GK Guru Visit & GK Match Play Roundup at Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells, CA
Reviewed by: HmtGolfGuy, Hemet, CA
ALERT: Overseeding
Will be overseeding 9/27 – 10/10, reopening 10/11 and likely cart path only until 11/25.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.
Indian Wells Golf Resort PLAYERS Indian Wells California – Hole 11 Fairway View
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Golf Course Conditions 7.96 GREAT
Played 9/9 with Johnny, Matt and Robert for the GK semifinals. Conditions for this time of year with the heat we’ve had were excellent. Customer service was the usual – meaning it was outstanding! Helpful and encouraging without ever being “pushy”, this place should host clinics on how to take care of golfers.
As noted by previous reviewers, almost everything is in great shape and well maintained, with one exception – the bunkers (I was in enough to know!). Thin layer of soft/dry sand but underneath it was damp and VERY firm, making a normal “blast” shot almost impossible. Only two options: 1) “muscle up” and take way more sand than you want just to insure you get out on your first shot, or 2) try and nip it off the sand with a lob wedge taking as little sand as possible. Sand quality itself is good, they just need one deep dig/rake and they’d be fine.
Additional Thoughts
To me, the best way to describe the difference between the Celebrity and Player courses is this: If I was picking a course to play 3 or more days per week for pure enjoyment it’s Celebrity hands down. Still a solid challenge, it’s more visually pleasing and seems to have a more relaxed vibe. If I want to check the state of my game, I’m hitting up Players.
Big shout out to Johnny for getting this set up, other than the heat it was a great day. Get out here soon though, maintenance is starting on the 27th.
Definitely recommended (at least if it’s below 105 degrees or so!)
Early am four hour round on Sunday. The staff is great even with the issues they have to deal with from time to time.
The tee boxes were great with only a few a little thin. The fairways were a little damp in the low lying areas but the coverage was very good front and back. The short Bermuda is forgiving on some shots if you can keep your misses online. The rough was fairly thick and pretty damp in places but you could advance the ball. The traps were thin, wet and ugly. The traps were well groomed for the most part but not on par with the rest of the course. The greens were in good shape and not real quick today – some were actually pretty slow compared to what I remember. There were a few greens with quite a few marks in need of repair. Some of the greens are also very large compared to most courses. The wildlife and somewhat rural setting of this course are great.
Booked a round on that ‘necessary evil website’ we all know for 8:28 on Sunday morning for Brookside E.O. Nay (Course#2) for $42. Arrived about 45 minutes prior to tee time with designs on hitting a few range balls before the round. Range was mats only, which I understand is absolutely necessary due to the incredible volume of patrons of this facility. With about 20 stalls, I was lucky to find a spot. Two practice putting greens, one of which was open.
I don’t know whether it was the high number of walking golfers, more here than any other place I’ve seen before, or the close quarters within the practice area, or what, but there seemed to be a very communal atmosphere among the golfers here. It’s likely attributable to the gracious staff that seemed to handle the high volume of players very effectively. My group teed off about 25 minutes after our scheduled time, but shout out to Wendi, the starter who managed to keep everyone in good spirits despite the late start and informing us that a 5 1/2 hour round was the norm. She was spot on. Wendi performed her job well, in managing the first tee and answering any and all questions we had about the course, and eager to do it.
The Review
Now to the course, fairways lush in most areas, a few dried up areas in some places. 7/10
Tee boxes were mostly level, there were a hand full that forced me to hunt a little bit for a good spot due to excessive divot damage. 7.5/10
Bunkers, which I found a few, some were good sand, with others seemingly more soft dirt than actual sand, but all were playable. The first bunker I found early in my round was kinda fluffy thick moist sand, very playable. Later in the round I found one that was pretty thin. 6.5/10
The rough on this course varies greatly. Between holes within the course, where the sprinklers get to, the rough can be very thick and penal. In some cases you won’t see your ball outside of 15 feet, lol. On the outer edges of the course you can expect lots of very thin lies and dirt. 5/10
The greens on this course were a pleasant surprise actually. Of the high volume of players here, only a very small percentage struggle with not preparing their divots. There was always a few to repair on each green, but not nearly enough to be annoyed about. My guess would put them between 10 and 11 on the Stimp meter, deceptively quick even with plenty of moisture. Not overly undulated, but plenty of slope and breaks to play (best be beneath the hole always).
