Played Coyote Hills on a beautiful Sunday morning with a 8:30am tee time. It was my first time out to the "Hills" and I was pleasantly surprised by this unique, often quirky layout. This is target golf at it finest, this is not a "bombers" course and you rarely need (or want) more than about 220-230 off the tee. The course is fitted into an area that is very small and the slope of the mountain has a HUGE affect on nearly every hole, and not just the greens, but the fairways as well. So lets get to it, before we delve into the course, lets talk about the softer stuff.

The facilities here are average. Driving range was mats only (I hate that), and both putting greens had "no chipping" signs, so I'm not sure where you'd be able to practice chipping. Granted, I didn't have a whole lot of time to to warm up, so I didn't look, so it might exist and I just missed it. The service was OK. The pro shop was helpful and starter got us off on time but we never saw a marshal until #17 (5 1/2 hrs later) and beverage cart attendant, while helpful, had awful course etiquette. She routinely drove up on us while hitting and probably needs a little education.

The conditions of the course were very good. The course played very firm & fast, which is to be expected given the lack of water, but made it really difficult to keep the ball in play. This course was not designed with much bailout area, so having a ball roll out 50-60 yards is really tough. Greens were in excellent condition, they were medium fast, very consistent and didn't really have too much damage. The fringe however, wasn't good at all. Lots of greens had fringe that showed some kind of disease/dead grass that made putting/chipping from the fringe a crap shoot. The fairways & rough were very thin but I only had a handful of "poor" fairway lies and were generally pretty good.

The layout of Coyote Hills is it's differentiator. It's a short (6000 from the men's tees, 6500 from the tips) and is the definition of Target Golf. Many of the holes are really quirky and local course knowledge is useful. #1 for example, if you bomb a drive down the middle-right of the fairway, there's a decent chance you catch the slop and end up next to an oil derrick, so you're probably better off hitting a long iron/hybrid off the tee and stay on top of the hill leaving yourself with a mid-iron to the green. Nearly every hole has those kind of issues that you need to assess on the tee box. Also, it's a par 70 with just 2 par 5's, but both of them are squeezed in. For example the par 5, #11th, played 485 but the landing zone is a small strip of fairway, maybe 15-20 yards wide and slopes severely into a barranca with a fairway bunker guarding the opposite side of the fairway. The other par 5 is a little better, but again it requires a perfectly shaped shot to have access to the green.

If you come to CH and expect a target golf course, you'll be fine, but don't expect a wide open layout that is forgiving. Even though it's short, this is NOT a course for beginners or anybody who can't hit it very straight. We had a group of 30 people, and not one of the 20+ handicappers broke 100 (highest score was 128). So keep that in mind.

Played Mountain Meadows on 1/23 with a 7:00 tee time. Before I go into the conditions and course design, let's start by saying this is a Muni course, so please, temper your expectations. That being said, I have no clue how this course is rated a 6+ on GK's ratings.

Let's start with the facilities. The range is OK, it was mats only when I played so that was a bit of a drag. The putting green is actually in worse condition than the greens on the course. Service was quite good, staff was friendly and mostly competent. Carts are very basic and do not have GPS.

The overall conditions are poor. Fairways are spotty with serious bare spots and divots and the "rough" is even worse. I had numerous bad lies after good drives and found myself actually hoping to end up in fairway bunkers because I knew i'd get a decent lie there. The bunkers are very good, it looks like they have fresh sand in them and are very consistent. The greens are above average. They are fast and smooth, but really, really firm. For a muni, it's not awful, but don't be fooled, you'll get terrible lies all day.

The routing and course design is very tight. The course was built into the mountain and many of the holes seem "forced" into small spaces, resulting in almost unfair slopes and angles. If you cannot work the ball right to left AND left to right you'll be in for a long day. The course is really short, 6400 from the tips, so you rarely need a driver and actually I'd recommend you leave it in the bag and hit something that will find the fairway.

Overall Mountian Meadow's is a poorly maintained course with some funky routing. The good news is it's priced comfortably (paid $38 on a Sat morning) so I never felt like I was going to get Augusta-like conditions. Just don't get fooled by the GK rating this course is NOT in above average condition.

Played on Tuesday, 1/12 at 9:20am on a beautiful sun soaked SoCal morning. Overall the conditions at Sierra Lakes are a little mixed (we'll get to that in a minute) and the course design is somewhat bland, but not bad.

