First time at Escena after reading recommendations on various forums to check this course out. 7:52am tee time on Mother's Day, POP was 3.75hrs. I booked the tee time weeks prior right when it released online and it was $85 w/ cart which was an absolute steal. Hottest it got was 101*F during the back nine but felt like 87*F with a light breeze. Water stations with cups were at every three holes which was much appreciated.

All staff interactions were positive and helpful. The young starter gave us some tips and general info on the course which was nice.

Course conditions overall were 8/10 with tee boxes level and fairways with good coverage overall. Good roll out on the all fairways which was nice. Fairway bunkers did have some pebbles in them that i had to pick out. Greens were surprisingly on the "slower" side compared to other courses in Palm Springs. They seemed a tad bit shaggy, but overall rolling well. No noticeable pitch marks. Fun layout overall with with some pretty big greens on most holes so it was easy to fire away at them. Some challenging holes that force you to be precise on your shot but also some wider more forgiving holes.

Compared to the courses I play back home this was like Augusta National lol so I can't really complain. But compared to other courses in the Palm Springs area not sure I would pay $100+ for this course.

Overall I recommend this course right now if you are wanting to check it off "the list".

Played today. $18 to walk. And this is a great course to walk and stay in shape.

The maintenance on this course is terrific. They really work to make this place in good shape.

Tee boxes all playable. Fairways all clean, good lies and good roll out.

Rough was not very tall and able to advance ones ball, even around the greens.

Traps all playable and heard no complaints.

Greens are in very nice shape. They are not overly large, some are higher than the fairway and have some good bunkers protecting the greens.

Lots of OB line the fairways and a few water holes to contend with.

Great customer service POP was right on 3.5H.

Its the type of course you want to come back to and play and be reminded what golf use to be years ago IMO.

Highly recommended regardless of ones golfing skills.

The course is in the best condition it has been in years!

Greens sanded but so far not punched. Barely affected the speed or play for a couple days. many areas of the course have been vericut, which does not affect playability. Bermuda coming out well on the Tee's/fairways, very lush. Rough patchy hit/mniss, mowed low. Mowed low around the greens, you can definitely use putter from well off greenws currently. Which when going over large mounds to a firm, quick green is frequently a safer play IMO. Course playing firm/quick producing ridiculously long drives currently. Nice range, carts, GPS. Good restaurant onsite. highly recommended.

Front 9 greens were punched/sanded last week, medium speed and bumpy. Back 9 greens have not yet been punched, normal medium fast/smooth. Which creates a whole new experience when you make the turn. Fairways/Tees very nice with the Bermuda out in full force with warmer temps. Greenside traps really nice, fairway traps have more rocks than I remember from years ago. Fringes mowed down, which is not a good thing on the many holes with false fronts or drop offs from on or coming across greens. But do provide more bump run opportunities when short sided from just off many greens. Many areas of the course have been vericut, which does not affect playability. Rough patchy hit/mniss, mowed low. Range, carts, GPS excellent. Restaurant/men's lounge provides decent food in a friendly atmosphere. Highly recommended, but still probably 2 weeks away from all 18 greens being medium fast/smooth again.

Golf course can to use to be a solid lay out with good variety. Unfortunately that is where the positive review ends. Had 6:09am tee time on Friday 5/8. We arrived at 5:30am to locked doors at the golf shop. Cart guy was there staging carts and said someone should be there by 6:00am. Shop opened at 6:01am with an employee clearly in no rush to help us. This left us to pay fees, load onto our carts, have all four of us sign in with starter (Glen Ivy policy), drive to tee and tee off in eight minutes. We managed to hit our tee shots by 6:15am. I say all of this due to the “slow play” alert we received on the fourth hole. Like we were a problem. We walked off the 18th hole at 10:05am. Hadn’t seen the group behind us since the 7th hole.
On the course conditions: From history new the 5th green may not be in great shape but the front nine greens and fairways were definitely spotty and needed love. A good sized dirt patch on 9th green needed sodding instead they are attempting to use plugs which will take much longer to heal. Back nine was much better as greens were consistent as well as fairways are much better condition than the front.
Lastly the boundary system to keep carts away from greens and native areas needs to be adjusted. No less than three times did the system stop our cart and direct us reverse out of area, the problem was we were driving on the cart path. Overall a negative experience.

