Shadow Hills Golf Club (South)

Indio, CA

Reviewed by: mr8656, San Bernardino
6 June 2018
0730 tee time

First time of what I hope will be many more times playing at this very enjoyable venue. When making a good detailed review I feel the entire experience should be rated. First to mention, this is not my neighborhood track. It’s about a 60 mile drive but I have an good friend who lives in the community, like right on the 5th fairway, so I like to take turns and making the trip here and makes the round more enjoyable. We played as a weekday Twosome since he’s retired and I’m wishing I was, and the guys in our regular group are still grinding it out in the mines.

I arrived at about 0645 got checked in. Check in guy was very friendly and knew my buddy by name. $43 regular rate with complimentary use of the practice facility. All grass driving range with markers clearly defining the yardage. Large cups and ice machine available to load up with water. This is the Palm Springs area, it’s gonna get warmer as the day get longer. It was about 78* when we teed off and got up to 90* when we finished, POP was about 3:45. After a 20 minute warm-up we were heading out to the first tee.

The Course Review

Right away you feel the comfort of the course. I’m not going to say the course was overly difficult. The tee boxes were very well maintained as was the entire course. Fairway a little wet from the morning soaking, rough for the most part was not overly penalizing, the back 9 did seem a little thicker. The greens were mostly flat with gental breaks, medium soft and with good roll. Pin placements allowed enough room to make good approach shots. The bunkers are large with good fill. The front was a little heavy but the back was fluffier and more accommodating. My one lost ball found one of the numerous water hazards. I think the statigic placement of the bunkers and water hazard is what made the course more enjoyable to play. The fairways are generous and my first thought was to just grip and rip but after a second look I made better choices with my club selection. I also liked the the overall design. Short, medium and long at all the pars.

We finished our round in time to see the breakfast menu in the 19th hole, but I still opted for a couple of pulled pork sliders with a side of fresh fruit. There was indoor and patio seating available. We opted for an indoor table by the window with a great view of holes 9 and 18. The selections were plentiful and reasonably priced.

Parting Thoughts

In conclusion, I had a very enjoyable round at a new track and hope to return, weather permitting, real soon. Thanks to my buddy Duane for the invite and extending hospitality.

Shadow Hills Golf Club (South)

Indio, CA

Reviewed by: Nickesquire, Rancho Mirage, CA

Rode the Blues (6467/71.5/130) on a GN “Hot Deal” with Hillary in 3.5 hours. The weather was clear, breezy and in the mid 90’s.

First time I had played here in almost 5 years. Most holes are lined on both sides with nice track homes. Tight in places layout that offers a good variety of holes. More than average amount of sand and water features adds to the difficulty.

The tees were excellent, lush and nicely maintained.

The fairways were mostly lush and many were near immaculate. A few were thinner and showing signs of the recent heat wave.

The rough is a mixture of grasses and 95% is maintained low. Not very penal in most places except for the designated ornamental patches of wild grass that they grow high that is an almost sure lost ball.

The sand traps were near perfect. Nice, thick, excellent quality white sand.

The back nine greens were very good, firm and medium fast. The front had several greens that were browned and not in as good of shape.

Troon facility, complementary balls on the all grass driving range comes with your daily fee. This is a good course, everything about it is above average, the layout, the condition, the customer service etc. However, it just does not stand out in an area that has many excellent courses within 10-15 miles.

Recommended.