that the fairways and greens are super firm right now. I had some drives roll out 30-40 yards longer that my avg! Greens were super fast with tough pin locations. Tee boxes are good, fairways pretty good coverage for this time of year, sand was good, greens were rolling fast but true.

Would love to play this track more on the weekends when I usually play, but ALL the tee times between 8am and 1pm are usually already gone since LB residents can book a day in advance.
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Thoroughly enjoyed the day @ Classic Club from all aspects…but it was my playing partners, Johnny G. and Mark E., who re... » More

Thoroughly enjoyed the day @ Classic Club from all aspects…but it was my playing partners, Johnny G. and Mark E., who really made it extra special. Couldn’t have asked for a better duo to be paired with.

Classic Club is one of my favorite courses in the Palm Desert area and for many reasons: outstanding layout…challenging yet fair…full-featured practice facility, professional/outgoing staff, and a meticulously-manicured, ambient setting that blends in so well with the property.

Course was in very good shape tee to green but it was difficult to not be disappointed with the overall quality of the greens. Possibly attributable to the time of year, they ran slow, grainy, and not as true as I had anticipated.

But what really caught my attention were the frayed and ragged edges around a number of cups…which led me to believe they elected to not cut fresh hole locations that morning. It’s not something I would expect from a high-end course such as this…especially after having already come out of aeration.

With that aside, this is a well-run operation; every staff member I interacted with was pleasant, courteous, and on top of their game. They genuinely make one feel welcome here…and that isn’t always the case at many other venues.

I opted to have dinner at Bellatrix at the conclusion of the GK raffle and the food/service were excellent. The generous meal credit is a nice touch and provided added value to the day’s entry fee.

I highly recommend Classic Club as a ‘must play’ if you’re in the area. The facility checks all the boxes when it comes to an enjoyable and satisfying experience, from start to finish.

And thanks again, Johnny, for organizing and making this all possible. It was great to have the opportunity to tee it up with you!
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Played Shadow Ridge for the first time in 12 years…a self-imposed seven-year exile from golf was a major contributing fa... » More

Played Shadow Ridge for the first time in 12 years…a self-imposed seven-year exile from golf was a major contributing factor…as a warm-up for the Classic Club event. It didn’t take long to be reminded why this course is my top choice in the Coachella Valley; the layout demands the best from all aspects of one’s game yet is fair and totally devoid of gimmicks.

Course conditions were very good as far as the tee boxes, fairways, and rough go. The greens? They were slow and grainy…but I did manage to make a few putts once I was able to dial in the speed so it turned out to be a relatively minor issue at the end of the day.

I had the last time on the tee sheet…2:00…and the course to myself so I played two balls the entire round. 36 holes on the books in three-and-a-half hours? I’ll take that every day of the week.

Practice facilities are second-to-none and the staff rates high as well. Having access to the locker room for a quick shower…after playing in the rain over the final four holes…was a welcome perk.

Also nice to FINALLY see an on-site restaurant (‘Giuseppe’s) open for business adjacent to the pro shop. Stopped in for dinner after the round and it was packed. Food and service were excellent…and they offer a pretty extensive menu.

Going back to the golf course, I believe the greens will be undergoing aeration next week, with a full course-closure scheduled at the end of October. With that in mind, I’d recommend holding off on playing there until they reopen late November.
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Went to play today. Lasted 3 holes. I knew the greens had been aerated but I was not expecting what else I found.
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Went to play today. Lasted 3 holes. I knew the greens had been aerated but I was not expecting what else I found.

1. Fairways have not been mowed and look and play awful. And there was no mowing being done today.

2. Sand traps are being worked and they have numerous temporary greens and no information on how long this will last. And its not minor work but a total overhaul of each trap.

3. On Oct 6 ALL tee boxes will be aerated and tees moved up 30 to 40 yards. And they are stating that the tees will not open for one month.

4. They are charging normal green fees during all this work as well. No discounts.

Combine bad fairways, trap overhaul, sanded greens, and closing of tees for 1 month for aeration. That in my mind does not make for an enjoyable round of golf.

Personally I don't think its worth the $$ to play here for the present.
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Played Pala Mesa on 9/30. I don't remember seeing Pala Casino branding here before, but it is there now, so apparently t... » More

Played Pala Mesa on 9/30. I don't remember seeing Pala Casino branding here before, but it is there now, so apparently the course may be owned by Pala Casino now. Likely a good development based on what we've seen at other courses that get Casino support.

Greens are really nice. Very soft though. But roll very well.

Everything else is pretty good here. Fairways are good, with a rough spot here and there. Sand was plentiful, although there were quite a bit of unraked areas ( we were first off, so this was late day golfers not raking).

