Behind on my reviews this month, but better to post than not at all.

THANK YOU everyone that came out for our year end outing on 12/9 and all our great goodie sponsors. AndewZ28 on hand making it ... Continue »

Behind on my reviews this month, but better to post than not at all.

THANK YOU everyone that came out for our year end outing on 12/9 and all our great goodie sponsors. AndewZ28 on hand making it rain Linksoul apparel! OnCore Golf, Golf Moose and Vivid Golf also loading up the prize table.

I only played the front nine because I wanted to have more time hanging out with our group when they finished and setup our raffle/prizes. My favorite part of the outings is the good times we have after play so this worked out perfect.

Desert Willow Golf Resort was in super shape as always which many of the previous reviews indicate so I’m going to give an golf organizer perspective here.

First off, the staff is exceptional from start (the day I emailed DWGR to organize the event) to the moment we left and even follow-up emails asking how everything went. Very friendly, professional, accommodating and on time.

The staging area is perfect. It’s easy to keep track of all your players from bag drop to tee time. The practice facility is next to the clubhouse and includes driving range (balls already set up), practice putting and short game area. Golf carts are conveniently staged with a dedicated staff member and first tee starter making sure things are running smoothly.

On the course marshals do a good job keeping play moving.

After play, the patio is ideal for small groups to enjoy delicious food/drink with a stunning view of the 9th and 18th holes. For larger groups utilize DWGR's private banquet rooms.

It’s a very special experience and I can’t recommend enough.

Do not hesitate to book an outing here.

Happy Holidays

Played on the GK event at Desert Willow. Course was in great shape. Layout of the course is great with many tees to challenge every type of golfer and amazing Mountain views frame most holes.

Th... Continue »

Played on the GK event at Desert Willow. Course was in great shape. Layout of the course is great with many tees to challenge every type of golfer and amazing Mountain views frame most holes.

The pin placements that day were brutal. On ridges or tucked in corners. It’s a fun course on a Saturday there is no need to set it up in a way that would naturally slow down play.

The bar overlooking the course would a a great spot for after the round. The pro shop was nicely stocked. Thanks to linksoul for the shirt. With so much negativity in golf these GK plays really are the best part of the game for me right now.

Joined the big GK group at DW Firecliff in an 1110 tee time with fellow septuagenarian GKer rickgee. Rick and I played White and the others in the group were back on Lavender, so not as much interacti... Continue »

Joined the big GK group at DW Firecliff in an 1110 tee time with fellow septuagenarian GKer rickgee. Rick and I played White and the others in the group were back on Lavender, so not as much interaction as usual. The weather was picture perfect and we played at a steady pace – other reviewers have also commented on the good POP. We arrived at the course a little late ahead of our tee time and so only had a few minutes to take a few swings on the nice grass range – didn’t get a chance to stroke any putts, then called to the first tee right on time.

The course was in wonderful condition. White tees were level and in good shape – only a few were a little damp and showed more spike/shoe damage to be avoided. Fairways were like carpet with consistent great lies and good coverage. Rough was about 2 inches, not too long, but just sticky enough to affect the swing and require strict attention. I was in several bunkers and they were uniformly great, and for the most part other golfers had raked their usage areas (hey, we had an hour’s worth of GKers in front of us!). Greens were stellar – slightly firm but pretty receptive, rolled smoothly, and with consistent speed. I think we were all expecting them to be a little quicker, as the whole group left putts short all day long. Pin positions were tricky on a lot of greens, with locations on or adjacent to mounds and slopes that resulted in a lot of break right around the hole.

I was coming off an extended period of not playing, and I struggled throughout the round looking for consistency in any part of my game. Not being sharp, I left the ball out of position throughout the round, and I swear I had 8 to 9 putts where a significant slope or mound on the green was between me and the hole. You don’t make many (or any) of those types of putts, and you had to work hard to just 2-putt – it wasn’t until I left the ball below the hole on a reasonable grade that I was able to finally make a couple putts late in the round.

Despite my struggles I enjoyed the great course conditions, the COC weather, and the group I played with. Also great seeing many GK buddies afterwards on the patio, after being away for many months. Very good food and great prizes – thanks as always to Johnny for all his great efforts.

Saw the cart girl numerous times. Clean, convenient bathrooms and water stations. Sand/divot mix refills available in several locations. Just a first-class operation. I’ve never had a bad experience at Desert Willow over the years, and always look forward to playing either of the courses here.

Some of the best desert golf Southern California has to offer. Incredible property. Greens seemed relatively fast with their accompanied championship Sunday placements for a resort course but pace of ... Continue »

Some of the best desert golf Southern California has to offer. Incredible property. Greens seemed relatively fast with their accompanied championship Sunday placements for a resort course but pace of play did not suffer. Thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. Cant wait to get back here next year! Worth the trip.