Let's start with the customer service. Sierra Lakes doesn't officially allow singles to make tee times, but when I called for a same-day tee time they but they were very accommodating. After checking in the starter told me to grab a cart, and I asked if I could walk to which he said

"this course is too difficult to walk and we want to keep the POP at 4 hrs, so carts are required."

Ok, no problem I'll take a cart. For the record, I think this would be a very reasonable walking course and we ended up waiting on nearly every tee box anyways so I don't think the carts helped speed up play. Never saw a beverage cart, but it being a Tuesday morning I didn't expect to see one anyways. I didn't get a chance to hit any ball on the range, but it looked like a mix of grass and mats. Also the carts do not have GPS and the course isn't really that well marked so bring your own range finder/GPS device.

The course itself is OK. Conditions are very mixed. The greens are fabulous and really, really fast (like PGA Tour fast). They are mostly smooth, although there were a fair amount of pitch marks, and they held incoming approach shots quite well despite being firm. However, as good as the greens are, that's about how bad the fairways are. First the fairways lack definition. There were numerous holes where you actually couldn't tell where the fairway ended and the "2nd cut" began (I use that term loosely). Also the fairways were very thin and had a different type of grass encroaching causing very poor lies. Bunkers were consistent with good coverage of courser, river bed sand. Tee boxes were level and well marked.

The course design is a little bland. It's a shorter course measuring 6800 from tips but since it's so firm it plays closer to 6600. Nearly every single par 4 is framed by a bunker at the landing zone and has an elevated green that slopes back to front. I don't have anything against that type of hole, but after 13 or 14 straight holes that look the same, you start yearning for something different. The par 3's are also a bit bland, 3 of the 4 today were set up from the same yardage (170-180). This might have been just bad luck, but i would of enjoyed hitting something other than my 6 iron into a green. The par 5's do provide a good change of pace and offer a bit of risk/reward. Unfortunately all that risk/reward is off the tee and none of the par 5's require much strategy after the tee shot.

Overall Sierra Lakes is an average golf course with phenomenal greens. If you want to experience "pro-like" green speeds for a decent price (I payed $42), Sierra Lakes is your place. However, don't expect immaculate conditions or a huge variety of holes.

Played the Celebrity course in the GK Event on 12/13. Many thanks to the IW staff and Johnny for setting up a wonderful outing. This was the 2nd of a double header for me. My post on the Player's Course has a rundown on the facilities (which are top notch), I'll focus strictly on the course in this review.

The Celebrity course is a "resort" course, meaning it's built not be overly penal and it's designed to "Wow" players with views and charm. Contrary to the Players course which offers a more natural desert flow, designer Clive Clark utilized his bull dozier and sculpted holes to fit the land. He relies heavily on bunkering and water features to frame most holes and the result is a course that requires the player to think their way around the course. The smart golfer will keep in the fat part of the fairways. For example, the 3rd hole is a shortish par 4 (375) that has a bunker pinching the fairway 240yds off the tee. The smart play is leaving the driver in the bag, hit it 225 and move on. Most holes have something similar that requires a bit of strategy.

One weird feature to this course is it has 14 par 4s. It's a little strange and some of the holes didn't look like they fit. For example, the short par 4 12th played just 250 from the tips. That's just a bad hole, either shorten it and make it a par 3 or add 50 yards and give players some options. Who wants to hit a 8 iron off the tee to lay up? Strange hole.

Conditions here we fantastic. A lot of people complained about the speed of the greens, but I found them to be very comfortable and very smooth. You had to be a little careful on down-hillers, but I was never afraid of any putt. Tee boxes & bunkers were perfect. Fairways were a little thin, but in that kinda good way. The rough was mowed down to about 1" and was not penal at all.

All in all, I really enjoyed the course and had a great time. Can't wait to get back out here!

Did a 36 hole barrage at Indian Wells as part of the GK Event on 12/13. Started the day on the Players course and was not disappointed. This is truly one of the premier golf facilities in Southern California and you'll get the "red carpet" treatment from the moment you drive up. I arrived at 6:00am and despite it being very cold, every employee I interacted with was pleasant, had a smile on their face and went out of their way to help me out. I was originally scheduled to play the Celebrity course twice, but as a single the pro shop was able to move me over to the Players so I could a taste of both courses.

The facilities here are fabulous. There are multiple practice areas, that could make it tough for people to navigate, but they utilize a pager system similar to a restaurant to remind you for your tee time. Very effective. Carts have interactive GPS which I found very helpful.

