I played here today on an Under Par deal. The course was rough. The greens where slow but rolled good. Many tee boxes reminded me of Victoria's fairways. I know I know, things will get much better as ... Continue »

I played here today on an Under Par deal. The course was rough. The greens where slow but rolled good. Many tee boxes reminded me of Victoria's fairways. I know I know, things will get much better as the air temperature cools and maintenance is completed. I loved the layout. The ninth was fun to play. Your tee shot is to an island fairway. You must be in the second half of the island. If not, you are playing over water to the green for a much tougher second shot. The holes bordering the property require good ball striking off the tee. The inner holes are more forgiving off the tee. This course is a classic worth your time even in less than ideal conditions.

Finally used up my Golf Moose Certificates and pulled the trigger on Desert Island (previously S at Ranch Mirage). We secured a 7:50 tee time and arrived in time to use the small practice areas. The ... Continue »

Finally used up my Golf Moose Certificates and pulled the trigger on Desert Island (previously S at Ranch Mirage). We secured a 7:50 tee time and arrived in time to use the small practice areas. The driving range was moved up but even if the tee's were at the back its only 250 yards. The lady in the pro shop was very nice and let us know that there was going to be nobody in front of us so we could tee off when ready. With that being said we played in less than 2.5 hours only waiting on 17 when we ran into a single who was fishing golf balls out of the water.

We didnt know what to expect for conditions as the last review was in June but when we arrived we saw immaculate fairways and greens and it stayed that way throughout the day. Tee boxes were flat and had plenty of grass to hit from. They did need to move the par three boxes as they were a little chewed up. Fairways were carpet like cut a little shorter allowing maximum roll. If you have never played here one of the instructions from the course is to pick up all of your divots and put them in the driver side cooler. This gives the fairways a very clean look overall, I think more courses need to do this. Rough was mostly lush with a few areas looking like the overseed didn't take well and the dormant Bermuda poking through but these were few and far between. Sand traps were just ok, two fairway traps were too firm for my liking. The greenside traps were better with soft sand that was easy to plug into them. Greens were fantastic with the exception of one which had some patches that were recently repaired. They were slightly on the soft side yet very quick. I seem to over-read putts all day it just looked like more break than there actually was.

I really enjoyed this course layout. Its very demanding off the tee with either large trees, Water, of OB tightening your tee shots all day. The Par 3's are all unique and run 150-200 yards. Carts are basic with no GPS but they get the job done. Cart girl was around if needed and there was 2 marshals out and about picking up divots that were left behind. Its nice to see the staff really take care of their course. I will definitely be playing here again. Especially with the golf moose deal at $170 for 2 players including free replay.

6/3 great review by Chuck leaving me to add very little. Yes the greens had some issues with at least 6 that had damage with #2 being the worst and the hole placed right in the middle of it.
By ha... Continue »

6/3 great review by Chuck leaving me to add very little. Yes the greens had some issues with at least 6 that had damage with #2 being the worst and the hole placed right in the middle of it.
By happenstance was having a late lunch at at the Real Italian Deli 44795 San Pablo Ave also a bakery with fresh Italian breads and deserts made daily a hidden gem we discovered by accident where we met 2 S residents that saw me with a score card and started a conversation saying that the course has had trouble with the greens every year at this time and treat them with some kind of oil and also that they just hired a new greenskeeper.
Dave 1 of the two players that went out with us said he was there 2 weeks ago and they were perfect. Any way it was what it was but a bit of a bummer.
For me I found the fairways to be cut tight and required a more precise strike than I was often unable to execute. I had the most trouble on chips and many of the areas closer to the green seemed drier and down right hard. The rough was not long but was grabby and thus often penal.
I played into 6 ? bunkers and had trouble as they for me were more firm than they appeared so the club tended to bounce with out taking much sand got out but long.
A very enjoyable round with Chuck with whom I would play anytime.

