Played 3/17/19 early out. Cool start with dew to a sunny warm finish in spring conditions. Previous review mentioned a f... » More

Played 3/17/19 early out. Cool start with dew to a sunny warm finish in spring conditions. Previous review mentioned a few dry spots, which is accurate now.
But far more wet spots and the ground too wet to mow properly with the soil saturated. This made the rough thick in spots that were mown with left over grass clippings 4"+. You could find your ball after a search. Other areas up to and higher than 7"+ sometimes around the greens where you don't want to hit it anyway but if you do good luck taking a hack out.
These conditions are what maintenance has to deal with considering the rainfall this year. Not something they can do much about until sunny weather. Then when it come the grass explodes in growth with ground very wet underneath, too wet to cut without leaving a bigger mess sometimes.
That said the greens freshly cut and serviced and rolling true. The best part of the course. Fairways good with a few wet GUR areas. The bunkers not so good. mostly red dirt and mud with a few loose impediments. I found a quarter racking my way out of the front one on short par 3 16th. Nasty and borderline unplayable compared to the day before at Silverado in Napa a PGA level course.
I like the layout, facility and the service and will make the annual trip here for that. An hour drive that warrants a comeback play in the summer when things dry out.
Recommend if your not fussy about the bunkers.
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Played 3/16 Mid morning tournament tee time. Starting on 10th hole. Glorious sunny day (finally) and the course in goo... » More

Played 3/16 Mid morning tournament tee time. Starting on 10th hole. Glorious sunny day (finally) and the course in good shape. Everything immaculate as you'd expect at this price. Very similar to my review from last year. (seems I do a few of these repeats) so it's
"know before you go"...
Rough was the real stuff 3"+ and a bit damp. Bunkers like sixpez described in 2018 white blinding sand which the ball would bounce out of the divot rather than fried egg lie. Greens rolling medium holding the high approach. Fairways good shape rolling out.
Having played the N and the S courses twice each now, the comparisons are; The slight different topography and bunker sand are the discerning differences of the two in my opinion.
Either course your doing ok. Have fun.
Customer service great as you'd expect. $$$
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Played early Sunday morning as a single. Used the daylight promo code for a 15% discount and a $15 future credit. Jus... » More

Played early Sunday morning as a single. Used the daylight promo code for a 15% discount and a $15 future credit. Just wanted to get out and swing a bit. Figured for $2 net I couldn't complain about course conditions or the state of my game. To my surprise both were fairly decent.

Greens are in very nice shape right now. Easily a 7 and probably closer to an 8. By far the best I've ever seen here. I did have a little issue with the mower who was doing his best to work around me. Unfortunately I never knew for the first 6 holes if they were freshly mowed and quick or slow and hairy. Once the mower got away from me all was good with smooth rolling greens. All greens are single tiered with modest slope.

Fairways were so so. The first few had been punched and after that the fairways were littered with thin areas throughout.

Tee boxes were .... confusing at best. Some were very nice and lush others looked like they placed the tee markers off the tee box in dead areas. Maybe they were letting the tee boxes recover? Not sure but they were either on the 7-8 scale or the 2-3 end. Nothing in between.

There are no sand traps just grass pot bunkers which I managed to avoid all day. Layout is completely flat and easily walkable. I walked the front 9 just to keep warm on the brisk morning start. As mentioned before the layout of the front nine is quirky to say the least. back to back par 5's, a short par 4, back to back par 3's, another par 5 followed by a 3rd Par 3. After that the course mellows out and follows some traditional routing with mostly par 4's.

Course is definitely bare bones with just a trailer for a pro shop that has a couple of bare necessities.

They do a $10 (walking) special on Monday's. For that price or the $2 net price I got the track is worth it especially considering the nice shape of the greens right now. For the full rack rate of $59 during weekend prime time, go elsewhere.
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Friendly greeting by Andrew in the pro shop. Played today as a walking 3some in early afternoon. A sunny, fairly windy d... » More

Friendly greeting by Andrew in the pro shop. Played today as a walking 3some in early afternoon. A sunny, fairly windy day. POP overall was 4hrs40mins, with heavy backup on holes 3-8, with 2-4 groups waiting. Things picked up on the back nine, with minimal waits. Several 5somes and one 7some 3 holes in front of us!!!

Course is drying up nicely, getting some roll on drives and approach shots. Overall, nothing remarkable, but greens and bunkers were both pretty good. Fairways have damage areas and a bit of hap-hazard coverage right now, but this should improve through the spring. Blue and white tees were generally very lush and provided good footing.

No cart lady, and the 1/2-way shack was closed as we passed through - definitely could've used a water. Never saw a useful marshal all day. Oh, I did see one, but he took no action with the 7some in front... :(
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Played today with a large group of friends. Noticed that it was going to a busy day when we noticed that a large golf g... » More

Played today with a large group of friends. Noticed that it was going to a busy day when we noticed that a large golf group or tournament was stacked up on the first tee box. Our tee time was one hour later so we expected the group to be way ahead.