Ok, onto the course. The Players course is a bit longer and more natural than Celebrity. Designer John Fought utilized the terrain effectively to reward good shots yet not overly punish bad ones (as long as you keep it in the grass). There's really not much water (again, using the natural desert landscape), but there are a handful of forced carries that require you to hit solid shots. For example, #18 is a 420 yard dogleg right that has a huge landing area but on your second shot is all carry over an arroyo. Great finishing hole that probably yields few birdies, but still very, very playable.

Conditions here were near immaculate. Tee boxes are very level, rough was cut down and not meant to be penal, but it was perfect. In fact, the rough today reminded me of shaggy fairway at lower tier courses. Sand traps were in perfect condition. Fairways were a little thin, but I never had a really bad lie. Greens were very consistent, not fast, more like medium-ish. The only green with issues was #17, looked like they had a broken water pipe that recently damaged part of it. Another 2-3 weeks and it'll be healed, but right now it's still a little muddy.

Loved the course, loved the condition. If I had to choose between the Indian Wells courses, I'd take the Players over Celebrity every time. Can't wait to get back out there.

Played Strawberry Farms on Tuesday, 11/24 with a 8:45 tee time. Utilized the Costco deal that is on the GK Blog for $80 (Thanks!). The course is tucked back into the canyon and quite secluded. This was the first time I've played here and the staff was professional and courteous. The starter gave us a good rundown of the course and pointed us in the right direction.

The facilities here are average. The driving range was relegated to mats (which stinks) but it was a nice big range with plenty of stalls available and it is lit at night. There are 2 different putting greens that make it easy to find your own hole to practice on. Carts have GPS, but it only provides distances, not a course or hole map. My partner had a breakfast burrito that he raved about and I've heard the restaurant is above average (although I did not personally eat anything(.

Conditions today were good, but not great. The greens are fully healed from the aeration a month ago and run mostly true, but they have a lot of ball mark damage. Fairways are decent, but really thin throughout the course. Rough is sparse and not a real issue. Tee boxes are mostly level, but there are about a 1/2 dozen where I had to move around a bit to find a flat stance.

Course is a tough, but fair course. It plays 6300 from the "mens" tees, but it's a par 71 and it plays a little longer than 6300. There's 2 very short par 5's that counter act the ridiculously long 630 par 5 12th (that played into the wind today!) Actually, that long par 5 is a pretty well designed hole with a big landing area and narrows as you get further down, but it's an absolute beast. There are some really cool holes, like the short par 4 8th that yielded both an eagle and a double in our group and the 420 par 4 fourth that rewards 2 great shots.

Strawberry Farms is a good, but not great course. As far as Orange County golf goes, it's one of the better tracks, but at the $175 rack rate (weekends) it would be a massive disappointment. However, for $80, it was a great day and totally worth it.

Finished by Vegas trip with a round at TPC on Friday, 11/13. Facilities at the course were top notch. They definitely treat you like a "member for the day" with access to a great locker room, and generally excellent customer service. The driving range is very nice with adequate room, a practice bunker and a separate chipping area. Carts do have GPS available and I found it to be very helpful throughout the round.

The starter tried to talk us out of playing the blue tees (6800, 71.0/128) saying we could only play the blues if we can carry the ball 270. Kinda found that ridiculous that a course that's 6800 requires you carry it 270, so we ignored him. He wasn't happy, but we're all single digit handicappers and we weren't going to play from 6100. Throughout the course we never had to carry the ball 270, so I'm not sure what he was talking about. You COULD take a line that required a 270 carry, but as long as you can carry it 220, you're fine.

The conditions on the course were nearly perfect. Greens were really quick, very smooth, and had hardly any imperfections. Fairways were tight and clean, never had a bad lie throughout the day (other than the desert) and was very impressed with the play of the course.

Unfortunately, the layout and actual course routing is a little "blah." There are no real memorable holes, and rarely did the course make you think. Basically every hole was hit driver as far & straight as you can and keep the ball below the hole. There were a few holes where you had to choose the correct line to cross a canyon and the par 3's were a good collection, but given the amount of awesome holes in Vegas, and the $225 price tag, I expected a bit more.

Being on my "Vegas Bucket List" I came away a little disappointed, but the conditions saved the day. I've played on only a few courses that were in overall better condition than TPC and the customer service was generally, very, very good. If you can find a round out here for under $200, I think it's worth it to play at least once.

Played Falcon Ridge on the morning of 11/12. It was cold, very, very cold!

