Played this course for the first time yesterday (November 29th). The started told us that the sidewalk we were standing on , was the only level place on the course- he was right !!! The course was in... Continue »

Played this course for the first time yesterday (November 29th). The started told us that the sidewalk we were standing on , was the only level place on the course- he was right !!! The course was in very good condition, greens were firm and fast but would hold a well struck shot....I didn't have many of those. The entire course is very difficult, especially the front 9 where you didn't get a flat lie often, and your shots are subject to some crazy bounces. There is lots of sand and water on the course, the bunkers being plentiful and big. The greens are generally pretty hard to hit, seems as if they are all elevated, and if you don't hit them just right, there are run off areas and you could be faced with long and/or difficult chips. I am not a lover of Pete Dye designs, and this is no exception, although the course was in great condition I wouldn't play here again....I'm glad I played it, but not again.

we've played Stadium a few times and this is probably the worst we have seen it. Mind you, it is still a pretty nice course but well below the standard of PGA west courses. I did call ahead of time ... Continue »

we've played Stadium a few times and this is probably the worst we have seen it. Mind you, it is still a pretty nice course but well below the standard of PGA west courses. I did call ahead of time and was told greens are in pretty good condition while fairways are patchy brown which is understandable. Greens look like in good condition from afar but once on, the fringe shows a lot of damage and GIR. Even the bunkers, while they looked pretty well stocked were marked GIR...

Staff was excellent as usual. Check in was prompt and painless. Our bags were picked up from the bag drop and loaded in our carts with very little waiting.
Bev cart was around a few times and super friendly. Not sure I can say the same with the marshall who just drove around a few times without saying anything.

We finished TPC in decent time of 4:15 despite waiting on every hole for a twosome in front of us.

There were a few water stations on the course. Snack bar was closed.

I would recommend a few more weeks to let the greens heal before coming.

Played on 6/14/15 under 104 degrees. The course continues to be in excellent shape. Typical Pete Dye challenges your game if you miss the fairways or greens. Not a lot of rough and some Ground Under R... Continue »

Played on 6/14/15 under 104 degrees. The course continues to be in excellent shape. Typical Pete Dye challenges your game if you miss the fairways or greens. Not a lot of rough and some Ground Under Repair areas off the fairway, nothing bad. Tee Boxes in very good shape, as well as the 15 ft deep sand traps, you will really need to open your clubface there! Got a rate special so it was definitively worth the fee.. will go there again in a heartbeat...

This course is hard. Mostly, it's a top notch facility from start to finish. Came straight from traveling and the attendants were great about taking and storing my luggage. Didn't have much time befo... Continue »

This course is hard. Mostly, it's a top notch facility from start to finish. Came straight from traveling and the attendants were great about taking and storing my luggage. Didn't have much time before my round but got some food at the bar, the service was alright. The practice areas looked excellent and probably are. The course was well maintained and visually very impressive. The bunkers were firm but pretty consistent, the way (I'm told) the pros like it. The greens were a little long but generally rolled nicely. I actually thought they were the easiest part of the layout, slower than expected. Look, it's a great place. It's everything you'd expect from a "bucket list" course. But it's too hard. Seriously. And I guess that's sort of the point, because if you can birdie a 223 yard par 3 carrying almost entirely over water, or get up and down out of a 20 foot deep bunker, you'll probably be pretty stoked. You'll have a good memory from your vacation, and that's something you can't get most places. But... you probably won't pull it off. You'll probably put more balls in the water than you'll have birdies on the card. Maybe you'll enjoy the challenge, but I got kinda tired of it after a while. It's nice, but all the courses I've played in Palm Desert are nice, they have to be to survive with so much competition. You're probably going to play it anyway, and maybe you'll like it. Facilities in the region probably don't get much better in terms of service, design, attention to detail; but there are so many options that are more fun, more playable, and more scenic that will leave you feeling better after the round.

