I have to start with the Pace of Play. We tee'd off 10 minuets late and quit after 5hr 15 min and 15 holes played. This may have taken the record away from Costa Mesa CC for longest round ever. We wai... Continue »

I have to start with the Pace of Play. We tee'd off 10 minuets late and quit after 5hr 15 min and 15 holes played. This may have taken the record away from Costa Mesa CC for longest round ever. We waited on every tee box and usually two groups on each tee. The marshal even came by and gave us a bogus excuse saying he couldn't find the back up.

Other than that the course was a lot of fun to play. Fairways were mostly lush and cut short providing extra roll out on most drives. Greens were firm and lightning fast but I had no issues. Tee's and rough were good to great in most areas. Sand was firm and could use a truck load in a few locations.

I recommend playing here but if I see another review with long POP I wont return there are better courses in the valley.

Played the North Course at Terra Lago with GKer Nickesquire using an Underpar certificate with replay for $45 on a cold morning, 12/17/19 at 7:40 am. Couldn’t get an earlier time from the shop, which ... Continue »

Played the North Course at Terra Lago with GKer Nickesquire using an Underpar certificate with replay for $45 on a cold morning, 12/17/19 at 7:40 am. Couldn’t get an earlier time from the shop, which was strange since we saw almost no one on the course ahead of us as we played around. The course has come out of recent maintenance in late November and was CPO until last week – three holes on the North were still path-only during our round. We went off on time as the twosome we were slated to join never showed. Weather was sunny and pretty calm, with only occasional light breezes – we were glad we didn’t catch any of the blustery Santa Ana winds that were active in Orange County and western Riverside that day. Driving up, the clubhouse is not inspiring and I had to search a little bit to pick up the correct signage for the entrance. While quite a bit of housing has been added since my last visit there are still many of the surrounds in the clubhouse area and along some parts of the course that are unmaintained and look rough and unkempt. I assume that as more infill happens the rough edges of the course will be sanded off. I got there early enough to go over to the practice area. They feature a huge grass driving range (limited number of balls with the fee, though), scattered chipping and sand areas, and a large putting green. The range has several well-defined ‘target’ greens, but I didn’t see any kind of yardage indicators for the targets. I last played the North course back in 2002, when it was still hosting the Skins Game and was a hot ticket. A couple of holes have been redesigned since that time to accommodate the timeshare resort that was built next door. I didn’t remember very much about the course, especially the back nine, but got some help from looking at my old yardage book and reading Nick and others extensive reviews. I was looking forward to getting back. Greens had good coverage but were EXTREMELY firm – many of our shots left almost no ballmark. However, all greens had a lot of old ballmark scars. Greens rolled well at medium speed. I didn’t remember all the substantial internal movement and tiering on most of the greens – getting in the wrong area could easily leave long putts with elevation changes, noses coming off bunkers, tiering, and significant runoff slopes to contend with. Green surrounds frequently had a LOT of slopiness and severe elevation change in close proximity. This slopiness, the plateau nature of most greens pushed up above the surrounds, soft approach turf in front of the greens, and surrounding deep hazards made precise iron play a must, and made chips and pitches from around the greens challenging. This course has a lot of fairway and greenside bunkers, as well as extensive waste bunker areas intruding from the surrounding desert. Many/most of the waste bunkers have been let go and are not being closely maintained, with fluffy grasses growing into the waste areas. In the past, these waste bunkers defined the playing areas, and contributed to the beauty of the course with the light-colored waste area sand against the green of the fairways – this element has been lost with the grow-in, which can range from scattered clumps of grass to total coverage of 2-3” deep fluffy plant material, so the types of lies you get and shots you must hit can vary greatly. Fairway and greenside bunkers varied in quality – most looked ‘dirty’ and in need of fresh sand and a facelift. Early on we found greenside bunkers damp, thin, and needing a better playing layer. On many holes being in a greenside bunker means being well below the level of the green, and having a good base to play from is essential. Fairways and rough were not lush compared to other Palm Springs area courses that recently completed their aeration; lies were often thin or clumpy, although better than many courses I play in Orange County. Tees were mostly level and fine; occasionally a tee would slope slightly behind a right-handed golfer. Good carts, with an ice chest with ice only, and no water, and Nick looked in vain for a charging port. Just a ‘small touch’ thing – no tees were provided in the cart. The GPS in the cart is not interactive, and distances provided to the green are F/M/B only, not pin location. A provided pin area sheet with zones 1/2/3 was more frequently wrong than right, so we had to use our own tools. Yardage books are available in the shop, and most holes feature 200 and 100 yard poles in the COF. More water stations are needed on the course, especially on the back nine as temperatures rise. We played Gold (71.4/132/6,511) as those were the tees my partner preferred, but my game and my age tell me that I need to move up to White (68.5/125/5,870) or play a Combo set of tees (if it is rated/sloped). Poor ball striking definitely hurt me here, and I didn’t make a putt the entire round – the experience would be better when greens are more receptive to various approaches. I would like another go at this fun and challenging course. Recommended.