First the bad. When I arrived there was a back up in the proshop and everybody was just standing around. The staff didn't communicate to me what the problem was and never really told me "hey, there's a frost delay AND the computers are down so just sit tight for while." Rather, they just stayed on the phone (presumably with their IT folks) and just never addressed the customers. Finally, they got the computers fixed and told me to check in, which I did and said they'd start at 7:45. I had a 7:20 tee time, which was supposed to be the 2nd group, so I anticipated going off around 8am. Being a single, they pushed me to a later group (why did I make a tee time then!?!?) and I ended up not teeing off until 8:30.

Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, except there's no driving range here (big minus in my book) and the starter was asking people not to putt on the practice greens due to the frost delay (totally understandable).

Ok, onto the course. Conditions were quite good, which is typical for this time of year in Mesquite. Greens were smooth, fast, and firm. Fairways were in excellent condition, never had a bad lie and coverage was excellent.

The layout of the course is a little "tricked up," but not too bad. It may have been just the pin placements of the day, but there were multiple greens where the pin was virtually inaccessible given the firmness of the greens. A few of the holes seemed a little "forced," like the par 4 14th that requires a blind downhill approach with a mid-iron to a green protected by a pond, sloping toward the pond. Most of the tees are elevated and you rarely need a driver.

Overall Falcon Ridge scores well for condition, about average for layout, and bit below average for customer service. With the plethora of elite golf courses in Mesquite, not sure I'd come back as I rarely play courses without a driving range.

Played Aliante on 11/10 in some of the worst weather conditions I've ever played. Wind was consistently blowing at 30-40mph and the temp never really broke 50, so I'll try not to let that bias my review!

I'd call Aliante a really good "tier 2" Vegas course, but is priced accordingly especially with the 25% coupon on GK Store! Well north of the strip, but still only 25 mins away, it's a typical "community course" that winds through neighborhoods and it's pretty typical for one side of the hole to be flanked by houses. That being said, there's plenty of room for the holes and they don't feel tight, like some community courses will.

The facilities at Aliante are excellent, really solid driving range that can easily handle 30-40 people along with a good, level putting green and a little chipping area made it easy to warm up properly. The staff directed us to the first hole and was very accommodating when we had a late substitution to our group. Carts do not have GPS, so bring your own device.

Course itself is not particularly difficult (expect when you have a 40mph cross wind). We played from the Silver tees (6100, 69.0/124) and you rarely needed or wanted driver off the tee. Placement is much more paramount here than distance. There aren't a whole lot of memorable holes, but there's a cool little waterfall on the back that makes for a good scene and the par 5's all are reachable with not without danger either around green or off the tee.

Conditions were excellent, especially for $32!! Greens were fast, smooth, and consistent, but very, very firm. I'll say that was due to a frost delay and high winds and is probably not the norm. I was in a few poor lies in the fairway, but nothing outrageous. Sand was thin, but very consistent as it was thin everywhere. Tee boxes were mostly level, but a few on the back needed some work.

Overall I'd say Aliante is little hidden gem in Vegas. On par with courses like Wildhorse, Desert Pines, but at a 10-15% discount. On my next Vegas trip, I'll definitely try this course again, hopefully without the gale force winds.

Let's see, where do I begin? I'll make this simple. If you've never played Coyote Springs and you call yourself an avid golfer, you absolutely have to play this course. Yes, it's 40 miles from anything resembling civilization. Yes, it's very, very difficult. But this course could legitimately host a Ryder Cup tomorrow, it's that good. (It needs a new clubhouse, but more on that later). I'm not typically one for hyperbole, but this could be the best desert course in the country.

OK, onto my review. Let's start with with the facilities & service. Service is competent and very friendly but no elite. The clubhouse here is a glorified trailer. It's the only downside to the entire course. It does have the basics, but not much more. For those of you who know me, I'm a sucker for nice ranges, and Coyote Spring's range is awesome. It can accommodate easily 40-50 people, it's all grass, very level, and has a really nice chipping/bunker area. I'd put this range on par with high end ranges in Florida like World Woods, ChampionsGate, and OC National. Very impressive for a desert course.

The course itself is pure golf. Unlike other Mesquite/Vegas courses that feature impressive vistas and 100 foot canyons, Coyote Springs utilizes the natural terrain to really make you think. Nearly every hole has a risk/reward feature of some kind, weather its off the tee, on the approach or around the green. Course is 7300 yards from the tips (6600, 6200 from shorter tees), but it plays probably 150 yards farther due to elevation and well placed hazards. Fairways tend to be undulating but very wide and greens are huge but severely sloped.

