Played the Mission Hills Player course today (Sunday). Outstanding conditions as far as fairways and rough. Rough was lush and the ball had a tendency to sit down but not so bad that you could not advance it. Bunkers had enough sand to be able to slip your club through (except for the greenside bunker on 18, which I fortunately was not in, which I can only best describe as muck. Played the gold tees, some of the tee boxes, the grass was a little long, but there was plenty of room to set your tee. Customer service was Troon usual, which is outstanding from as soon as I parked I heard the golf cart with one of the attendants ready to take my clubs before I even stepped out of the car, to check in to the attendant riding with you in the cart to the car to put the clubs in your trunk. The Player course is a fun track to play especially because of the conditions, but I wouldn't say there are any blow away holes, but playing the golds at 6600 yards with a lot of long uphill par 4's can be a stern test of golf, but I never really feel beat up after playing. If you are looking for a course to play in the Coachella valley, keep this one on your list.

Hat Tip to Nicksquire for mentioning the greens. How can I forget to write about them. As he described the greens were in horrible shape. I think they put most of the pin placements in the extreme front of the greens so that players would not walk on them. Not familiar with what turf is used, but the had white sprout things that pockmarked the greens. Putts basically held their line, just felt on some putts you needed a bazooka to get it to the hole.

Played Silverrock Saturday, course is in better shape than the last time i reviewed. Coverage on the fairways was way better, less thin spots, nice lies for the most part. The rough (which is minimal anyways) was cut low, but consistent. Sand traps had plenty of sand to pop the ball out of those deep greenside bunkers. Greens were just top dressed and were slower than usual (as the guy who checks you in and issues you your cart said, had to give it an extra tap), but they rolled true. Heck even the 17th green was okay even though still by far the worst green on the course. Tee boxes were good, only some divot damage on the par threes which is to be expected. No work has started on the redesign, and nobody at the course seems to know when the maintenance will begin, if at all. Customer service was as usual outstanding, cart girl came around multiple times. The Big Horn Sheep made there appearance on the course right on schedule around 11AM, you can tell who is new to playing the course by who whips out their cameras at the first site of them. Highly recommend this course on any trip to the Coachella Valley.

Played Silverrock and the course has come back nicely from the aeration and punching of the greens. Service was its usual top notch self. Greens were in great shape except for #17, which has been a problem for awhile. The latest solution is to lay sod down, and in effect cut the green down to half its size. Quite the challenge hitting that green from 184 yards all over water.. Sand traps fully stocked with sand. Fairways for the most part have good coverage, but as usual for this course if you play in the morning portions of the fairways are sopping wet, and you end up with mudballs. I guess the bright side is even in 115 degree heat the course is very green. To me (very biased here as this is y home course in the desert), a must play for any golf trip to the Palm Springs/La Quinta area

Played Shadow Ridge with a Tee Off.com special of $26 because they just aerated the greens and punched the fairways. I am not going to comment on the course conditions per se as it was made well aware to me that the course had undergone heavy maintenance the week before. I would say give it 2 more weeks and it should be in good shape, Serivce was excellent from check in to cleaning clubs/departure. The food/drink cart was around quite often (it was approaching 110 so that gatorade went down FAST.) I found for a resort course the layout interesting, (18 was my favorite with the creek bisecting your drive and continuing down the left. and definitely want to play it again. Only negative and just a personal pet peeve was that some holes had long meandering drives between them,

Just an update to the happenings at Silverrock, I have reviewed this course enough times. Played Sat. 6/25, it was hot as the humidity was 44%. Service from bag dropoff, golf shop, cart girl, club cleaning is always top notch. They just aerated the greens (which they told me when I booked and also before I paid), and in another week and a half should be all healed, except I think sadly the 17th, that again it looks like they lost the green. Hopefully they will find a way to fix it soon, as it is the signature hole. The fairways, they are trying to keep them green, they also were punched, and they heavily water them in the AM, so you can get some muddy lies, even at 8:30 when the temp. is getting close to 100. now for the good news, they are keeping the back 9 open at least through next May. They are hoping they can do the changes to the course before they start on the hotel on the fly. First is changing #11 to a par 3, which I think is going over the lagoon. In any case, summer rate of $25 (I think for non-residents, maybe $30) to play this course even in summer condition is I believe a great deal.

Played both Sat. and Sun. as the weather for May was utterly amazing in the desert, and after next weekend the back 9 closes for a major redesign to be open by next November. The tee boxes and fairways are still outstanding, the bunkers, a couple of them were hard, crusty, and not that much sand, which considering the height of a lot of the bunkers made the "just get the ball on the green" mentality as opposed to trying to get any spin on a shot. The greens were a disappointment, as a person in our foursome (who plays the course probably 3 times a week) said the greens are the worst since the course was open. Now mind you, the greens are still better than 75% of the courses out there, just that a few were a little too baked out and were bumpy. I can understand that for the back 9 as 5 of the green complexes are going to be brand new, but the front 9 had some greens (primarily 4 and 8) that were really yellow. The course has a new superintendent, and hope the conditions are cause of the closure, and not that they decided on a different method of maintenance. Service was outstanding as always, saw the cart girl 3 times, and from bag drop to cleaning your clubs, all staff were friendly and attendant to your needs.

