NOTE: We were told that due to flooding last winter, that the La Quinta Resort & Club courses are going to be completely closed for about 3 months starting in June so they can redo the turf. Which was... Continue »

NOTE: We were told that due to flooding last winter, that the La Quinta Resort & Club courses are going to be completely closed for about 3 months starting in June so they can redo the turf. Which was a little surprising because the course was already in above average condition overall. I booked through GN Sat. night for a Sunday mid day tee time, but there was a glitch in the system and the reservation did not go through. GN Customer service completely dropped the ball and after talking to them multiple times over a 30 minute period, was only willing to book us for $37 per player higher than the rate I thought I secured online last night. HUGE kudos to La Quinta Resort & Club (Dunes) Pro Shop employees Hal Fowler & David Bernstein, who were involved with GN and overheard the entire fiasco. We showed them the e-mail that confirmed the date, tee time, rate, discount, booking fees etc. and they got us out for $69 per player less than we were being quoted by GN. Thanks again for proactively resolving the computer system screw-up guys! Played the Whites (6277/70.8/128) with Toobaked in 4.5 hours on a beautiful but breezy Sunday afternoon. First time here for me. This is a fun & challenging layout in good to excellent condition overall. It didn't seem as tough as it normally would after playing PGA Stadium from the blues yesterday. However, don't kid yourself, this course is still a typical Pete Dye design. There are numerous mounds and bunkers with visually intimidating sight lines on almost every hole. Many holes with forced carries over huge bunkers, waste areas or lakes. Even though the course is basically flat, you almost never have a level lie after your tee shot because of all the mounds/moguls. And while it's easier than the Stadium course, it is not an easy course. The tees were thin to semi lush and just OK. All the par 3's had a decent amount of divot damage. The fairways were lush, few places with severe divots. They are ringed with a different kind of grass than the fairways and the main rough, so you have emerald greens rings about 10 yards wide around each fairway that looks really nice. The rough was fairly penal even close to the fairway. And the numerous areas of native rough was unplayable, calf deep where the ball just disappeared into lost ballville. The plentiful sand traps were well maintained. The bermuda greens were visually unappealing. However, they putted better than they looked, smooth & medium speed. They were firm but still reasonably receptive to holding irons. Chipping was a challenge, even nice high lobs would roll out on many greens. These greens had places where there could be almost unplayable pin positions, several today were right on the crest where if you went 2' too far you were going to have 25' coming back. Overall, I enjoyed the layout and the conditions were excellent. The customer service was top notch from the Pro shop to the starter to the cart attendants. I definitely look forward to playing here again sometime.

I played in a charity event at The Dunes course on Monday, May 11th. We had a shotgun start at 12 and pace of play was great for this type of event. I really can't rate or review that considering the ... Continue »

I played in a charity event at The Dunes course on Monday, May 11th. We had a shotgun start at 12 and pace of play was great for this type of event. I really can't rate or review that considering the structure, but it is what it is. The staff that ran the event and helped on the course were awesome, so I think you can be confident playing there and getting treated with great service.

I'm actually not that big of a fan of this layout. Not sure what it is, but it just doesn't suit my eye well. That being said, it's a good test of golf and an interesting course with a variety of holes. I always feel its tough to get a good sense of the track when you play a scramble/shamble, which we did. But fortunately I got to hit a lot of different shots so I thought I had a pretty good feel for the place.

Maybe it was the fact that I was a little crooked, but the course seemed pretty tough to me. The green complexes seemed really difficult to me, with aggressive bunkering (both grass and sand) as well as big swales and every green seemed slightly elevated. Good luck at the Stadium Course GKers! :)

As for the condition of the course, I thought it was excellent. The greens rolled true but seemed kind of slow and "sticky". Not really sure how else to describe them. The fairways were absolutely pure and I loved hitting shots from them. The rough didn't seem too difficult and was uniform in length all around.

I never really have a bad day on the golf course, even when the place just doesn't jive with my game (like The Dunes), but the condition of the course and the quality of the staff and service made it an awesome day. For the right price (I don't know what rates are), I'd give this place a shot again (for revenge's sake!).

