Day one of a three-day Palm Desert trip found us at the always fun Marriott's Shadow Ridge yet again. Why do we always seem to come back here each and every time? Because it's simply a great track and... Continue »

Day one of a three-day Palm Desert trip found us at the always fun Marriott's Shadow Ridge yet again. Why do we always seem to come back here each and every time? Because it's simply a great track and a pretty great value for what you get in a golf experience.

First stop is the terrific range. After that, a nice, plush cart awaits you with a good, not great GPS system. We played from the green tees today and found the tee boxes in very good condition - never an issue. We also had cart service numerous time and never waited on a single hole with a 1pm tee time.

Greens are in very nice condition, although not quite as fast as they look. I gave far too many downhill putts too much respect and came up short quite often. But the lines are true and there aren't many gimmicks or too many adventures on these 18 greens. I appreciate that. But please don't think that they're easy - you still have to navigate the subtle slopes and get the speeds right off some of the sharp embankments if you happen to be offline on approaches.

You will definitely find plenty of beautiful fairway to work with though the entire afternoon, and the rough is lush and inviting of good shots. I found a few of the bunkers as well and found the sand to be in good shape. A few of the fairway bunkers were being allowed to grow some plant life, same as the waste areas, but nothing too overwhelming to point the finger.

Shadow Ridge. Quite simply one of the best experiences in the Coachella Valley. Don't miss it.