This was my first time back to PGA WEST since running a GK Event there 5 years ago. I had never played the TPC Stadium Course and it did not disappoint me. It played softer than I imagined but I chalk... Continue »

This was my first time back to PGA WEST since running a GK Event there 5 years ago. I had never played the TPC Stadium Course and it did not disappoint me. It played softer than I imagined but I chalk that up more to me getting some good bounces than the layout. I found the course in excellent condition and expected the greens to be very firm given the time of the year.

A lot has been written from a golfer’s perspective so let give my impression from a tournament organizer’s perspective.

Our event was only 36 players as GK likes to keep its event small to promote deeper interaction. From the moment I booked the event PGA WEST did a great job communicating with me leading up to the day of the outing. At the outing all the staff was ready to assist and everything I had asked for was prepared. I was glad to give them the requested 4% gratuity tip for outside services for our outing.

As far as the staging area, this was a little challenging with the first tee of the TPC Stadium Course detached so far from the golf carts/check-in. If I were to run another event at TPC Stadium Course I would have set up the check-in by the practice putting green of the first tee of the course. Having run my previous event here on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, it was much easier staging with first tee next to the clubhouse/carts.

Warm-up before the tournament is superb with free range balls and full practice facility.

As far as the course, challenging bucket list course with the world famous par 3 Alcatraz and now once again a PGA Tour stop…what more could you ask.

Afterwards we had our post golf fun out on Arnie’s Grill patio. Just a perfect setting for a small group like ours with excellent service. I have to admit although, given how much fun we had 5 years ago cheering/heckling our groups finishing up on the 18th of the Nicklaus Tournament Course which the patio overlooks, I kinda wished we had the event on Jack’s course instead. Still no complaints about doing it on the Stadium Course although.

Overall this was a terrific GK Event and I was very pleased with PGA WEST. We will definitely be coming back. Also thank you everyone that played!

I played in the GK outing on Saturday, May 16, 2015 on a sunny 80+ degree day with light winds. While driving in, the clouds were dark and menacing and reminded me of the identical conditions that we... Continue »

I played in the GK outing on Saturday, May 16, 2015 on a sunny 80+ degree day with light winds. While driving in, the clouds were dark and menacing and reminded me of the identical conditions that were in effect at the infamous "WindRock" outing a few years ago! However, unlike that fateful day at SilverRock, this day turned out to be just as reported by the weather services and was ideal for a round of golf. The cordial staff met me at the bag drop and handled getting my clubs on the correct cart, the bartender made me a nice margarita to relax with before the round, the starter was very informative, the cart crew cleaned my clubs and put them at the front door after the round, and the staff at Ernie's provided service, food, and drink while the award ceremony was handled by JohnnyGK assisted by sixpez doing the number crunching! Out on the course, I avoided the pitfalls on the first 2 holes with bogeys on both, then, the gloves came off and I began to get myself into trouble at every turn. In weeks past I had been pulling my tee shots and thought I had fixed that with the first 2 holes going straight, however, I now started pushing my tee shots right into the moguls, again and again! It became whatever was the very worse thing you could do; I did so! The resort has a very nice practice area with grass driving range, putting and chipping greens, and I think a sand bunker as well. On the course, the tee boxes were nearly pristine except for the par 3 holes that were more damaged. The fairways were in excellent condition and the rough though not penal would give you a worse lie with the ball sinking down lower. The sand traps I was in a lot had adequate sand and I was out in 1 stroke in all of them but the San Andreas Fault which I had to negoitiate with a 5-iron in 2 stokes after returning from the moguls! The moguls, ah, The moguls. You had to have the balance and timing of an acrobat to escape lies in the moguls; traits that I do not possess! Some escapes took 1 stroke but most were 2 strokes and a couple of them took three! The greens were running between about 11 and 13 on the Stimp, rolling true with speed control paramount both uphill and downhill. What appeared to break right to left actually broke left to right up the hill above the hole and I didn't cut it either! Whaaat? It was perfect weather, great company, and a challenging course along with great service from the course staff. The awards ceremony went smoothly and I won a $100.00+ voucher in the raffle for some new golf duds from Linksoul, GK's newest sponsor! This course is recommended as a challenging test of your target golf skills and putting prowess! Ask the weather gods for a day like the 16th and get out there and play. Jesse