9/9 GK event on a great late fall day 70ish no more thanan occassional light breeze playing on a scenic well maintaned and managed golf resort. Conditions overall were very good with an easy checkin ... Continue »

9/9 GK event on a great late fall day 70ish no more thanan occassional light breeze playing on a scenic well maintaned and managed golf resort. Conditions overall were very good with an easy checkin with assigned carts and easy access to the DR and practice areas.
Fairways have good cover with very few slightly thin areas where possibly the overseeding was affected by wind or water. Lies were good from the fairway and were sometimes tighter near the greens. There were more unfilled divots that I had expected. Rough was not long but as noted previously it could be quite sticky at times.
Bunkers have nicely compacted fine sand and had good cover with only 1 we encountered being thin at the low point. Tees overall lush and level with some issues on a couple of the par 3s where there were and overwhelming # of un filled divots. I played from the tan markers and in general the boxes were quite small so not easy to rotate the markers.
Greens were very healthy rolled medium fast and were fairly consistent. Their surface seemed a little crusty or maybe grainy but overall rolled smothly. Needed to have more local knowledge as they were tough to read as the prevailing topography was a definite factor(where was the Indio is that way sign) and some pin placements were downright devilish.
Fun layout with good variety and deceptively difficult as the wide appearing fairways were elusive. Additionally with pins often near edges short sided mises were often a given.
Well worth the spluge and Johnny once again was the consumate host.

Was the last group off at the GK Event this past weekend. Had an absolute blast and we finished somewhere in the 4:15 mark so pace of play was awesome!

This was my first time at Desert Willow and I... Continue »

Was the last group off at the GK Event this past weekend. Had an absolute blast and we finished somewhere in the 4:15 mark so pace of play was awesome!

This was my first time at Desert Willow and I absolutely loved it. I thought the layout was super interesting, challenging but fair and visually really stunning. I haven't played much desert golf but this one had a different feel to me. You feel like you're kind of secluded in your own oasis as opposed to being out in the desert. It was really cool.

The conditions of the course were fantastic. Kind of crazy how "sticky" the grass is this time of year. Had nothing but great lies all day, but that deep emerald green overseed is so lush. Absolutely loved the visual and playing conditions.

I had some difficulty with the greens and I think there is something about putting in the desert where the mountains or whatever have an affect on the break. They rolled pure but I felt like they were a tad slower than they looked but on chips and pitches had more roll out than expected. But they were fantastic, no complaints.

The staff was awesome, the facilities are great and it just feels a crazy world class experience. I would highly recommend Desert Willow to anyone with no hesitation. Great place!

Played with the GK group on 12/9. My first time at Firecliff. Greens were moderately fast with significant slopes. Greenskeeper maybe woke up on the wrong side of the bed because several of the pins, ... Continue »

Played with the GK group on 12/9. My first time at Firecliff. Greens were moderately fast with significant slopes. Greenskeeper maybe woke up on the wrong side of the bed because several of the pins, especially on the front nine, were unreal. Like on the downslope of a knoll, so there was no way at all to get close from above the hole. Learned to play short of the hole to avoid that.

Fairways were overseeded and grabby. No roll out on drives, so many long approaches.

Challenging course, but also beautiful and in good shape.

Played 12/9/24 11:10 time slot. What a perfect day on a perfect course. I have played this course many times and it seldom disappoints. On this day the course was in prime condition.
Not much roll o... Continue »

Played 12/9/24 11:10 time slot. What a perfect day on a perfect course. I have played this course many times and it seldom disappoints. On this day the course was in prime condition.
Not much roll on the fairways, but man were they a treat to hit from. Perfect emerald green lies every time. Green were in very good to great shape. A little on the slow side, but rolled well and held well struck shots. Chips were tougher to stop. Traps a little thin, but still in great and consistent shape. Cart service was fantastic with multiple drive byes. The layout of this course is just FUN. Generous off the tee, with fun and sometimes challenging approach shots if you're on the wrong side. If you're planning a trip to the Valley, book a day here !!

Unbelievably great day out at Desert Willow's Firecliff 18 for Saturday's GK Event where I played with Rob and the Pisarskis on a picture perfect early winter afternoon. The cooler temperatures that w... Continue »

Unbelievably great day out at Desert Willow's Firecliff 18 for Saturday's GK Event where I played with Rob and the Pisarskis on a picture perfect early winter afternoon. The cooler temperatures that were expected really stayed in check and with an 11:20 tee time we got the absolute peak of the perfect weather.

Check-in was easy and very accommodating, then met up with the boys on a pretty useful and nice driving range. Hit some putts on the ample practice green, and off we went, playing from the purple tees with David playing from the whites. What an absolute treat lay before us.

Tee to green, just perfect. I mean you can't really ask for better conditions on a public course. The fairways were very lush, so much in fact that we got less than expected rollout, but they were absolutely pure to hit from when in the fairway. The rough ate up a lot of balls that may have been heading into the desert, so that's great, but it's a dense forest to hit from so very challenging but beautiful all the same. Tee boxes? Level, lush and perfect. I was in plenty of bunkers and never had any issues with the nice sand.

Greens were definitely very tough and the greenskeeper was absolutely hell-bent on making every GKer out there work for it. Super tough pin positions right on ridges or even on downslopes made putting very difficult, but I was lucky enough to roll in a lot of long ones on the day as the speeds were quite good and mostly consistent throughout the day. They held good shots well but punished any flyers with a lot of roll. But ultimately, just a joy to play.

We had amazing cart service no less than five or six times throughout the round, which is tremendous. POP was also pretty darn good but of course you're at a GK Event so it's the last of your worries, but everything moved along very nicely.

It had been a few years since I played this gem and I'm so glad that I made the same-day drive back and forth to experience Desert Willow in all its early winter pomp. This place just gets it right time after time and no doubt it's one of the best public golf experiences you're going to experience just about anywhere at this time. Don't miss it.