Conditions were near immaculate. I played 36 holes today and I literally never had a bad lie other than when I hit it into the desert. Greens started the day very smooth but got a little bumpy as the day went on. The rough was thick but playable, and the sand was consistent throughout the course. Tee boxes were better than some putting greens at other courses... seriously, that good.

Overall, Coyote Springs ranks up there with elite courses I've played such as Kiawah, Streamsong, World Woods, and Bay Hill. It's on a different level than other desert courses that I've played in SoCal. And the value isn't even close. I played 36 holes for $69 during their high season. That just barely pays my caddie at other courses. Play here, you won't be disappointed.

Played Cross Creek on Saturday 10/24 and had the first tee time at 7am. In full disclosure I played the worst round of the year, I'll try not to let that skew my view but figured you should know. here we go...

First, if you've never been here, just be aware that it's deep in the mountain and cell service is spotty at best, so if you use an app for yardage, it'd be best to have a backup. My skycaddie worked just fine, but my partners app did not. Typically customer service here is excellent, but we must have gotten a rotten egg. The starter clearly had too much moonshine on Friday night because his only words to us were "Did you pay for those range balls" (uh, yeah?), and "you're the first group so don't hold anybody up" (thanks dude, for the record our POP was 3:15). I've played here 2 other times and that was my first bad experience, so i'll give them a temporary pass, but it's something they need to correct.

Facilities are about what you'd expect. The range is grass only which is nice, but it's a funky, spongy grass that doesn't resemble anything else on the course, but overall I'll take that over hitting off of mats any day. The practice green was closed when I got there, looked like there were putting down a topdressing, but it was just on the practice green. Carts don't have GPS so bring your own.

Onto the course. Cross Creek is really 2 different courses, the front nine is beautiful. Good mix of doglegs, uphill, downhill, and very fair. The back nine is target golf on steroids. Almost every tee shot requires a right-to-left ball flight (10,14,15,16,18 and you could argue #12 depending on the pin), and rarely can you actually hit a driver. Holes 16 and 18 are clearly "squeezed" into their area and are boarder line unfair. For example, 16 is a short par 4 with a slightly dogleg right, there's a water/marsh hazard guarding the right side and a steep slope on the left. Every tee shot, no matter where you hit it, will kareem down the slope to the far right hand side of the fairway, where you're partially blocked out by a group of trees. Bad design.

Other than the rough the conditions were quite good. Tee boxes were basically level, never really had a bad lie in the fairway and the greens were excellent. Not the fastest in the world, but very smooth and every green was consistent. The rough was not good. Lots of bare lies and a few times I was in a pile of dirt that should have been GUR but wasn't marked.

It's an enjoyable course, and for $45 on a Saturday Morning you simply can't beat the value. now my performance on the other hand......

Played Saturday, 10/17 in a 8:00 shotgun corporate outing. I was the organizer of the tournament which we do every 6 months at varying locations. Need to give a shout out to Steph McNulty & Art Guevera who were really easy to work with and made the event a success. I commend them for giving me a break when we had a no-show, putting us below the minimum for a shotgun, but they let us go and didn't charge me for the no-show. We'll definitely be coming back.

This was my first time at GR and the course isn't the most difficult in the world, which worked well for our group as we have a number of guys who shoot in the high 90's and low 100s. Somebody told me they combined 2 courses into one, and you can tell there's a serious difference between the front and back nines. The front is flat, straight in front of you and your typical "parkland" course. The back is a mountain course, with elevated tees, perched greens, and a more of a "target" course. Routing here is efficient and despite a shotgun start, we still played in just over 4 hours.

The conditions are better than I expected. Other than the first green, which was recently top dressed and looks like it's in trouble, the rest of the greens were consistent. Not great, but for the price, they were better than expected. The greens are incredibly soft, not sure if that's from the recent rains the IE got, but they held everything. Fairways were in good condition, not many divots and not too soft. The rough was ok, not great, but manageable. The downside to the rough is the leaves everywhere make it difficult to find your ball and slows down the round (don't know what a course can do about that). My only real compliant on the conditions are the tee boxes. Had a hard time finding level ground on most tee boxes and the grass wasn't cut short enough so it was a little tricky. That was probably the only part of the course that felt "cheap."

Other facilities at Green River were average. The driving range was mats only (which sucks). Carts are OK, but they don't have GPS so bring a range finder. Clubhouse was in good condition, the "19th Hole" has a large covered outdoor patio area which was great for our group. I didn't have any food, but the others in the group seemed satisfied.

Overall Green River is an average course that is a really good value. They probably get a ton of play so maybe we were lucky with the POP, but I'd come back here in a heartbeat.