Rode the Golds (6511/71.4/132) with Dconnally in slightly less than 4H early morning using Underpar. The weather started 50ish and warmed up to 60ish, clear & fairly calm. The over seeded tees were ... Continue »

Rode the Golds (6511/71.4/132) with Dconnally in slightly less than 4H early morning using Underpar. The weather started 50ish and warmed up to 60ish, clear & fairly calm. The over seeded tees were lush overall with only the par 3's needing divot attention. The over seeded fairways had good coverage but it was still 50/50 whether you would have a thin or plush lie. The over seeded rough is lush, thick and long enough to rule out longer clubs. The sand traps were decently raked, but WAY too thin on a course with raised, quick, firm greens. The fairway and waste bunkers are mostly unraked and firm, no longer maintained. The large over seeded greens were smooth and putted medium fast speed. Very firm, almost no ball marks, even high, well struck irons would release 10+'. The customer service was very good from everyone. friendly starter, Marshall out patrolling offering apples/oranges and the beverage cart was around multiple times. This would be a very difficult to walk as numerous tees are a long way from the last green. GPS shows yardage to bunkers and F/M/B of the green. All grass range with practice holes is a +. Like the Schmidt/Curley layout, especially the back 9 where you have some long tough holes mixed in with some shorter risk/reward holes. Recommended.

Rode the Golds (6511/71.4/132) as a single in slightly more than 3H mid day using Forelinx. The weather was in the mid 90's, clear & fairly calm. Like the Schmidt/Curley layout, especially the back... Continue »

Rode the Golds (6511/71.4/132) as a single in slightly more than 3H mid day using Forelinx. The weather was in the mid 90's, clear & fairly calm. Like the Schmidt/Curley layout, especially the back 9 where you have some long tough holes mixed in with some shorter risk/reward holes. Today was normal playing conditions for this course before over seeding. A little rough around the edges but very playable, playing very firm throughout. The Bermuda tees were lush overall and only the par 3's needed divot repair. The Bermuda fairways had good coverage but were more thin than lush. They showed signs of a recent aeration. The Bermuda rough is mowed down low. More thin than lush with occasional hardpan areas. The sand traps were well maintained, more dirt than sand, but they played okay. The fairway bunkers are less maintained, most were firmer and some are no longer maintained. The large Bermuda greens putted medium speed and were firm, almost no ball marks. Deceptive contours mean you will rarely have a straight putt here. The customer service was very good from everyone even if the staff was minimal in off peak season. No drink cart/starter/Marshall today, but considering I only saw one 2some within 9 holes of me, not justified. Terra Lago would be very difficult to walk as numerous tees are a long way from the last green. The GPS was not working on the carts today and the all grass range was closed. Recommended.

07.13.19
06:45am - 10:30am
12:00pm - 04:00pm

At about 05:30am on my travel approaching the Coachella Valley, the temps got up to 93* right away but settled to 88 when I got to the course. Partly... Continue »

07.13.19
06:45am - 10:30am
12:00pm - 04:00pm

At about 05:30am on my travel approaching the Coachella Valley, the temps got up to 93* right away but settled to 88 when I got to the course. Partly cloudy but the heat was persistently noticeable as it got up to 114* as forecasted.

It was hot, but then as prepared as we were that day, it made it easy to deal with. (seven guys including me) $27 per person on someone's golf deal.

At this time of year there, we're not expecting much from the course's conditions. It's typical for the greens not to be in good shape at all even though it was playable. It was bumpy in some spot but it putted better than it looked (if that makes any sense to you).

The fairways and teeing grounds were okay. Some of the bunkers could use sand, and there's hardly any rough around.

