Course is in good condition with the exception of the greens IMO. The Clubhouse/Restaurant and customer service are all top notch. However, most of the greens have some sort of infestation. The gre... Continue »

Course is in good condition with the exception of the greens IMO. The Clubhouse/Restaurant and customer service are all top notch. However, most of the greens have some sort of infestation. The greens have different types of grasses growing on them. I'm not an agronomist, but my guess is either poa anna or some sort of fungus is taking over the greens. The result was that there are dark and light patches on the greens and the smoothness and speed is unpredictable. For the price that you pay at Desert Willow, I was expecting much better green conditions.

Second time out to Desert Willow, first time playing Firecliff. I had a tee time shortly after 8am playing with a twosome and another single(local guy). The customer service was wonderful. Parked the ... Continue »

Second time out to Desert Willow, first time playing Firecliff. I had a tee time shortly after 8am playing with a twosome and another single(local guy). The customer service was wonderful. Parked the car and while walking through the parking lot an employee drove a cart to me put my bag on the cart and directed me to the clubhouse telling me my clubs would be waiting at the starter outside. I payed inside then checked in with the starter. I was given a beeper and told to take the cart with my bag and enjoy the practice facilities (part of green fee). When the beeper went off I went back to the starter who paired me and the other single into one cart. My group played in 4:15. The drink/snack cart came around several times.

The course is in great condition. The greens rolled smooth with a reasonable fast speed. The greens played a little firm. Shorter irons held decent while mid to long irons ran out a little. The only negative was the old cup rings were dotted around the green but they never affected roll. The fairways had great coverage and good lies with medium rollout off the tee. The rough had great coverage. The length was long enough to affect shots but not too penal. The fairway bunkers were well manicured. The greenside bunkers were well manicured although a little compacted at times but very playable. The tee boxes had good coverage and mostly flat.

After playing the Mountain View course in January of 2021 for a GK Guru round and reading in GK forums the high regard given to Firecliff it was at the top of my list when I came for a few days of RR to the area. I very much like both course but I do like Firecliff more. Being a non resident and playing during the prime time of year with prime morning tee time I expected to pay a prime green fee. I wasn't disappointed. The club house is beautiful, the practice facilities are nice, the course was in great shape, and the staff throughout the day were helpful and friendly.

Played on New Year's Day, 1/1/2022 and wow what a great way to start the year. I don't recall ever being able to play on New Year's day in the past, so this was extra special. The course is absolu... Continue »

Played on New Year's Day, 1/1/2022 and wow what a great way to start the year. I don't recall ever being able to play on New Year's day in the past, so this was extra special. The course is absolutely gorgeous everywhere you look. Check in was very easy, from bag drop to the starter. Everyone was courteous and helpful. ~$150 for green fee is steep for me, but hey, gotta do it every once in a while. Everything was 9/10 condition wise. Teeboxes all level with very minimal divot damage on the par 3s. Fairways were perfect, carpet-like, good cushion and good roll. Found two bunkers and they were excellent. Rough was not too penal, but just long enough to make you think and make sure you make good downward contact with a little extra strong grip. Greens were very good, just shy of being perfect. They were a little firm, so mid to long irons did have a little rollout on the greens. The layout is simply stunning and the views of the mountains on many holes were spectacular. Hiighly recommend if you can get out there!!

Played on Monday, 12/13 with the GK Guru crew. Upon arrival, found out there was a morning frost delay which pushed us back 20-30 minutes. I hit the snack bar and enjoyed a chicken salad and some chip... Continue »

Played on Monday, 12/13 with the GK Guru crew. Upon arrival, found out there was a morning frost delay which pushed us back 20-30 minutes. I hit the snack bar and enjoyed a chicken salad and some chips at a good price.

I've played this course in summer and winter, and it's always in great shape. Tee to green overseed that didn't leave any bare/thin/brown areas. Tee boxes were mostly damage free, except around the par 3s. Fairways were lush, almost carpet like. Rough was a bit up, causing some issues and the possibility of a pop-up with a fairway wood or hybrid. Sand was in good shape. Greens were terrific. Very firm, with little to no signs of any ball marks, and rolling smooth.

