7:30 tee off in great weather. Played blue tees and enjoyed the round and fellow players. Course is under construction in the clubhouse, pro shop is temporarily in the pool table room and bar is close... Continue »

7:30 tee off in great weather. Played blue tees and enjoyed the round and fellow players. Course is under construction in the clubhouse, pro shop is temporarily in the pool table room and bar is closed. Used the underpar voucher for green fees of only $25 per golfer. We finished in 4 hours POP. Tees were marked really tight at only about 6 feet between markers...mostly level. Fairways good to hit from and in good late summer shape overall. Rough is well maintained and good to hit from. Traps had good sand and the ball sits up. Greens were slower than expected and soft, not cut tight and in surprisingly good shape due to fellow golfers. No drink cart today. They are doing well head work and water distribution work...the areas are marked off by traffic cones, however this never affected play.

Played 3/10/23 @ 710. The course was in great condition... Tee boxes level with good coverage, fairways were really nice with no brown spots anywhere. Rough was almost non-existent and was only sli... Continue »

Played 3/10/23 @ 710. The course was in great condition... Tee boxes level with good coverage, fairways were really nice with no brown spots anywhere. Rough was almost non-existent and was only slightly longer than the fairway. I was only in one greenside bunker and the sand was nice and fluffy, the fairway bunkers looked good although I wasn't in any. Greens were rolling nice and got faster later in the morning. This course will not beat you up with length, but it demands accuracy. Houses are definitely in play if you are spraying your ball all over the place. This is a great warm up course or a course you would play on your last day on a golf trip. This is not a destination course by any means...

This is a novel experience for the modern golfer that I would recommend to anyone. Designed by Gene Sarazen, the course is less than 6000 yards but still plays as a par 70. I don't think there is a pa... Continue »

This is a novel experience for the modern golfer that I would recommend to anyone. Designed by Gene Sarazen, the course is less than 6000 yards but still plays as a par 70. I don't think there is a par 4 that even plays to 400 yards. The challenge at Shadow Mountain is in the tightness. I do not like playing golf amongst houses, but I do find these mid century style homes charming. It's quite easy to see into people's backyards on many of the holes, especially from 2-7. The mountains surround you on that stretch and the views are sensational.
I played there in the summer and it was hot as Hades. Perhaps due to the heat, the grass on the greens was allowed to be quite long. I rolled in 5 birdies that day, but I also left a few surprisingly short. It's hard to adjust to how hard you have to hit some putts just to reach the hole. Again, this was a summer round. The other course conditions overall are good, with not much barren area in the play areas.
The course is centrally located in Palm Desert and one of the less expensive "full" courses in the Valley. I've played the course twice. It's a good sign when I return to a course in the Valley because there are so many great options.
I recommend Shadow Mountain to higher handicap players because it's short and more manageable for them. I also recommend it to low handicappers who have seen it all. This will be something new, a glimpse to how golf was played before modern equipment changed the game. At times the course can be frustrating because it is short and requires precise shot making to score well. But those same players may shoot their first sub 80 round or even sub 70 round there!

Shadow Mountain Golf Club is a semi-private golf course, designed by Gene Sarazen and opened in 1958. The clubhouse doesn’t look like it has changed much since then. I found it very charming with the ... Continue »

Shadow Mountain Golf Club is a semi-private golf course, designed by Gene Sarazen and opened in 1958. The clubhouse doesn’t look like it has changed much since then. I found it very charming with the old furnishings and photos of the club from back then. All the staff members I encountered were very friendly and welcoming. They have an all-grass range with only a few stalls but it was enough to serve the purpose. There is also a nice putting green but no chipping practice area. I was paired with a nice couple from OC and another single. The course was quiet in the morning and we started on time at 9:30. We never waited and finished in about 3.5 hours. I picked this course because I wanted to walk and figured this would be a good one. It is flat and short, ranging from only 5375 at the blues to 5062 from the whites (par 70 M/71W). The layout is simple with many parallel fairways, all quite narrow and lined with palm trees. Tiny mini-palms mark the 100 yard points. There is water on 3 holes and just enough bunkers to keep things interesting. The conditions were impressive. The fairways were completely green and lush. I’m sorry to say I don’t know what kind of grass it is other than it is my favorite. It is so well-cushioned and easy to hit from. The tee boxes were level with minimal bare spots. The rough was great. It was beautifully uniform around the course, cut to about 2 inches. It was just long enough to let the ball settle down but the grass was soft enough to get out of easily. I was in two bunkers. They were a little crusty on the top but had plenty of sand underneath. The greens are small, smooth and firm, rolling a fast medium speed. Most had subtle breaks but a couple of them were steeply tiered. I had a great time here. My playing partners were so much fun and the course had a very relaxed feel. Definitely recommended.

