Desert Willow Resort (Firecliff)

Desert Willow Resort (Firecliff): Member Reviews

38-995 Desert Willow Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92260 • (800) 320-3323

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LOCAL WEATHER

Palm Desert, CA (92260)

81°F
Fair

[Full Forecast]

Humidity: 8%
Wind: SE at 6mph

Sunset: 7:00 pm
green Sunrise: 6:42 am

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Desert Willow Resort Website

Desert Willow GC

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51. kassper7

Posted: 01/14/21 10:28p
Member Since: Jan 30, 2015
From: Westchester

Don't know if I've ever played out this way during "peak" time but I can see why some would travel and pay to do so. Firecliff was immaculate, I wouldn't change a single thing about the conditions. E... Continue »

All Reviews by kassper7

11 Likes.

Rated
9.9 Conditions

52. kviser

Posted: 01/14/21 9:42p
Member Since: Feb 4, 2005
From: Saugus, CA

What a great golf course! Really nice conditions throughout the course. As you drive up the entrance road you will catch glimpses of the Mountain View course. It’s a carpet of lush, green turf. The Fi... Continue »

All Reviews by kviser

12 Likes.

Rated
8.9 Conditions

53. caligolfer1031

Posted: 01/14/21 9:09p
Member Since: Feb 5, 2004
From: Paramount

Was out with the Gurus today for an absolutely great day golf. Thanks to Perry, Gary and Steve for making it so fun. Staff at Desert Willow are fantastic and seem to go out of their way to make golfin... Continue »

All Reviews by caligolfer1031

10 Likes.

Rated
9.9 Conditions

54. dangerousbri

Posted: 01/14/21 8:40p
Member Since: Nov 3, 2015
From: La Crescenta

Looks like I get to break the seal on this one for today's Guru outing. First of all, paired up with an emergency room Dr. and would publicly like to thank him again for the hours and craziness the public is putting them through currently.

On to the course, there is not much to say other than it is pretty immaculate right now. If I have to complain about anything it's that a few tee boxes weren't perfectly flat where they had the tee box set up today. If the rocks had been set up elsewhere I don't know if I could nit pick anything else except maybe the water hazards look like standard water hazards and not a Caribbean beach. With a beautiful 87 degree day that's probably a good thing so we didn't want to take a dip.

One thing I like about the desert "resort" courses is that they cater to the clientele. If you hit the ball 200-250 you are generally going to find immaculate grass, usually a fairway. If you launch the ball the fairway is going to be tight in 275-325 range. Either way you're playing from amazing grass, no thin spots. Good test for all skill levels and keeps the pace of play to 4-4:15 with no waiting, which we didn't experience any. Love that!!

After you hit those immaculate fairways, you may do as I did and seemingly hit every sand trap on the course. Felt like I was in at least 12 today. Sand was great. Easy to hit out of, soft and well maintained. Looked like I was the only one in them all day, so they are very well maintained. Finally you get to the greens, once again flawless. I didn't see any ball marks myself, even my own unfortunately. The greens rolled true and fast, but not cement floor fast, they were a joy to play. I don't know if my mind plays tricks on me but I always feel like I putt better on fast greens that roll true to the way they look.

I've played out here before, and I do love playing here. This guru outing got me out of an at least 18 month layoff from playing and always brings memories of why I play this game.

All Reviews by dangerousbri

13 Likes.

Rated
9.9 Conditions

55. Nickesquire

Posted: 07/29/20 7:25p
Member Since: Aug 11, 2007
From: Rancho Mirage, CA

Rode the Purple tees (6676/72.1/136) in 3H mid day on a GN Hot Deal. Clear, fairly calm and 112.

Bermuda tees were semi lush and level with few divots.