Thank you Johnny for another great event. Had a great time with our playing partners Keith and Matt. PGA West is a great venue. We've played Nickalus and Norman a bunch and have always enjoyed it. Eve... Continue »

Thank you Johnny for another great event. Had a great time with our playing partners Keith and Matt. PGA West is a great venue. We've played Nickalus and Norman a bunch and have always enjoyed it. Everything was in basically good condition but not really great. I won't be redundant since the previous day's reviews are all in. Just a small design gripe though... While I am a fan of Dye designs and have played well on them I found a few holes to be a bit silly, noteably some of the fairway undulations where my seemingly good tee shot landed but I couldn't see the pin although I was On the fairway. I guess that's part of the challenge here, especially if the rough was taller as I've been told is the case most of the year. I'm glad I played it, but I prefer the other two here more. I do like how vastly different all three courses are here though. The three water holes with the rocks are pretty dramatic. i think I was expecting the whole course to look that dramatic. Unreal expectation, I know. It was great seeing all the GKers again. Really such an awesome group of kind, fun and unpretentious people.

Played in the GK Event 5/16/15, in the final group. I differ from most other reviewers in my approach to the course and review - this is not a course you'd want to play frequently and you go in knowin... Continue »

Played in the GK Event 5/16/15, in the final group. I differ from most other reviewers in my approach to the course and review - this is not a course you'd want to play frequently and you go in knowing you are going to get beat up - that's the whole purpose of the design. Pete Dye has stated that he deliberately made the course as difficult as possible - that's why the pros quickly bailed out of using this in the Bob Hope rotation. This is the anti-Wolf Creek. Up there, WC gives you big and extravagant and crazy and fun. The Stadium course gives you big and extravagant and MEAN and a grind. As rat-patrol asked, why are you punishing people for being 30 yards off the line of play? Isn't that punishment enough? Just being on the fairway here still gets you uneven lies and tough angles. Just off the fairway and you get the ball up at your kness (or your WAIST!!), or well below your feet. Or in a deep swale or hidden bunker. The steep slopes of the mounds and swales are extreme even immediately off the line of play, and then things get worse as you move further away. So there's no upside except being perfect, and nobody is that. So you go in measuring your game against perfection, and see how much you are lacking. But in general it's exhausting.

Overall CONDITIONS were good throughout, except for firm thin lies in greenside bunkers, which made recovery difficult. It's been about 10 years since I played here, but I'll swear that some of the green complexes have been made smaller over the years - holes 2, 3 (an awfully small, narrow green for 471 yards!!), 8, and 14 were the most striking for me. This is a "fun" play occasionally, with the right company, but I don't go looking for this type of abuse on a regular basis.

Played the 16th in the GK event and had a great time. While very difficult, the course was also quite fair - if you kept your ball in the fairway and were playing the correct tees for your distance, ... Continue »

Played the 16th in the GK event and had a great time. While very difficult, the course was also quite fair - if you kept your ball in the fairway and were playing the correct tees for your distance, you'd have at least a decent lie and look at the green. If you put your ball where Pete (Dye) wanted, you'd have a good lie and a good to great approach angle. On the other hand, if you DON'T put your ball on the short grass it gets ugly in a big hurry!

Conditions were very good throughout. Not great, but for facilities that overseed that's going to be the case at this time of the year (especially with the recent weather). Greens were firm, fast and true - tough to stop anything less than a full wedge but not so hard as to completely reject well struck shots. Fairways weren't lush, but definitely enough there to avoid any really tight lies, rough was enough to require consideration when playing out of it but not horribly penal. The one bunker I was in was nice, others in my group found a couple that were somewhat thin but still playable.

If you play the correct tees, play smart and keep your ball out of the seemingly endless water hazards, it's not really as hard as it's reputation. The difference between good/great and decent/good is reasonable - however, the difference between decent/good and ugly/bad is EXTREMELY small, so little mistakes don't hurt too much but big mistakes will KILL your score!

Absolutely will be back. Not a place you should expect to score well on your first visit, but given what I ended up with on my card vs. my overall level of ball-striking I've definitely got a score to settle with Mr. Dye sometime in the future.