Really enjoyable course. Hit it straight though (I wasn't).
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Course in very good condition especially after recent seasonal aeration/sanding 3 weeks ago. only a couple greens healin... » More

Course in very good condition especially after recent seasonal aeration/sanding 3 weeks ago. only a couple greens healing more slowly. Fairways healthy with nice lies. Had to move ball 2 times from over watering or leaking plumbing issue. Tees (Men's), suffering from overwatering so I usually moved back a yard to find decent footing. Forgot how difficult approach shot are here. Sand traps protect pins expertly! This was a Tuesday late morning tee time. Played the front alone, then a twosome joined at the turn. Place has a relaxed Country club feel with nice modern Pro shop and resturant/bar facilities. Very nice outdoor elevated patio overlooking the 9th green waterfall rock formation and lake surrounding. Practice facility closed until 11am on Tuesdays. $71.00, nice carts and excellent GPS systems. 4hr. 10 min total play time. I'll be back.
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This was one of my worst experiences playing this course. Ever since Arcis took over, it has gone so far down hill, and ... » More

This was one of my worst experiences playing this course. Ever since Arcis took over, it has gone so far down hill, and now we’re also paying $85 on the weekend, half the course was muddy and the other half was dirt pan. When the best conditions of the course were the freshly aerated and sanded greens, there’s a major problem. They’ve had certain areas under repair for the last year and a half or longer (12th tee and 14th green to name a couple). This place used to be fun with sone challenging holes but now it’s just challenging because you’re hitting through dirt, mud, rocks and roots on every shot you’re taking. They should be embarrassed on how this golf course is
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Played in the GK plays event on 9/28. What else is there to say about Classic Club that hasn't already been said? All ... » More

Played in the GK plays event on 9/28. What else is there to say about Classic Club that hasn't already been said? All the previous reviews summarized it up quite nicely but I will add that the facility, customer service, and overall environment are incredible. You add to that fairly stellar conditions (greens the only blemish and hardly that. grainy as noted) for late summer, and a sunny day at 85 degrees with a slight breeze and it makes for a perfect day. Huge thanks to Johnny for putting this together!! Amazed at all you do for the golf community in Socal.
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They lost their super and these greens are now much slower to go along with the devastatingly slow play. Had to leave ye... » More

They lost their super and these greens are now much slower to go along with the devastatingly slow play. Had to leave yesterday because of it. Wait on every tee box due to one slow group a hole behind and no marshal willing to make them speed up. The course is decent but pace of play stinked and effects your game.
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Played here yesterday in the first group off (8:30) of the GK Plays event with mpisarski01, Adam, and Kevin. Good times!... » More

Played here yesterday in the first group off (8:30) of the GK Plays event with mpisarski01, Adam, and Kevin. Good times! We waited on the group in front of us all day, but POP wasn’t bad at just under 4 and a half hours.

Conditions are quite good for late September, highlighted by really nice fairways that provided good lies all day (although one of my drives did find a dry/bare spot). Greens are smooth, late-summer slow, and accept full shots well. Sometimes desert greens get a little furry in summer, but these were cut short and looked great, seeming like they’d roll much faster than they did. As a result, I had a hard time judging the speed on many greens. The rough had mostly great coverage and was a little longer than the fairways, but not very penal, except some areas far off line where taller grasses grow. (I found one such area left of 5.) Bunkers were nice; no issues to mention. Blue/white combo tees were all good. The starter mentioned they arrived Sunday morning to a mole hole appearing on the second green, but it didn’t affect me at all and I even forgot to go see how severe it was.

Great to see the return of GK Plays! I felt like Johnny was really in his element during the raffle and it seemed like old times – great to visit with some longtime GKers and meet new ones. I got some great prizes and had a super fun day.

Note: My rating reflects the late summer conditions, less than two weeks before they close for maintenance. I know the course will be much more lush and greens will roll faster post-overseed.
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Hadn't been here in over a year but made the trip out on Saturday 9/27 for a 11:27 tee time with my threesome paired wit... » More

Hadn't been here in over a year but made the trip out on Saturday 9/27 for a 11:27 tee time with my threesome paired with a single. Shortage of carts meant i rode with the single but he was extremely enjoyable to play with so all good although YMMV.

Didn't realize the greens had just been punched (should've checked GK!) so they were still slow and sandy but looked like they were healing up nicely. Should be great in a couple more weeks. Fairways were lush and tee boxes were in mostly good shape. Was in a couple of bunkers and the sand was firm and wet but otherwise not bad to hit from. Overall, I thought the course was in really great shape. Once the greens heal up again I'll be sure to try and add this to the rotation. It's a fun, challenging layout that requires you to hit a golf shot, and while there are a few holes that I find gimmicky, it's still a good track.

I do have to say POP was pretty brutal at around 5.25 hours; front was especially slow but things opened up somewhat on the back. There was cart service which was helpful, and the bar is conveniently located at the turn.

Nice day, nice track, can't complain. Will be back soon
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