Going out behind PGA tournament did slow down to first 9, but no real issues. Once they were finished after 9, we blazed through the second 9 in about 1:15 and putted out on 18 as the sun was setting.

The fact this complex is technically a "muni" makes me laugh. Absolutely as good as the surrounding resort courses and a must play in the Palm Springs area.

Second round on Monday 12/13 was at another one of my all-time favorite courses Desert Willow Golf Resort FireCliff. Less than a few miles from Classic Club, what a combo to experience in one day. Des... Continue »

Second round on Monday 12/13 was at another one of my all-time favorite courses Desert Willow Golf Resort FireCliff. Less than a few miles from Classic Club, what a combo to experience in one day. Desert golf heaven. Instead of the sunrise, we played with a sunset, my favorite time of the day to play. Teeing it up with fellow GK Gurus UNCLEDBOY23 (Phoenix), bmcnicoll (Canada) and Nickequire (soon to be Tucson) – something tells me the four of us will be playing again in AZ.

We followed the PGA National Club Champions 3 day event for seniors which was delayed due to a frost in the morning so we could not get out until 1:00pm. Front nine was very slow but when the tournament finished we blazed on the back nine and finished at dark. The golf course was in immaculate condition as you would expect at Desert Willow and even more so because of the event. Smooth medium fast greens, super lush groomed fairways/rough/tees. Bunkers perfect. So much fun and gorgeous. The big storm was already starting to hit Southern California but in Palm Desert only light clouds and a trace of wind making for some beautiful photos. Check them out.

Desert Willow Golf Resort is always a top notch experience which is why every year we have a GK Plays outing there. This year it might be as soon as April so stay tuned. Highly Recommended.

Desert Willow Resort (firecliff) December 13, 2021 summary. This last Monday, I had the opportunity to play Desert willow for the second time. I played with my buddies, Gary, Ron and Robert from "Vi... Continue »

Desert Willow Resort (firecliff) December 13, 2021 summary. This last Monday, I had the opportunity to play Desert willow for the second time. I played with my buddies, Gary, Ron and Robert from "Viva Las Vegas" first time playing and driving the golf cart with. Hoping we play together again.

It is always an honor to play a round of golf with Gary and Ron!! it's so amazing the way they play the game of golf. This was our second round of the day. We finished playing a fantastic Classic Golf Club round and we then rash to get to Desert Willow. Robert and I played from the lavender tees, perfect distance for us. Prior to our tee time, Desert Willow had their pros tournament and we knew that we were on for a great challenge with the pin placements. As hard as the greens are playing after tournament we knew that it was going to be lots of fun and boy it was.

The lavender tees "AMAZING" every single one was just well kept and what I love is that they didn't had the Lavender Tees placed therefore Robert and I had the entire tee to tee of our golf ball as you can imagine they were like a practice golf mat very even and level. Fairways and rough amazing beautiful. Every way you ball landed from your drive you had an excellent place to hit the all "in my opinion". The sand bunkers had plenty of sand but it was a challenge to to get out of them as some were very deep. Over all I had a blast!!!

The only thing that I (we) weren't to happy with is been behind the last foursome of the tournament. Boy if they are slow. Our tee time was at 1:00pm and finish the first 9 holes at 3:15 ish so we had under 1hr and half to finish the back nine. Since the tournament was done at the 9th hole, we played the back nine 1 and 20 ish minutes. We speed up and had lots of fun playing the back nine. I also realized that by playing fast and not thinking over your shot I can score much better as I hit more greens and fairways as I did in the first 9 holes.

Desert Willow is one of my favorite golf course in palm springs and I wish to play there every GK Guru event. This is if the invite from GK gets offer to me. Love playing this events with my golfer buddies. Over all I rate Desert Willow a 9.

Thank you GK for such an amazing weekend and for booking class A+ Golf Course. GK members totally appreciated.

Thank you for reading my summary!!