Yesterday, 01/06/19, was my first round here. There's been some light but a constant rain before daylight and the course was wet but without excess water on the surface. It was still drizzling when ... Continue »

Yesterday, 01/06/19, was my first round here. There's been some light but a constant rain before daylight and the course was wet but without excess water on the surface. It was still drizzling when we got to the course for the 7:22 tee time and continued on for another hour or so and well in the high 40s for a short time. No wind- thank goodness and that made the round just over 3.5 hours.

It's a tight little course: there's only a few holes for a driver (of my own ability, that is) but hybrids and 3 woods were fun to play here. Many cart paths are shared for both traffic directions and many of the greens and teeing grounds are within earshot. CAUTION- some of the teeing grounds crosses a street. Yikes!!

The course conditions were very good:
The greens were smooth but because it was wet in the morning, it was slow until almost the back nine as it dries out. Maybe it's just me, but I must have fixed at least a couple marks/depression on the greens of old divots or what not... I guess I was just lucky to have them on my line- it didn't seem to bother others in my group.
The bunkers had ample sand to play from as it looks, but some were a deep fluff and some were thin in the middle.
The fairways were very good and it ran well without much divots.

It was nice to have played the historic Gene Sarazen design for the first time. He had achieve characterization with such small property he had to work with and even on some of the short holes- yes, you're better off if you could shape shots or lay it up rather than cutting corners as he has also thought that out. With that said, it's a course that could teach a me and a few others many good lessons in golf utilizing many if not all the clubs in the bag- I had a good time here.

The small clubhouse had a couple of old bags filled with club heads on hickory... very cool to see... people were nice, too. There's also a few plaques around the course describing some historic shots... good read.

I'll be looking out for another chance to play here again.

Played the Blues, (5375/66.1/116) in around 4 hours with Andy, Donna and John in perfect weather, around 80 with little wind. Shadow Mountain was designed by Gene Sarazen and is one of the oldest c... Continue »

Played the Blues, (5375/66.1/116) in around 4 hours with Andy, Donna and John in perfect weather, around 80 with little wind. Shadow Mountain was designed by Gene Sarazen and is one of the oldest courses in the Palm Springs area. You are stepping back in time 60+ years when 220 yard drives were considered long. Probably both the shortest and tightest regulation course I have ever played. The four par 3, two par 5, par 70 layout features many doglegs. You look at the scorecard and see most par 4's in the 310-380 range and both par 5's in the 440 range and you think pitch and putt. However, there are not more than 5 holes total that most golfers could safely hit a driver on. I used almost every club from Driver to 4I off the tee on the par 4's, you have to play to the dogleg unless you want to risk shots over houses & OB. Because of the tightness, the course is tougher than the yardage/ratings indicate in my opinion. The houses are right on top of the course, most holes had OB on at least one side if not both. The courses main defense is the tight, tree lined fairways that are surrounded by hundreds of 70' tall palm trees. Some holes also had 30' tall pine trees mixed in among the tall palm trees, which can almost totally block you out if approaching on the wrong line. The tees were average and did not match the lush condition of the rest of the course. The fairways were lush and nice to play from. The rough was lush, the ball usually sat up in the rough. The sand traps were well maintained. Fairway traps firm, the green side traps were firmer than I prefer but nicely raked. The small greens were hard (not firm) and quick. They slope from back to front and putted very true. This is a shot makers course where position and shaping the ball are the main requirement. This would be a good course for super seniors, ladies and people desiring a quirky, shorter change of pace.

Played 3/23 early and was pleasantly surprised. This course compared to others in the area is a great value. I paid $40 which included cart. This is a relatively short executive length course - playi... Continue »

Played 3/23 early and was pleasantly surprised. This course compared to others in the area is a great value. I paid $40 which included cart. This is a relatively short executive length course - playing about 5300 yards from the tips. Although it is not long, I found it to be challenging. The course contains many doglegs and the greens are more undulating then they appear.