Played 3/18/15. The course was playing great! Greens were rolling really good and really fast. Fairways were nice and tight, some areas were fluffy (at least where I landed & hit from) rough was 2-3 i... Continue »

Played 3/18/15. The course was playing great! Greens were rolling really good and really fast. Fairways were nice and tight, some areas were fluffy (at least where I landed & hit from) rough was 2-3 inches with occasional 4-5 on the outer areas. They have native fescue grass that they don't want you messing with (i.e. don't bother to look for your ball) because it's filled with fire ants. The sand was a little spotty in the two traps I was in. One was nice and fluffy, the other kind of clumpy and hard packed due to water. Layout was exceptional! The mountains in the background were beautiful. Customer service was awesome, everyone is always looking to help you. Overall, a wonderful experience, I would recommend this course to anyone...

Up in La Quinta for a golf trip. Drove in to the La Quinta Resort and Club not expecting to play, but temptation prevailed.

I scheduled a 5:06 tee time via GolfNow and was able to tee off around 4:... Continue »

Up in La Quinta for a golf trip. Drove in to the La Quinta Resort and Club not expecting to play, but temptation prevailed.

I scheduled a 5:06 tee time via GolfNow and was able to tee off around 4:30-4:40. Course is in good condition. Fairways are great, although there are some bare spots. It's lush when it isn't bare. Rough is also excellent, very playable. Bunkers are a little thin, but still very playable. Greens were great also considering they will be punched in a week. They were somewhat soft and rolled well with decent speed. I enjoyed my experience overall and will be back on my next trip.


Also: As of today, the Mountain course is still closed. I have no idea of when they are re-opening, but it looks as if its shaping up nicely.

Good venue, world class service and facilities.
Solid layout presenting well; maintained and manicured.
Lots of tee boxes, but rather small and well used, but not affecting any tee shots. The fairwa... Continue »

Good venue, world class service and facilities.
Solid layout presenting well; maintained and manicured.
Lots of tee boxes, but rather small and well used, but not affecting any tee shots. The fairways are transitioning to bermuda, so the rye is dying off appearing brown and allowing some crustiness in many places so fairly fast on the run-out. The rough is healthy, around an inch or so, and lots of extremely high grasses well off the fairways. All sand is good. Greens are firm, sometimes soft, but true and smooth; very nice. Approaches and collars surrounding the greens are lush and expertly manicured and dry. Loved the layout with our 2 ball with an easy 3+30 pace from 10:00. Many drinks cart passes, and ample water stations enroute. Could not pass up the ezlinks deal $17.
The Mountain course was visibly being cored from today, and is unplayable for at least a week - June 24 maybe. Very nice resort.

La Quinta Resort Dunes Course Review
La Quinta California Golf Course Reviews

Tee time- sat 145 8/11
Weather- 115 degrees... Deadly hot. Survived it
Tees- tips
Green fee- $29... Worth it for sure... But we paid cheap
Pros- mediocre layout. Rough was in decent shape. Pete dy... Continue »

Tee time- sat 145 8/11
Weather- 115 degrees... Deadly hot. Survived it
Tees- tips
Green fee- $29... Worth it for sure... But we paid cheap
Pros- mediocre layout. Rough was in decent shape. Pete dye older design showed sickness of railroad ties, grass bunkers, and tough visual. Layout had some great holes... Example. I believe #6 is one of the most interesting par 3 I have ever played, even in the heat and course condition.
Cons- fairways, greens, tee boxes, sand... All thrashed. It's just so hot they can't do anything. Thick grass is unplayable off the fairway is nutsy. Service was ok...
Overall, not too much here. I would never play this place for anything over 50$ regardless of conditions... The desert just has too many courses to play here. A couple nice holes doesn't make the track overall that great.

La Quinta Resort Dunes Course Review
La Quinta California Golf Course Reviews

Very disappointed in this course. Had played here about 10 yrs ago and liked it but now they need a lot of work. Fairways need more grass which I would think they will take care of on the 19th when th... Continue »

Very disappointed in this course. Had played here about 10 yrs ago and liked it but now they need a lot of work. Fairways need more grass which I would think they will take care of on the 19th when they close. We really had a hard time with the ball making unusual spins in the air from the soil sticking to the ball from the middle of the fairways. And the greens were like playing more on a dark dirt than a typical Bermuda grass green. I realize Bermuda is thin anyways but this was very concerning. Very slow greens compared to PGA West Nicklaus Course and the Arnold Palmer private where we stayed and putted on one of their greens outside our condo.