Final Thought
Overall, a great deal for the price. Be prepared for a long round on a crowded park like setting course, but a very enjoyable place to play. Will return very soon to play the more highly regarded C.W.Koiner (course #1).
Santa Anita Golf Course Arcadia California Senior GK Coupon
Played Westridge Golf Club in La Habra, Friday 8/24/2018, 1:30 pm tee time on a Underpar deal at $35 per player with cart. (Restrictions on deal were a tee time after 10am Mon-Friday).
Arrived early checked in at the pro shop. Staff was nice, but the attendant on duty was not familiar with Underpar or the deal being offered and tried to tell me we could only play the morning even though she confirmed we were scheduled for 1:30pm until corrected by her co-worker, who then showed her how the voucher worked. Fortunately, we were checked in, went downstairs and checked in with the starter (very nice) got our cart and headed for the driving range. Medium bucket 80 balls was $8 dollars (The Underpar deal did not come with range balls).
We were sent out about ten minutes early with a note we might be joined by twosome either at the tee or as we played. The twosome showed up as we were teeing up and I am glad they did. Two guys who regularly play this course Tony and Glenn were among the nicest guys I have played with. My buddy is a single digit handicap so it was nice that both of these guys were competitive with him. I had a tough day with a two-way miss.
The Review
The course is beautiful, located in the hills of La Habra not far form Beach Blvd, off of Imperial. It’s not as majestic as Black Gold, but I think I like it even better layout wise. The fairways are very narrow and slope hard to one side. There is little in the way of rough, errant shots are most likely to find native area that is protected both by rule, and rattle snake as a result, I donated about three sleeves of balls. Where there was rough it was deep and very penal.
Carts are basic, no GPS, clean functional.
The tee boxes were lush but could have been more level, and compact. There were some irregularities not quite holes, soft or very hard areas. The tee boxes aren’t terrible and aren’t too uneven, just lumpy however given the overall condition of the course they are the noticeable let down.
Rough, most rough is around the green, and in thin strips along the fairway. If the ball stops in the rough it will require all your attention as it is thick and sticky, but given the slope of the fairways the ball is as likely to go out of bounds.
The fairways are narrow and feature very good coverage of mostly green grass. If you control your ball find the fairway, don’t get an unlucky bounce you will still most likely find yourself with a uphill, side-hill, downhill, uneven lie.
The narrow undulating fairways pockmarked with fairway bunkers seem to be the courses main defense. This is target golf.
Bunkers – The course features numerous fairway and green-side bunkers. The fairway bunkers are a fair test but deeper than many I have seen on other courses, and the green-side bunkers look like they were dug by marines defending the area. The use of Bunkers around some greens present almost a moat surrounding the putting surface.
The greens are beautiful, fast with more breaks than TV show. I loved the greens, if you holed a one putt on these greens of more than four feet you feel accomplished.
Parting Thoughts
This course has a really nice playing layout, with majestic views of the surrounding community. The tee boxes need a little attention, the bunkers well hard packed are very playable. Pace of play is very good, we took around four hours. The course needs more water stations. The separation of the parking lot from the clubhouse, and the starters station do a good job of preventing you bringing a cooler of water, however there were only two water stations on the course (at least that we saw), there were two low output water fountains by the restrooms. The snack bar is such that you have to go off route to stop as you make the turn and with the pace of play we experienced on Friday that would have been a train wreck. There is no sign on course giving you a number to pre-order. We did not see a beverage cart on course at any time during the round.
Would I recommend this course, yes very much, and I would definitely play it again at this rate? It’s not easy, and I was physically sore for a couple of days after playing. The course overall is in good shape, and well worth testing your game against.
ALERT: Overseeding
Will be overseeding 9/25 – 10/28, reopening 10/29 and likely cart path only for 2-3 weeks.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.
Golf Playing Conditions 6.24 GOOD
Rode the Blacks (6782/71.6/122) as a single in 3H, 15M twilight. The weather was clear, windy and in the low 100’s.
The Bermuda tees, fairways and rough all have good coverage. Semi lush with a few brown/thin areas due to the heat. All are mowed down close.