The routing is rather quirky as it passes through some local streets. As an older, traditional course and it is rather tight. Your ball, in some cases, could easily end up in somebody's swimming pool. Overall I found it to be a good test at a very attractive price point.

First time playing here. Teed off @ 650A on a prepaid GolfNow deal for $10. Played the blues, 66.5/117/5375 in around 3 hours after getting matched up with 2 other singles. The course is tougher tha... Continue »

First time playing here. Teed off @ 650A on a prepaid GolfNow deal for $10. Played the blues, 66.5/117/5375 in around 3 hours after getting matched up with 2 other singles. The course is tougher than the ratings and slope would indicate in my opinion. Stray even a little and OB comes into play around most greens and many fairways. I went OB on back to back holes with fairly GOOD short irons. On one shot I hit a cart path just right of the green with an 8I and went into a swimming pool and on the other I went directly over a back pin with a 9I and found another swimming pool. It is TIGHT around most greens. On both shots, I would expect to have had a fairly convertible up/down on most courses after those shots, they each missed the green by less than 10 yards. Quirky, short, older course that has many doglegs. Four par 3's and two par 5's, par 70. You look at the card and see all these par 4's in the 310-380 range and both par 5's in the 440 range and you think pitch and putt. However, that is not really the case, there are not more than 5 holes total that many golfers could safely hit a driver on. I used almost every club from 3W to 6I off the tee of most par 4's, you have to play to the dogleg unless you want to risk shots over condo's & OB. This courses main defense is the fairly tight, tree lined fairways that are surrounded by hundreds of towering palm trees. Many holes had OB on at least one side if not both. You can easily be boxed in if you are on the wrong angle for your approach shot, there could be anywhere from a dozen to two dozen 50' tall trees in your path if you are positioned poorly off the tee. The greens were excellent, smooth, firm & medium fast. The fairways were very lush, easily the best I have seen in the Palm Springs area over the last 2 weeks. The sand traps had thick, fluffy sand and were very well maintained. The rough was semi lush and could be penal. The tees were average at best and did not match the condition of the rest of the course. This is a shot makers course where position and shaping the ball are much more of a requirement than bombing it off the tee. Not exactly my cup of tea, but it was a fun experience, especially the condition of the course.

Second round of today found me at Shadow Mountain. GolfNow hot deal for $29 and it was definitely worth that. Got there a little early. It wasn't very busy out there, but they wanted me to wait for an... Continue »

Second round of today found me at Shadow Mountain. GolfNow hot deal for $29 and it was definitely worth that. Got there a little early. It wasn't very busy out there, but they wanted me to wait for another single that was signed up for the same time. Ultimately, though, they let me go out around 11:15 by myself. It was nice for a few holes, then I caught a few groups. The first group let me play through but the next one wouldn't. By the time I got to the back nine, I was tired of waiting, so I started to skip around to open holes. Luckily, there are so many criss-crosses in this crazy layout that it was easy and definitely saved me about an hour. Was able to finish in just about 2.5 hours, which was nice on a hot afternoon. The course was in great shape all around. For the most part, everything was beautiful green and lush. Fairways were great to hit from and rough wasn't deep so it was not penal at all. Greens were soft and receptive. A bit too slow on putts, but not bad once you get used to it. Bunkers had pretty nice sand. This is definitely an old school country club kind of course (just opened to public in recent years) that's mostly suited for seniors. Very laid back and minimal staff and mostly regulars hanging around the small clubhouse. The layout is very short at 5,375 from the back blue tees. Most holes are relatively tight, so it's all about positioning off the tee. Most people won't use a driver much at all here as the goal is just to get out to the corners and then have an easy wedge/short iron shot in to pretty simple greens. Long hitters who can really shape the ball can try to drive several of the greens, but bad shots will be punished as there's plenty of OB with houses lining the course and very much in play. There are only two short par-5 holes here that are around 430 yards a piece! There are a few tricky little holes that make you work more than you think you have to and some water comes into play, but mostly a pretty simple target course that's a real confidence booster if you need to feel better about your game. Hardcore players probably won't enjoy this short and, at times, silly old course, but I had fun out there today firing at the pins! Lastly, I remarked on the crazy criss-cross layout. You definitely need to keep your head on a swivel here with many tee boxes right next to greens and pay attention to signage to make sure you are moving to the proper next hole. It was a little disorienting here as a first-time player!