La Quinta Resort Dunes Course Review
La Quinta California Golf Course Reviews

Played here Sunday, 10/30 with sixpez. Other than a service snafu with the starter, everything was great. The course had re-opened just two days earlier and is in beautiful condition. The tee boxes sh... Continue »

Played here Sunday, 10/30 with sixpez. Other than a service snafu with the starter, everything was great. The course had re-opened just two days earlier and is in beautiful condition. The tee boxes showed some signs of the grass being immature (from overseeding) but otherwise almost everything was great. The greens were smooth as can be but not very fast, again a result of the "new" grass.

This course shares a clubhouse with my favorite course I've ever played, the Mountain Course at La Quinta. Although the Dunes only plays up against the mountain in one spot (the 15th green), it still takes advantage of the beautiful surroundings to create a visual feast. The first hole is pretty demanding, and then there is a stretch of rather benign holes before things get really interesting. There are forced carries over lakes, giant sand bunkers on a few holes and tons of railroad ties. Although the mountains don't factor into the play, they make the course really fun to play if you appreciate a beautifully framed golf hole. I expected to like the layout, but it exceeded my expectations. I'd love to play here again soon.

Re: the service issue with the starter, there was barely anyone out there on a Sunday morning at 8:30. Our tee time wasn't for about an hour but we got there early and they let us go. The starter was extremely friendly and welcomed us to the course and within minutes sent us to the first tee. As we were taking some warm-up swings, however (no more than two minutes after arriving at the tee box), he starts barking "I need the tee. I need the tee" at us. Confused, I thought he was pulling us back to let another group go. He then angrily explained that we needed to hit because his 8:45 group was approaching their time. If we'd been on the tee longer, I would understand his position. But having just arrived and then being yelled at to hit when no one is out there was ridiculous and far removed from how I want to be treated on a course with $129 green fees (although we played for half that, thanks to the Red Dot book). The driving range was closed, so I think it's acceptable to take a minute to loosen up on the first tee before hitting a demanding tee shot.

Although it pissed us off at the time, we eventually laughed it off and had a great day. The Dunes course is a legitimate companion to the incredible Mountain, and you can't ask for much better conditions than how it's playing right now.

La Quinta Resort Golf Course Review
Palm Springs Golf Course Reviews

We played here Father’s Day/US Open weekend. Also played Mountain and while Dunes was in better shape, I can’t see it being rated at 9.29. Dunes is very similar in appearance to Mountain but without t... Continue »

We played here Father’s Day/US Open weekend. Also played Mountain and while Dunes was in better shape, I can’t see it being rated at 9.29. Dunes is very similar in appearance to Mountain but without the beautiful views and of course, Mountain has a few holes with significant elevation changes. Dunes had burnt bare spots in the fairway and other areas were sopping wet from over-watering. This is the area where Mountain was far worse than Dunes. Note to Pete Dye……when you try to water lumpy, bumpy fairways, the high spots burn and the low spots puddle. The stay and play package is great and the hotel and hotel service are tremendous. The staff at the course was a little less impressive, but certainly adequate. After playing a half dozen different Pete Dye courses, I have come to the realization, that I just don’t like his design style. Aesthetically, his courses are very contrived and unnatural looking (especially the PGA Stadium course). From a playability standpoint, they are usually fairly short without unreasonable forced carries and so if played conservatively (I only hit 3-4 drivers all day) they are not too severe off the tee. The only issue is that you may have a pronounced side hill or down hill lie even with a conservative, well placed tee shot. The greens are another story. You can miss the putting surface by a foot with your approach and roll into a bunker 10+ feet below the green or have the ball careen off a hump into the native area.
The greens are firm to the point that most approach shots left at most an imperceptible dent and many did not hold the green when they deserved to. Our little group ranges in handicap from myself at 7 up to a 25. Maybe if I were a better player I would enjoy his designs more. But, I disagree with the notion that a very small miss (especially if there is no “safe” part of the green) should result in a shot that is difficult for a low handicapper and impossible for higher handicappers. How many 30 handicappers can play an explosion shot from a greenside bunker that goes up 15 feet in the air and travels at least 15 feet forward (so as not to roll back down a slope into the same bunker), but not more than 30 feet forward (so as to not roll off the other side of the green). I am anxious to try the Norman course next time around, which has been down for maintenance on our trips.
I’ve had enough of Pete Dye.