Teed off on time and did not encounter the group until hole#5 where we came to a standstill and stacked 3 groups. Called clubhouse, but noone came out to move the forward groups along. Grueling 5 hour POP.

Greens #1 and #4 were extremely bumpy, sandy and overgrown. It appears that they top dressed some of the greens. Fairways were decent but roughs are bumpy and full of gopher holes.
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We played here today teeing it up at 7:30 and finishing at 11:30. With many courses aerating now I saw on GK that they w... » More

We played here today teeing it up at 7:30 and finishing at 11:30. With many courses aerating now I saw on GK that they were starting today. Called ahead and was told that the punching was starting at noon so jumped at the $55 senior rate and loved every minute of golf today. The greens were pure! Just rolled perfect with no bumps and running semi fast. Everything here is in great shape right now however the bunkers do need sand. It's kind of a bummer that I am giving this course such high marks knowing that by tomorrow it will be full of holes. Oh well, today was a great day and look forward to heading back in a couple weeks after they heal.
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Played today on a Players Club invitation sent out to American Golf courses. We were able to get out early and played in... » More

Played today on a Players Club invitation sent out to American Golf courses. We were able to get out early and played in 3.5 H. This is a fabulous course. We played the Valley/Vista and were sorry we could not play the Lakes 9, to experience all 27 holes. Customer service at check in (thank you Daniel) was great. Plenty of balls on the driving range to warm up and the putting green gave us an idea of what was coming on the greens (speed). The starter greeted us and sent us on our way. Truly a very beautiful layout. The tee boxes were excellent. Fairways (nice and wide but also tree lined) had plenty of grass, provided great lies and once they dried out, good roll was evident. Sand traps were very playable and had all been cleaned and raked (and they are large and deep). Rough was not terribly long, but wet/sticky to play from. Great mixture of par 3's on both the Valley/Vista, with # 2 (a redan) on Valley fronted by water and an elevated tee box (just what you want on your 2nd hole of the day). Many long par 4's of 380 and longer and every one of them was uphill to the green (ouch). Greens are large, undulated and they had speed (some local knowledge would have been great to have). Had a great hamburger from the BBQ set up outside. Wonderful golf course, with excellent customer service at all levels. If you ever have the opportunity to play here, don't pass it up.
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7:08am tee time, the first "non-member" time available. I had concerns because there must have been 6-7 groups out in fr... » More

7:08am tee time, the first "non-member" time available. I had concerns because there must have been 6-7 groups out in from of our threesome, but we were assured that they played quickly, so pace of play would be fast. For once, things were correctly represented. We played in 3hours 8 minutes, which considering how many groups went out in front of us, very impressed.

The groups were without doubt the firmest greens I have ever played. The balls actually bounced as if on cement. No chance to stop even a well struck wedge. They rolled well, but were slower than expected. Fairways were nice, bunkers had plenty of well manicured sand, tee boxes generally in good shape.

Since I play almost exclusively early, I encounter a lot of staff in the pro shops who are "not morning people", but Mark was terrific. Friendly & accommodating. Same with the starter Don. Both these gentlemen were a pleasure to deal with. Always nice to start your day even before the round on a positive note.

I don't play here very often, but very much enjoyed the course, despite the rock hard greens. Note, they are punching greens beginning Tuesday 3/19/19.
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Played 3/17 at 3pm. Got through 13 holes in 4 hours before giving up. Course is a bit stuffy, employees were hit or mi... » More

Played 3/17 at 3pm. Got through 13 holes in 4 hours before giving up. Course is a bit stuffy, employees were hit or miss with some being nice and others aloof. Conditions were great for the price paid (sub $40).

Tees: A bit chewed up in places but overall nice and flat with good coverage. 6.5.
Fairways: Great. Really the highlight of the course. 8.5.
Rough: Lush and penal. Some of the best at a public course I have seen recently. 8.
Bunkers: Was in 1 greenside and 1 fairway. Both were great with a nice depth underneath. 7.5
Greens: Medium fast and firm. Far firmer than they should be. I had wedges leaving no divot and bounding off the back on a few holes on well struck shots. I understand they were "micro punched" a week or two ago, but they look like they need a full aeration. 6.5

Overall a great public track with some kinks to work out, next time would love the finish the back nine. It would help if everyone here didn't act like they were pros. Kind of ruins the vibe when people are hacking away and then taking 15 mins to putt.
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Played this course for the first time ever (3/17 - 7A.M. tee time) on a quick weekend getaway to Palm Springs with fello... » More

Played this course for the first time ever (3/17 - 7A.M. tee time) on a quick weekend getaway to Palm Springs with fellow GK member molebio (Nat). As with the Desert Willow review, this choice came about in much the same way. It's hard to decide if I like Shadow Ridge more than Desert Willow, but they were almost identical in terms of conditions. Not sure if every high-end course in Palm Springs looks like this right now, but conditions may have been just a shade below perfect. What really helped today was getting off as the third group today behind a threesome with good pace, allowing us to enjoy a very casual 3.75 hour pace and feel like the course was all ours.