Beverage cart came by a couple times. The staff were nice. Glad there was a shower room, it made the drive home a little more comfortable.

Rode the Golds (6511/71.4/132) as a single in 2H, 45M late afternoon. The weather was in the mid 90's, clear & windy. The tees were lush overall and only the par 3's needed any divot repair. The f... Continue »

Rode the Golds (6511/71.4/132) as a single in 2H, 45M late afternoon. The weather was in the mid 90's, clear & windy. The tees were lush overall and only the par 3's needed any divot repair. The fairways were mostly lush, but had a few areas of hardpan. The rough is more thin than lush and mowed low. Occassional hardpan areas. The sand traps were well maintained, but most were thin. The fairway bunkers are considerably less maintained, most were hard/crusty. The large greens putted medium speed and were smooth and firm. Deceptive contours mean you will rarely have a straight putt here. The course would be very difficult to walk as numerous tees are a long ways from the last green. Good GPS on the carts and they have an all grass range with a couple of practice holes are included in your fee. The customer service was excellent from everyone. No drink cart today. Like the course layout, especially the back 9 where you have some long tough holes mixed in with some shorter risk/reward holes. The course is very playable, but is beginning to brown and is very firm throughout. This results in more roll than most would be accustomed to. Recommended.

I'm incredibly late posting reviews for my recent trip to Indian Wells, I've finally got the time to get these done. Day 1 of the trip was playing 36 at Terra Lago on 3/7/19, starting with the north c... Continue »

I'm incredibly late posting reviews for my recent trip to Indian Wells, I've finally got the time to get these done. Day 1 of the trip was playing 36 at Terra Lago on 3/7/19, starting with the north course. I teed off about 7:30 as a single behind a two some that played at a very nice pace getting around in about 3 hours. Conditions were very solid all the way around, tee boxes nice, fairways very nice to play from, and very good greens. I had a little trouble getting used to their speed (the pacific northwest has been very much in winter condition) as it felt like they were fast, and then got faster about half way through the front 9 as things were drying out. Greenside rough could be a little bit hit and miss, some spots were very nice, others not so much. I really liked the layout, and it would definitely be in the rotation if I lived in the area.

Teed it up last week with 7 other GK’ers at Terra Lago North and had a great time!

It was my first time playing the North Course. I’ve read so many mixed reviews over the years about Terra Lago No... Continue »

Teed it up last week with 7 other GK’ers at Terra Lago North and had a great time!

It was my first time playing the North Course. I’ve read so many mixed reviews over the years about Terra Lago North I really did not know what to expect. I had a feeling it would be in great shape with exception to the bunkers as I had played the South Course a month prior. Well it was in even better shape than the South Course. Greens running med/fast, smooth and holding shots. Fairways lush like carpet. Rough dormant bermunda in most cases with good coverage and some occasional thin spots. On the far edges of the rough adjacent to the desert hazards it’s thin with occasion bare spots. You need to hit an accurate tee shot or there is decent chance it will release into a hazard. Bunkers in decent shape overall with firm sand. The weak link but certainly playable. Tee boxes mostly lush, a few thin ones here and there but good to play from.

What really won me over with this course, and instantly propelling it into my Top-20 desert courses is the layout. Total blast to play. Scenic views. Tight fairways beautifully framed by the desert landscape. Many risk/reward holes. Diabolical green complexes with tough pins and fun putts. And the last 5 holes are one of the best and unique closing holes stretches I've played anywhere. I just re-uploaded the photos in higher resolution so check them out. Can’t wait to get back there for another round.

Played 12-20-18 with Nick,Larry and Ron getting around the course in about 4 hours with no waiting. Tee boxes were in good shape, level and lush with some minor divot damage on par threes. Fairways we... Continue »

Played 12-20-18 with Nick,Larry and Ron getting around the course in about 4 hours with no waiting. Tee boxes were in good shape, level and lush with some minor divot damage on par threes. Fairways were in really nice shape, very lush with great lies and minimal roll out. Rough is dormant and a little thin but still in descent shape. Was in two greenside bunkers that were a little thin and firm. Greens were in really good shape, rolling medium speed and true. Overall course is in really good shape and fun to play with a semi-challenging layout. Costumer service was great at all levels. Really nice to see this course getting back to its former great conditions.