played in a 120 degree heat. greens were the slowest ever. would of been better putting off the fairway.

played in a 120 degree heat. greens were the slowest ever. would of been better putting off the fairway.

The course layout, facilities and staff are great at Desert Springs - Palms Course but the recent rain and then hot weather has been tough on the greens. They look fast but are a combination of fast a... Continue »

The course layout, facilities and staff are great at Desert Springs - Palms Course but the recent rain and then hot weather has been tough on the greens. They look fast but are a combination of fast and slow which is frustrating. I would expect them to get better closer to the summer months which is when I'll probably go back.

Played here today (1/30/16). Started at 1:30 and got a phenomenal deal courtesy of contacts at the hotel. Weather was perfect for golf; 75 witha very light breeze.

As for the course, it is phen... Continue »

Played here today (1/30/16). Started at 1:30 and got a phenomenal deal courtesy of contacts at the hotel. Weather was perfect for golf; 75 witha very light breeze.

As for the course, it is phenomenal; not because of the course itself, but because of the staff. The pro shop guys were great. The guys that loaded bags were great. The starter/marshal was the single best marshal i have ever encountered. The cart lady was super sweet, even though the one slice i had all day nearly hit her cart.

As for the course itself, the conditions were immaculate. The tee boxes had some divots, but all had been filled. There was maintenance staff filling divots around the course today, which was really nice, actually. The fairways were perfect, as was the rough. The bunkers were fluffy and filled with nice white sand. The greens were all rolling just perfectly, and the only ball marks that i had to fix were my own.

As for the layout, i was pretty impressed. While i normally like real desert golf, this course had enough interestimg stuff to keep me interested. Lots of palm trees; so many that it looked like Hawaii in some respects. Also, the greens were probably the most difficult greens i habe ever played. They rolled perfectly, but almost all of them were multi tiered with severe breaks.

In any case, i really enjoyed this course and will be out to play it again soon for sure.

Played Sun 6/7 7:30 shotgun. HOT. Course in good shape, but definitely showing signs of drought. Very playable. Greens were very very slow, but rolled true. I always enjoy playing here. I guess t... Continue »

Played Sun 6/7 7:30 shotgun. HOT. Course in good shape, but definitely showing signs of drought. Very playable. Greens were very very slow, but rolled true. I always enjoy playing here. I guess they are punching this week.

Played on Wednesday 6/3, solo without a reservation. Check in was easy, courteous. Cart attendants were friendly, and directed me to the starter. The starter asked some questions concerning which of t... Continue »

Played on Wednesday 6/3, solo without a reservation. Check in was easy, courteous. Cart attendants were friendly, and directed me to the starter. The starter asked some questions concerning which of the courses I wanted to play, and if I wanted to join others or play solo, then allowed me to warm up on the range and practice green. After a brief warm up, I returned to the starter and he got me ahead of a group of 4 on the Palms Course. I teed off solo at 11:45AM, and at the first tee was the only time I saw other players ahead or behind, until I saw a group of two who were on the 16th green while I putted on the 14th green. Playing at a relaxed pace, I finished in just over 3 hours, under warm, sunny skies. There were abundant water fountains and restrooms all around the course, and drink cart service came around several times.

I really enjoyed the layout, with lots of undulating fairways, water features, dogleg holes and interesting green complexes. The course winds through a resort, with lots of condominiums, but didn't ever feel cramped. I played from the blue tees, but would have been comfortable playing from the tips (black tees).

Tee boxes were all in good shape, generally level with fine turf, and only minimal divot damage on par 3 tees.

Fairways were mostly fine, with some areas appearing a little burnt. Balls hit in fairway sat up, and were easy to strike, even from burnt areas.

Rough was lush, but not too thick, nor penal, so easy enough to play from. Palm trees, mesquites and willows provided obstacles that had to be navigated from the rough.

Three times I had to play from green side bunkers. All had clean, white well-maintained sand, perfect for playing blast shots. All bunkers had ample rakes, which were placed in sand with handles extending out to grass.

Though the greens were top dressed with sand, they seemed to roll true at medium speed. They held well hit approaches, and rolled out nicely on chips and pitches. On the third hole, I was able to hole out a great pitch off the slope to make birdie.

For $39 with cart and range balls, I would recommend this course.