I got an invite from a longtime friend I had not seen in 12 years to tee it up at El Caballero yesterday 5/8. I hadn’t played El Cab in over 15 years since attending one of Spencer’s events supporting children’s cancer treatment and research. What seems like a lifetime ago, El Cab used to be my golf team’s home course while I was at Taft high (84 grad) so in many ways this is a very special place for me.

I arrived at 2:45pm for our 3:45pm tee time to take it all in and more so check out how much the club has changed2 2 since my last visit. I was blown away. While maintaining all its legacy charm, Reese Jones did an incredible job in 2021 renovating/upgrading an already fantastic golf course design, massively improving the practice facilities and fully replacing the turf tee-green. From a design standpoint, most noticeable we’re the added/improved bunkers, improved tee box sightlines, added back tee boxes, new trees replacing many of the old trees and redone large, potato chips shaped green complexes. El Cab has a discrete cell phone/photo taking policy allowing only limited use to maintain a peaceful club experience, so I snapped just a few out of respect.

Conditions at El Cab were immaculate. Medium-Fast greens, very firm and smooth. Lush, cut tight, perfect bermunda fairways. 2–3-inch grabby bermunda rough making greenside pitching/chipping super challenging. Immaculate groomed bunkers with perfect white sand (I was in a lot of them). Level, lush, perfect tee boxes.

According to the members I played with, El Caballero CC has hosted the LPGA JM Eagle Championship for the last two years, but next year the event will likely be hosted by Wilshire CC. I’ve now been blessed to play two recent LPGA host courses, El Cab and The Saticoy Club. Incredible golf courses.

Never miss an opportunity to play El Caballero CC.

Highly Recommended!

Went off at 1:12 on 5/7, finished at 5:50.
Greens coming off punching. They were hard and fast with just a bit of bump. Difficult to hole putts.
The rest of the course was in fine shape.
Give the greens a bit more time and it will be a good value.

Played this AM. Course was in spectacular shape as they had a tournament later in the morning.

Tees all mowed, cleaned up and no trouble finding a good spot for the tee.

All greens and fairways mowed and devoid of moisture. So fast roll out and greens IMO rolling at 12. I even had a few putts roll back after reaching the flag from were some diabolical greenskeeper place the flags for the tournament.

Traps were in great shape and so very playable. Wish more courses would prepare their traps like they do here.

Rough was about2 an inch long and no fun at all to play out of.

Terrific customer service from all staff encountered.

Easily one of the best public courses you can find in either N or S CA.

Highly recommended if you are coming through the area and have time to play a round.

Fairways and tee were in fair condition 5.0. Greens are still recovering from latest punching. They do a hard punch on these city greens so with the lack of spring rains they are hard, fast, and not very true. Not fair to rate them because they are still recovering. We played late afternoon towards dusk and sited many coyotes. Play took 4 hours and we still got in 16 holes teeing off at 4:00pm.

Warning to others. Don't waste your money. Adding to other reviews, played on May 6. No mention of greens condition from staff before booking or playing, and they were in atrocious condition. Feel like this was intentional, and dishonest. This should have disclosed prior, with reduced rates offered, at the very least. Unplayable really. Barely a hint of grass on any of the greens, just a strangely colored sand/dirt surface. Stopped keeping score after first green. Worst greens I've seen on any usually good course. After the round, was told 8 weeks max to get the greens back. No way. A year maybe? Come on Arrowood. You screwed up. Come clean.

played wed 5/6, 8:40 tee time, leisurely 4:10 hr round. course been open a week; special deal for locals, and I was able jump in on that. rained most of the day before, expecting the worst... blown away by the course conditions. greens firm and true, running a fast 11. fairways in great shape. 6 holes were cart path only, due to being soggy... but the fairways on those holes were very playable. mild wind, nice brisk sunny day. Felt blessed to play here today.