Every time I come to the Palm Springs area I always play Indian Wells but also always include one new course. I met up with a So Cal buddy and we decided on SilverRock as neither of us had played it ... Continue »

Every time I come to the Palm Springs area I always play Indian Wells but also always include one new course. I met up with a So Cal buddy and we decided on SilverRock as neither of us had played it before. There are a lot of positive reviews on GK and it seems to be favored by some of the locals over places like Indian Wells and Classic Club so I was eager to see how it matched up.

Driving in you are initially treated to a great entrance with a huge waterfall. Then you drove a few hundred yards past some of the golf holes and all is wonderful... until you turn into the parking lot. The clubhouse is a temporary mobile trailer with some tents to cover the golf carts. Extremely disappointing for sure. It’s supposedly “temporary” but it’s been this way for a few years now from what I’ve been told From the “pro shop” you get in your cart and drive 5 + minutes to the range. There seems to be some heavy equipment working in the area so maybe the developer is finally getting things underway to get the rest of the property built up. For now it’s just a golf course in the middle of a large flat desert field.

As for the course. First the layout. Lots and lots of water. Most people know I thoroughly enjoy water features on a course so it was nice to see so much water lining the fairways and guarding the greens. The course also backs up against mountain side a la La Quinta. The track also has some huge bunkers. Both fairway bunkers and green side traps. In comparison, I’d say most courses have bunkers the size of an SUV. SilverRock has bunkers the size of a house. They are that much bigger. They will
Challenge your game for sure.

The rest of ten layout is pretty straightforward. Most holes are straight with only a few severe doglegs. The difficulty comes from the water hazards (I put 5 in the water and my buddy out
3 in the drink in one hole) and the bunkers.

As for the conditions. No complaints there at all. Fairways were nearly a 10. Easily in the 9-9.5 rating region. They were very lush and a dark emerald green with great coverage throughout

Greens were also very nice. They rolled true at a medium speed. Greens were moderate in size and had subtle but distinct breaks

Tee boxes and traps were also in decent shape. Customer service was 50/50. Pro shop guy was so so but the cart attendant was friendly and helpful. I had no problem giving him a tip. Oh and the sandwich at the turn was mediocre at best. It was equivalent to a prepackaged sandwich at a gas station.

So the big question is would I recommend this course?? That’s a valid question. Condition of the course itself is a strong yes, general layout and aesthetics of the track is a moderate yes. Overall impression of the facility, No.