Course is in good shape all around and if you play in the afternoon, nobody is out there for the most part. Biggest problem is course runs through the Marriott Villas. On a crowded weekend, there are ... Continue »

Course is in good shape all around and if you play in the afternoon, nobody is out there for the most part. Biggest problem is course runs through the Marriott Villas. On a crowded weekend, there are people all over the course. On #5, we had two guys giving golf cart rides to their screaming kids across the fairways, 100 yards from green where people were putting. On # 9, 7 people were camped out just off the fairway having a party, complete with a tripod they had set up to take pictures of the mountains. Other holes had kids playing ball etc. Management said not much they can do and they were nice enough to comp us rounds for next time but be careful of holiday weekends here. Great golf course across the street at Desert Willow.

Played 3/19/15. If you are anywhere near this course, you have to play it at least once! The grass is so green and hardly any brown spots. It's like they painted the place green. The only thing that I... Continue »

Played 3/19/15. If you are anywhere near this course, you have to play it at least once! The grass is so green and hardly any brown spots. It's like they painted the place green. The only thing that I have any gripes about were the greens. It's supposed to be peek time in the desert and they're kinda rough (almost like being aerated minus the punch holes). Other than that, awesome course! You're in for a real treat if you come. Fairways were nice and fluffy, not too tight. Rough is just long enough to cover your ball up but easy to get out of. Sand nice and fluffy in the four that I went into. If the greens were just a little better, this place would be immaculate...

Played 6/15 at around 6:30am. Very busy place even at 6am'ish....Felt like a cattle-call.

played from the blues for no particular reason...wasn't a mistake until hole 16 and 17....ugh!!!!

Didn't... Continue »

Played 6/15 at around 6:30am. Very busy place even at 6am'ish....Felt like a cattle-call.

played from the blues for no particular reason...wasn't a mistake until hole 16 and 17....ugh!!!!

Didn't care for the volume of gnats all over the course...somewhat detracted from the experience. Fairways and rough were great...Greens were in that same transitional state and pretty challenging to hole anything outside of 10ft. Bunkers were in a very playable condition. Didn't see cart service all morning...but then again it was pretty early so no big deal.

Last Sunday (1/26) I played the Palm course at the Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, CA. Every year I manage to make one or two trips to the Palm Springs area and always stay at the JW Marriott... Continue »

Last Sunday (1/26) I played the Palm course at the Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, CA. Every year I manage to make one or two trips to the Palm Springs area and always stay at the JW Marriott to play at one of the resort’s two courses. If you are looking for a great place to stay with several nice restaurants, pools and a top tier SPA to compliment your getaway I highly recommend this resort.

My tee time was the first one of the day at 6:54am and I was a single. I arrived 45 minutes early and it was still dark, but the outside services staff was very pleasant and had me set-up within minutes of arriving. The same was true for the golf shop staff, which quickly got me out to the first tee. The range, which is conveniently located next to the first tee, was just opening so I only had a few minutes to get in a dozen swings before it was time to play. The starter asked if I would mind pairing up with another single and sharing a cart to accommodate a large tournament they had in the morning that required a large number of carts. We tee’d off about 10 minutes early just as the sun was coming up.

The course was in some of the best shape I had ever seen and I have played in the winter, spring and fall. The tee boxes and fairways were perfectly manicured and the rough was lush with very few bare spots. I was only in a couple bunkers, but the sand was groomed and very easy to navigate. Far and away, the greens were the best I had ever seen them. They were consistent and very true. I made several putts outside of 10 feet and my advice to anyone playing there is to not over read the break. There is not as much there as it may appear.

We were the first group off so pace of play was not a problem. With it being early on a Sunday morning there was limited active maintenance so we moved quickly and finished in a little less than 3 hours, just in time for breakfast.

Overall, I would give the resort and course a high grade. The only black mark I would give my entire experience is that the rate available to guests of the hotel or to Marriott Rewards members was very disappointing. I tried booking my round through my hospitality coordinator and the best rate I could get was $160. After spending a few minutes online I was able to find the same tee time on the same course for only $89. I raised this with both the hotel staff and the golf shop staff, but nobody seemed to be concerned that the resort treats it frequent guests worse than somebody just looking for a single round of golf. At $160 it is not a bad round of golf, but I highly recommend looking for an online promotion rather than booking directly at the resort.