BTW, the rates to play while only the front 9 is open is $25 for 9 and $30 to play it twice. With 6 sets of tees and combo's, this is quite a deal if you are planning on playing some summer desert golf. And if you are look me up, would love to play with ya.

Played in the GK event on Sunday. Had a ton of fun. First time playing in the Temecula. Loved the course setting, no homes, course fitting in to the natural terrain. You definitely need to play this course a few times to figure out what club to pull and direction. Not much more to add to what already has been said, but my 2 cents. Greens, highlight of the course, smooth, subtle breaks that leave you scratching your head. I think our group made one putt over 5 feet. Tee boxes on certain holes (played the whites), were chewed up and difficult to find a nice area to tee off from. Some wetness in the fairways, but believe they watered not thinking we were going to have a cool overcast day. If it was sunny and warm, the mushy areas would of dried out. Bunkers, greenside were good, a couple of the fairway bunkers were more mud than sand. Customer service was top notch, several thanked me for coming, and there was a genuineness that makes me want to come back. Thanks Johnny for another great outing, and would definitely come back to play this course.

Played in the GK event with a fun group: bennyboi501, caligolfer1031, albyon. This course lives up to the PGA west standard for course condition: pristine fariways, smooth greens (I think I only had to fix multiple ball marks on one hole), and top notch customer service. Howver, having a separate entrance, clubhouse, and not driving through the PGA complex, you do not get that feel like you are in PGA West. The no rough appears to be a Norman design feature (Tiburon in Florida is another), which is interesting considering his troubles at The Masters. As far as the course design, nothing really wowed me, some intimidating holes, but not one that I would say is a wow, what a dramatic hold. I have played here several times, and for the right price, I would always come back.

Played the Dunes course last week on a $65 Golf Now rate. WOW what a surprise. The course was closed for maintenance and remodel for a couple of months after the latest flood, and just reopened a month ago. I played it after the flood and before the remodel, and was hoping for improvement to the course, and they delivered. First, they made the course a little easier (fairer?), by cutting away a lot of the long brush that used to line the fairway, and making it a intermediate rough. Before a shot slightly off the fairway, and your ball was lost. Also, the rough has been cut down in places so at least you can play from it. This is a Pete Dye design (think PGA stadium course lite), so if you are not a fan of moguls, raised greens, severe drop off areas around the greens, you will not like the course. It plays for the most part like a links (there is some water of the course, primarily on the par 3's). The sand is heavy, like sand you would find on a coastal course not one in the desert, but it is definitely playable. The greens were the highlight. I think I fixed one ball mark (besides my own) during the whole round, and they are running fast. Service was what you would expect from a 5 star resort, and the cart girl came around frequently. For $66, this was well worth the money, and I enjoyed this course just as much as those in the desert that charge much more.

Haven't posted in a while, haven't been playing much golf, but back at it. Played the "rock" on Christmas day for resident rate (too low to mention). The course is in top shape. From check in to the first tee you are met by smiling efficient service. Cart girl came around 3 or 4 times. The 8th green (shortish par 3) showed some ball marks primarily in the 2 pin positions that are used on the weekends (long left and short right). Got around in about 4 hours teeing off at 9:10. I know I am biased but this is my favorite course in SoCal. You need length on some holes, position on others, but you need a plan on every shot. Bunker sand is great (and you will most likely find a bunker on this course). I definitely recommend this course although during the "season" it is quite pricey for those that are non-residents.

Played Marriott Valley Sat. morning with fellow GK members Sixpez, Eaglee, and Lotrgolfer48. thanks guys for the great time. This course is a Ted Robinson design, a golf course architect that I really enjoy playing his courses, as his mix of holes generally has you playing different clubs off the tee not automatically reaching for driver all the time. Mostly forgiving fairways, water hazards, some of the greenside bunkers were deep But a visually beautiful course, pleasure to play. Greens in good shape, a tad faster than Desert Willow played. Sand was compact typical for summer in the desert. Fairways were great, never had a bad lie. Fun Island water hole. We played at a discounted rate of $39, how can you beat that? Will definitely add to the courses I play in the area

Played Darkhorse on Saturday April 19, 2014 on the second day of my trip. Payed $59 for a course that in Southern California would have to pay double, and it would be well worth it. Great layout, interesting holes (loved them all except for the par 5 #15 which is a blind first and second shot) scenic views and many elevation changes. Most holes you are shooting to an uphill green, so course knowledge is a must if you are going to score well. As with Auburn CC, the fairway were in great condition, rough was penal not harsh and the greens rolling smooth, and a bit faster than at Auburn CC. A definite must play if you are in the area. For those that have been following the Golf in Trouble forum, there are signs all before the first tee about pace of play and keeping up with the group ahead. Also right on the card it had which tees you should play from depending on your handicap. My group is all about the same handicap so we all played the same tees, and we all scored about what our handicap was, and made for an enjoyable but challenging day. I wish more courses would follow this example.