It was a last-minute opportunity thanks to a canceled meeting after working for two days out in Palm Springs that I was able to meet up with Nickesquire and play the never before heard of Mountain Vis... Continue »

It was a last-minute opportunity thanks to a canceled meeting after working for two days out in Palm Springs that I was able to meet up with Nickesquire and play the never before heard of Mountain Vista Country Club this past Friday. We played the Santa Rosa 18 along with mnielson and his wife Doris after they had all spent the morning playing the San Gorgonio 18.

Again, I had never heard of this course before and was anticipating something more akin to Indian Palms or Tahquitz Creek in terms of quality and conditions, but I could not have been more wrong. Mountain Vista was every bit as pristine and well-manicured as any of the top courses in the Palm Springs area currently following their pre-winter reseeding.

The course winds through a residential community from start to finish, but you rarely ever feel that tightness of the course due to that design. Fairways often feel incredibly generous, but don't be fooled into thinking this course is a pushover, because it's not. There are a lot of very tricky water features to manage and many of the greens have steep dropoffs around them to put a premium on well-struck approach shots. That being said, the tips here are not too long so playing from the black tees is not the challenge you would expect it to be.

Course conditions are really great from tee to green. Tee boxes in exquisite shape, fairways, as previously mentioned, in perfect condition - green, inviting and lush. Rough is very thick and lush but cut down to be extremely playable. Bunkers are not the white fluffy sand, but in good shape compared to other resorts. And the greens are great. Not too gimmicky, but definitely have to do a good job of reading them. Coverage is really nice, they're medium-fast to fast on most holes, and seemed to hold shots very well.

We had cart service come around as well and there are plenty of water and restroom stations along the routing to keep you happy. The course is generally flat but you've got a few treks between holes. It'll keep you engaged, though. Really nice experience and definitely a course I would like to come back to again in the future. You may not have heard of it, but it will hold its own with plenty of the region's best in its current shape.