The traps had decent sand, but contain too many rocks and unraked areas.
The Bermuda greens were firm and putted medium speed with few ball marks. A few are beginning to get crusty with the heat.
The customer service was good, quick efficient check-in. All grass driving range. Plenty of water stations on the course. No drink cart or Marshall, I only saw a few other groups playing this afternoon. GPS on the basic carts to the front/middle/back of the green and tips to hazards. Cimarron is reasonably wide open, flat with few forced carries and not overly tough for the average golfer. I enjoy this course as a change of pace, a solid mid level alternative for the Palm Springs area that is usually in decent shape. Recommended.
Played the Blues (6313/70.6/129) in 2.5H mid day as a single using Forelinx. I saw exactly 2 other groups playing total, almost like having your own private course. The weather was clear, fairly calm and around 105.
The Review
The Bermuda tees were lush and well maintained. Only a couple of par 3’s needed divot repair.
Both the Bermuda fairways and rough were lush, mowed down close with a few brown heat spots. Nicely maintained and good to play from.
The sand traps were in excellent condition with a generous amount of fine grain sand. These traps are tough to play from with large lips and potential long carries.
The Bermuda greens are still sub-par, recovering after a recent aerification. Decent amount of contour/slope on these large greens. They putted medium speed and were somewhat bumpy. They were firm but held shots well.
The customer service was excellent, especially from Nathan the clubhouse attendant. No drink cart out or Marshall today. SilverRock is easier after the redesign that shortened the back, but still a fun & pretty layout.
Definitely recommended.
Indian Wells Golf Resort Indian Wells California Eat & Play GK Coupon
Got out on time at 1:39pm Monday, 8/13 at Crossings Club rate of $40 with a Father/Son twosome. POP was slow on the day, 4hrs 50mins.
While waiting on the 10th tee, decided to take in the great views from there and noticed the slo-poke culprits were 4 groups in front, as they were making the long drive in their carts to #12 tee, with two groups backed up behind them playing #11, and the next group in front of them were already on the 13th green, two full holes ahead. So, dang you 1:03pm group!!! 😉 Like I said, great views from there, you can see parts of nearly all of the back 9 from there!
The Review
Course was probably in the best overall condition I’ve seen it this year from tee to green. Doing a lot of watering, things are a bit soft in places. Tees were great. Fairways didn’t provide great roll-out, but were cut nicely and always had a good lie. Rough was the most even/consistent I’ve ever seen at the Crossings, and very grabby of the clubhead.
Greens were soft and receptive, very well-watered, but did roll medium to medium-fast, or perhaps I just jammed a few too many past the hole, expecting them to be slower. Wasn’t in any bunkers, but they looked great for the most part, though one of my playing partners ended up in an unraked footprint on #6, which he wasn’t happy about.
Aside from the slower play, a great day out on this lovely course. Saw the cart girl 3 times, including once on the back side, which is rare. Just wish they had a marshal out, which we never saw.
Final Thoughts
The bar and players lounge patio area has been closed for more than a month now, and they are not sure when it will re-open. Evidently their liquor license did not properly include that bar area for all these years and was pulled. So, that’s a bummer right now. An after-round unwind with beer/food on the patio in the summer was about as good as it gets, with views and fires. They must be losing some serious $ by not having it at the moment, so hopefully it will re-open soon!
Riverwalk Golf Club San Diego California GK Coupon Tee Time Special
Laguna Seca is one of my favorite layouts in the Peninsula. It’s hard to believe it’s been several months since I’ve played here. The track has numerous elevation changes with several risk/ reward holes. Three of the par 5’s are grip it and rip it and the fourth has two water features that make accuracy and club selection critical.
Course offer plenty of scoring holes yes has a couple monster par 4’s like the ninth hole which may be the second toughest par 4 on the Peninsula.
Conditions were very nice today. All greens were smooth and rolled true. Greens here are deceptive. There is generally more break than it appears.
Fairways were decent with mostly green coverage and decent lies. There were a few brown and thin areas throughout the course. Tee boxes were much improved over the last time here. They were all level with good lush coverage.
Laguna Seca is a great place for a lower cost add when coming to the Monterey peninsula
ALERT: Overseeding