Tee boxes: Nearly perfect in just about every way. As with Desert Willow, the amount of tee boxes really helps and the conditions were everything you look for in a place like this.

Fairways: Also near perfection. Beautiful green carpets that were lush and offered very good roll, especially as the sun came out. Never once had a bad lie.

Rough: Not sure you want rough to be perfect, but the grass used in the rough was thick and long. It was penal but not overly so in that you could easily take your medicine if you chose to do so.

Bunkers: A dream to hit from. The amount of sand was just right and just enough to be able to hit behind the ball and not fear it shooting out. Not even a pebble in these bunkers.

Greens: Absolutely perfect sans maybe two or three divots from the group in front that never came into play. The roll on these greens, which themselves were devilishly difficult at times, was like putting on glass. No bumps in the road anywhere. A joy to test your skills on.

ETC: Another resort/property that does everything right. From the moment you park, all of Shadow Ridge is class. Starters, cart attendants, beverage attendant, cashiers, all treated us like we were members at a country club. The carts didn't have the best GPS but they were passable. The layout is fun but probably not as challenging as I would have expected (without sounding cocky). Had lots of fun out there and as mentioned, being alone on a Sunday is a real welcomed change from everywhere else. The rates here are a bit steep because of the resort, but if you can find a good price, I highly recommend!
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Played an early twilight round on St Patricks Day with my Neighbor who is new to the game but has lots of potential and ... » More

Played an early twilight round on St Patricks Day with my Neighbor who is new to the game but has lots of potential and He loves this new game He discovered. We played along with a Father and Daughter that were a joy to play alongside. As expected the course is very green from all the rain and the fairways were in the best shape I have seen at Prado in a long time. Of course it is still bumpy and you need to chart a proper path for your golf cart. Greens were punched two weeks ago and are still recovering, slow but rolled ok with some bumps when you hit one of the aeration holes. I missed 5 birdie putts that just wouldnt fall and left me a tap in. Tee boxes were kinda long in the tooth but we just dealt with it trying to find a good place to put the peg in. rough is very penal, long and very few open spots as is the usual. Bunkers were hard dirt except for some near the greens, I only hit two and got out fine (Inland Empire golfer experience) Word of note, they flipped Butterfield 9's and we tee'd off on 10 thinking it was 1 and played two holes before realizing our error.
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Played this course for the first time ever (3/16 - 1 P.M. tee time) on a quick weekend getaway to Palm Springs with fell... » More

Played this course for the first time ever (3/16 - 1 P.M. tee time) on a quick weekend getaway to Palm Springs with fellow GK member molebio (Nat). I won't go into the logic of choosing the particular courses played on this trip, but I had moderately high expectations for Desert Willow between Keith's blog, Nick's numerous PS area reviews, and their appearance on the Top 30 Public Golf Courses list. I have to say, not only did this place meet my expectations, it blew them away in just about every aspect. The ETC section will go more into general notes, but as far as conditions go, know the ratings are really no joke, especially when every other course I have played this year has been in the 6-7 range.

Tee boxes: Nearly perfect. I couldn't have been happier to see a generous amount of tee set options so no particular tee box was chewed up, even on a 1PM tee time. The grass was finely manicured and level. The ground was firm enough for great footing, but soft enough to drive tees nicely into the turf.

Fairways: Perfection. They were forest green carpet with a fair amount of roll, excellent lies all day, and visually stunning. No real other way to describe how amazing it was to see the green pop in contrast to the desert setting.

Rough: Penal but somehow because the conditions were so amazing, it felt like it wasn't as bad (if that even makes sense). It wasn't Torrey-long, but between the waste bunkers, desert terrain, the rough was almost a welcome relief on bad shots.

Bunkers: Was only in one green-side bunker, but as you would expect, beach-like sand in generous amounts that allowed for sand-save opportunities. Was also in one waste bunker and even there, the sand was better than most mediocre courses have in their green-side bunkers.

Greens: Just like everything else, they were perfect. A delightful combination of undulated and tricky slopes with glass-like roll at times. They weren't insanely fast, but they putted so smooth and had I been able to aim correctly that day, would have enjoyed them even more.

ETC: Everything about this property is first-rate. The attendants were on it as soon as we pulled up (even if we did miss the free valet parking). The carts had good color GPS and ice in the cooler. The clubhouse was wonderful and staff was very friendly. I was impressed with the grass driving range and practice green. The pace today was about 4.5 hours, but it seems that they do a very good job of sending people off on the dot. Course layout was fun with the right amount of challenge and the weather today cooperated perfectly with almost no wind. Highly recommend.
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