Played here teeing off at about 85 degrees, low humidity and a slight breeze. I was matched up with Gary00, and we played with Dave and Mike. Bag to cart check in is prompt at the drop off, and they p... Continue »

Played here teeing off at about 85 degrees, low humidity and a slight breeze. I was matched up with Gary00, and we played with Dave and Mike. Bag to cart check in is prompt at the drop off, and they park your cart strategically by the all grass range and yet close to the pro shop. Mary was working the the desk and tee sheet, starting groups and answering all my questions...she has a wonderful voice over the intercom. Range balls are complimentary, and so are ice/water dispensers. POP was 4.5 hours, could have been quicker.
The course is tight on many holes yet can feel deceptively open on many others. They use tree lines, water and fairway bunkers well, my driver didn't come out of the bag very often, due to this being my first outing there.
Tees were good, mostly level, a few were mixed bag and some chewed.
Fairways, rough, and areas around greens were very good, lush and we'll manicured.
The greens that weren't affected by a fungus looked and rolled good, about med-fast and not a lot of break. About a third had the fungus creeping in, say 10 -20% of thier surface, and the ball would break even less.
Bunkers were all good sand, just more damp and compacted than expected, the ball sat up more often than not.
I enjoyed the round and the 3-4 signature holes they have. The breeze increased perfectly as the round and temps progressed...I think it was 103 when we finished. It was surprisingly quiet, with Bob Hope drive and Eisenhower Hospital nearby. I would play here again, especially after the greens heal and with the $35 underpar rate. Thanks to Gary for setting this up.

Got a chance to play here Saturday, 10/31 at 10:30 with three guys I “knew” through Instagram but had never met IRL before: @th_golf_photography, @pjkoenig, and @oscargram_s2k. Lots of fun! The course... Continue »

Got a chance to play here Saturday, 10/31 at 10:30 with three guys I “knew” through Instagram but had never met IRL before: @th_golf_photography, @pjkoenig, and @oscargram_s2k. Lots of fun! The course was pretty busy but things were run very smoothly. All the members and clubhouse staff were really friendly and welcoming. Started right on time and finished in a little under 4 hours, waiting on no one (after the first couple holes) and never being pushed from behind. Kinda perfect for four guys all taking a million photos throughout the round.

Conditions are good. They apparently recently reopened from overseeding. I’m typically accustomed to seeing dark green ryegrass when a course just comes out of overseed, but the course didn’t really have that darkness. Still in good shape, though. Looked more like maybe typical April/May desert course aesthetics. Tee boxes were good. Fairways had good coverage, cut short. Rough was maybe 2 inches deep, nothing too penal. Despite no rakes, bunkers were mostly excellent, although one fairway bunker I was in was pretty wet. The greens were smooth, accepted full shots well and ran slow to medium slow. They didn’t look slow, but they were. I had a hard time getting the ball to the hole all day. Oh this is different… the carts have an ice chest on it, but the ice chests are labeled “Divots only” and are intended for you to pick up any post-shot debris to keep the course looking spiffy, and also supposedly because of something to do with helping the rye take hold. I suspect the members stick to this because the course had quite a “clean” appearance.

The design opens with four mid-length par 4s that almost feel like you’re playing the same hole four times in a row, although one green had a pretty substantial slope/shelf in the back that made it more interesting than the others. After those holes, the layout picks up speed and features some nice water holes and one wacky hole – the par-4 ninth has an island fairway before doglegging sharp right into the green. I eagled the short par-4 10th, holing out from about 65 yards. For the most part, every hole is heavily tree lined and many holes have OB from the course perimeter on one side or the other. It’s a nice mid-range private club in the valley. A real quintessential “Palm Springs golf” feel out there. I really like the multi-story condo buildings or whatever they are that serve as sort of the defining visual for this course, formerly known as Desert Island.