Bermuda fairways were semi lush and usu... Continue »

All Reviews by Nickesquire

11 Likes.

Rated
6.5 Conditions

56. nsaqr

Posted: 07/01/20 6:18a
Member Since: Dec 17, 2009
From: Yorba Linda, Ca

Played Firecliff for the first time on Tuesday June 30, 2020. The greens were supposed to have been punched with small holes the week before and we were ok with that, but what we found were patchy and... Continue »

All Reviews by nsaqr

11 Likes.

Rated
6.7 Conditions

57. sbarajasjr

Posted: 02/23/20 8:17p
Member Since: Dec 11, 2009
From: San Diego

Played here Sunday 2/23 as second leg of trip with longtime friend and GK member Jon. Had played Firecliff last year and walked away astounded at how pristine the course was, today was no different. A... Continue »

All Reviews by sbarajasjr

13 Likes.

Rated
9.9 Conditions

58. rgm2525

Posted: 12/17/19 7:32p
Member Since: Jan 24, 2005
From: chatsworth

Played 12-9-19 with Nick, Gary, and Pedro teeing off just after noon and finishing in a little over four hours. Tee boxes were level and lush and in great condition. Fairways were very green and lush ... Continue »

All Reviews by rgm2525

7 Likes.

Rated
8.9 Conditions

59. rob1563

Posted: 12/14/19 3:10p
Member Since: Jul 3, 2010
From: Las Vegas

Finished up a 36 hole GK guru day with a round on 12/9. Customer service was outstanding. Grabbed a quick bite prior to the round and had to pick from about 6 different hot dog combos, they all looked... Continue »

All Reviews by rob1563

10 Likes.

Rated
9.0 Conditions

60. UNCLEDDBOY23

Posted: 12/12/19 6:27p
Member Since: Jun 15, 2014
From: Peoria, Arizona

Overall: Desert Willow Golf Resort is 36 hole resort that has the Firecliff and Montain View Courses and is owned and operated by the City of Palm Desert. The resort opened in 1997 with the Firecliff course ... which was named for the supper club owned by early Palm Desert residents, Leonard Firestone and Clifford Henderson. The resort opened with great fanfare when the residents were treated to a grand opening tournament with President Gerald Ford. The Mountain View course opened in October of 1998 and was designed to be a little more user friendly from the tees and and included more water features than Firecliff.
The City of Palm Desert hired the design team of Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and then Coachella Valley resident and PGA Touring Professional, John Cook and in conjunction with local landscape architect, Eric Johnson they were able to develop a resort that was environmentally sensitive, unique and picturesque.

Clubhouse: Very nice clubhouse that was quite large and had a beautiful outdoor patio that overlooked the 9th and 18th greens. All of the player assistants were very friendly and the pro shop was well stocked with a great variety of merchandise. I purchased a long sleeve 1/4 zip pullover and a ball marker. The prices were fair and the gentleman in the pro shop gave me a discount on the ball marker. He took his time folding my purchase and put it in the bag very neatly (yes, the retail manager in me would notice that). The outside player assistants were also very friendly.

Course: A beautiful course with wall to wall overseed. The fairways were just about perfect. The rye grass rough was also very thick and was cut to a height of about 1 inch. The greens were excellent ... very smooth, a good coverage of grass on them and ran very true and could be fast if you were putting downhill. The pin placements were quite interesting and were in some challenging spots ... especially on the first few holes. I think that the hole locations got a little bit easier later in the round. The 2 holes that really stand out for me are #9 and #18 ... they were very interesting holes and I enjoyed the back drop of the clubhouse right behind both greens. I was only in 1 bunker all day, but the sand looked really good and was very consistent.

Final Thoughts: Played with Brian, Rob and Johnny GK on a picture perfect afternoon in the Coachella Valley. We had a lot of fun and truly enjoyed the afternoon at Desert Willow ... thank you gentlemen! Also, enjoyed seeing Johnny GK hole out for an eagle on the par 4 5th hole with an 8 iron from about 140 yards. #eaglechains. John did not see the ball go in the hole, but I sure did ... congratulations John! It is always fun to drive out to Palm Springs and play golf with the GK Review Gurus. John ... thank you for 36 holes of golf on perfect day.

All Reviews by UNCLEDDBOY23

8 Likes.

Rated
8.9 Conditions

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Playing Conditions
8.80
Great

Course Statistics
72 of 2,333 Overall Rank
Value
Layout
Service

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PRACTICE FACILITIES

Driving Range: Grass
Practice Chipping & Sand: YES
Practice Putting: YES