Overview: Played in the afternoon on Tues 12/13 with JohnnyGK, Nick and Brian on a partly cloudy afternoon with the temperature being around 65. Always a great time with this group and good to see B... Continue »

Overview: Played in the afternoon on Tues 12/13 with JohnnyGK, Nick and Brian on a partly cloudy afternoon with the temperature being around 65. Always a great time with this group and good to see Brian being able to come down from Canada. We went off at about 1:00 pm due to a PGA National Club Champion Tournament that was going on.
Desert Willow Golf Resort is a 36 hole golf resort that is owned by the City of Palm Desert and opened in 1997.

Clubhouse: A very nice clubhouse that is quite large and has a beautiful outdoor patio that overlooks the 9th hole and 18th hole. The pro shop was well stocked with a great variety of merchandise. I purchased a Titleist hat with the Desert Willow logo on the side. All the player assistants were very friendly and it was great seeing the GM come out and meet our group on the 18th hole after the round. It was definitely past sunset and it was nice to see that he took the time to personally thank us for coming out to play ... he also spoke with Johnny for a few more minutes.

Course: One of my favorite courses in the Palm Springs area. Wall to wall over seed and the rough was very lush ... at about an inch in length. The fairways were excellent and had great coverage. Sand was very good ... consistent and all of the bunkers were raked very nicely. Greens were very good and of course were not as pure as they are in the early morning ... putts ran true and the speed of the greens were very consistent. Pin placements were in some difficult locations due to the morning tournament, but it was good to see what the "professionals" play on a day in and day out basis.

Final Thoughts: Always fun to drive out to the Coachella Valley and play 36 holes with the GK family. Johnny ... thank you for setting up a great day of golf!! #knowbeforeyougo

Rode the Purples (6676/72.1/136) in 4H twilight with GK Guru's John, Brian and Dave. Great to play with a couple of out of the area guys I previously had enjoyable rounds with. We finished 18 in the d... Continue »

Rode the Purples (6676/72.1/136) in 4H twilight with GK Guru's John, Brian and Dave. Great to play with a couple of out of the area guys I previously had enjoyable rounds with. We finished 18 in the dark due to a National Club Champion Tournament that ran over. We were unable to start until after 1 pm. Partly cloudy, fairly calm and around 60. Thanks to John for setting up and to Desert Willow for having the guru group out. Tees mostly lush and level but after that tournament, were pretty chewed up for divots. Fairways lush and good to play from. Rough very lush. Ball sat up, not overly penal except it cost you roll. Usually good to chip out of but deep enough to be penal. Greenside traps had good quality sand. Decently maintained, with a generous amount of thick sand. Waste bunkers were firm and not as well maintained as the greenside traps. Large greens putted medium fast speed and were firm with some rollout. Customer Service always excellent here from when you drop your clubs off out front to when you pick them up after the round. Nice GPS on upgraded carts that have ports for electronics. The all grass driving range is included and is excellent with a nice practice chipping area. Drink Cart around several times. Ice/water stations every few holes. Excellent and very fun layout to play. Recommended, IMO the best public course in the Greater Palm Springs area.

Played December 13th with Dave, Nick and Johnny. Tee times were changed to half hour later, so Dave and I didn't quite finish....couldn't see the ball, kudo's to Johnny and Nick they finished. Agree... Continue »

Played December 13th with Dave, Nick and Johnny. Tee times were changed to half hour later, so Dave and I didn't quite finish....couldn't see the ball, kudo's to Johnny and Nick they finished. Agree totally with GDR's review. Course was in perfect condition, due to the PGA Sr. Club tournament the pins were in some very difficult spots, fitting for a tournament, speed of greens was very good. As mentioned course was in excellent condition. I played 6 courses over a period of 11 days and DW was in the best condition of them all. Lush fairways, good bunker conditions, surprisingly no ball marks on greens, or should I say no unrepaired ball marks on greens and no divots on tee boxes or fairways for the most part. Staff were attentive and pleasant. I try to play DW every time I am in PSP. Thanks Johnny fr arranging this, and to the other GK'ers who were there....sorry Rob I hit into you.....