Covid stuff: Carts had plexiglass dividers although I ended up with my own cart. (Non-COVID but cart related… the carts all have a REALLY LOUD horn that you can honk with your foot. Kinda funny.) Masks required everywhere except on the course. Locker room open for changing shoes. Practice green open with no pins in the holes and shallow cups. Driving range open. Seemed like maybe irons only/not very deep? On-course pins have a contraption to lift the ball out of the hole after holed putts. As I mentioned earlier, no rakes in the bunkers. Tees in the carts. I had my own water but I saw signs for “no touch” water dispensers on course. Snack bar open at the turn. Beverage cart came around several times. Snack bar open at the turn. I think that’s everything.

Recommended!

Played here a few days ago. Fantastic people in the pro shop and the cart guy. We showed up without a tee time and were advise that there were no carts available. The current attendant encouraged us t... Continue »

Played here a few days ago. Fantastic people in the pro shop and the cart guy. We showed up without a tee time and were advise that there were no carts available. The current attendant encouraged us to walk and gave us pull carts and advised that at the turn he would have a cart for us. Fantastic that that he was looking out! We were about ready to leave and he changed our mind....
The course.... Pretty back and forth. Not too inspiring. Greens SLOW and not that receptive. Some greens were really diseased and burnt out with areas that need help badly. Bunkers were great. Definitely a nice track..... However I'm looking for something a little different to fit the eye. I won't be back. If you'd like something different give it a go....
$35 each on a clickitgolf.

Played at was formerly named 'Desert Island CC'b this past Sunday in a scga event. After the guard let me through the gate following his verification of my name on a printout, I parked and headed stra... Continue »

Played at was formerly named 'Desert Island CC'b this past Sunday in a scga event. After the guard let me through the gate following his verification of my name on a printout, I parked and headed straight to driving range in hopes of warming up. This was not to be, as the number of range stalls between both sides of the range were not nearly enough to accommodate the demand for such an event. Aside from that, the range itself was very nice, much like what a high end low volume country club range is envisioned to be.
Okay, fair warning, there will be a recurring theme in this review, much like the rest of the course, the tee boxes were very lush. I can not remember even one unlevel tee area. Divots on the par three's were minimal.
Although the fairways, like the tee boxes and rough; which was pretty thick in some places, not as much in others, were lush with ample coverage, in some places it was a bit thin.
Bunkers were hit and miss, as expected with the recent rains. A few bunkers were as expected, most were more playable than they appeared with the moist sand, and more than a couple had rather deep pools of water in them, lol.
Rough was lush virtually everywhere. Never so tall as to not find your ball, but extremely penal in some places. More penal than the rough was the water, which is in many places throughout the course.
The greens on this day were quite quick, if I had to guess I'd put them somewhere between 11 and 12. In addition, they were very very firm, as others in my group noted as well. Shots under 150yds barely made indentations in the greens, and had trouble staying on the green if not landed on the front 1/3. We saw several very short downhill chips land on the fringe seemingly perfect, only to roll across and off the green on the other side.
The staff were energetic and eager to help with every interaction concluding with a smile, this is vastly underrated.
All in all, a very nice course, highly recommended, deal available on underpar right now.

I played here sunday may 6th in the Golf Channel AM tournament. The course was fantastic. Tee Boxes level and green. Fairways like carpet and the greens were lighting quick. Sand traps were pga tour ... Continue »

I played here sunday may 6th in the Golf Channel AM tournament. The course was fantastic. Tee Boxes level and green. Fairways like carpet and the greens were lighting quick. Sand traps were pga tour quality. Very tight and challenging course.

played the "S" course today with another GK member. Course is in absolutely great shape. Driving range is free as well as the good service they provide to outside guest. Fairways were pure and gree... Continue »

played the "S" course today with another GK member. Course is in absolutely great shape. Driving range is free as well as the good service they provide to outside guest. Fairways were pure and green as well as very well manicured. I almost hated to take divots out of the fairways. Greens fast and very receptive as well as true. Plenty of good Sand in the bunkers tee boxes very level. This is a great Course to play so if you ever have a chance to play this Gem, I strongly advise that you do. oh and the weather was Perfect.