Desert Falls Country Club
About
Can bunkers qualify as their own continent? Desert Falls Country Club in Palm Desert seems determined to find out.
This Ron Frehm design boasts bunkers so huge that they look like the inventor of the Big Gulp came up with them. And escape is anything but guaranteed. Sometimes getting out of one bunker, just means landing in another at Desert Falls.
That is just part of the reason this course totes a 128 slope rating - putting it among the five highest slope ratings in the entire Palms Springs area. Remember, this is the golf mecca with Pete Dye's Stadium Course, which was only designed to be "the toughest golf course in the world." Desert Falls is on that list.
There are five sets of tees to take away some of the bite. But the greens are still an obstacle of their own. These are undulating greens that are large enough to offer several varieties of challenges.
Just getting on the green is not enough at Desert Falls. It's important to land on the right part of the green. This is also a course with more hills than you expect to see in the desert.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue (W) | 72 | 6686 yards | 79.5 | 143 |
| Blue | 72 | 6686 yards | 72.4 | 128 |
| White (W) | 72 | 6274 yards | 77.2 | 138 |
| White | 72 | 6274 yards | 70.4 | 123 |
| White/Gold | 72 | 6032 yards | 69.5 | 120 |
| White/Gold (W) | 72 | 6032 yards | 75.8 | 135 |
| Gold | 72 | 5838 yards | 68.7 | 118 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5838 yards | 74.6 | 133 |
| Gold/Silver | 72 | 5467 yards | 67.0 | 114 |
| Gold/Silver (W) | 72 | 5467 yards | 72.5 | 129 |
| Silver | 72 | 5232 yards | 65.9 | 110 |
| Silver (W) | 72 | 5232 yards | 71.2 | 126 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 72.4/128 W: 79.5/143 | 358 | 384 | 159 | 517 | 380 | 194 | 324 | 416 | 525 | 3257 | 409 | 526 | 134 | 395 | 203 | 525 | 384 | 426 | 427 | 3429 | 6686 |
| White M: 70.4/123 W: 77.2/138 | 336 | 376 | 153 | 494 | 341 | 183 | 295 | 400 | 495 | 3073 | 375 | 501 | 123 | 380 | 159 | 500 | 360 | 406 | 397 | 3201 | 6274 |
| White/Gold M: 69.5/120 W: 75.8/135 | 321 | 346 | 153 | 460 | 341 | 176 | 295 | 385 | 469 | 2946 | 375 | 454 | 105 | 380 | 159 | 500 | 310 | 406 | 397 | 3086 | 6032 |
| Gold M: 68.7/118 W: 74.6/133 | 321 | 346 | 125 | 460 | 316 | 176 | 267 | 385 | 469 | 2865 | 350 | 454 | 105 | 367 | 146 | 479 | 310 | 385 | 377 | 2973 | 5838 |
| Gold/Silver M: 67.0/114 W: 72.5/129 | 277 | 318 | 125 | 460 | 316 | 176 | 267 | 348 | 412 | 2699 | 331 | 454 | 105 | 367 | 122 | 420 | 310 | 355 | 323 | 2787 | 5486 |
| Silver M: 65.9/110 W: 71.2/126 | 277 | 318 | 101 | 425 | 294 | 117 | 233 | 348 | 444 | 2557 | 331 | 424 | 101 | 343 | 90 | 420 | 288 | 355 | 323 | 2675 | 5232 |
| Handicap | 1 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 3 | 7 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, GrillAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Meeting Facilities, Banquet FacilitiesReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by setch on 01/02/2026
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Photo submitted by setch on 01/02/2026
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Photo submitted by PalmNC on 09/24/2025
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Photo submitted by aldana90805 on 08/31/2025
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Photo submitted by tbrac420 on 03/30/2025
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Photo submitted by edlugo47 on 04/17/2024
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Photo submitted by edlugo47 on 04/17/2024
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Photo submitted by Jwarnyca on 03/22/2024
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Photo submitted by utinreg on 03/09/2024
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Photo submitted by utinreg on 03/09/2024
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Photo submitted by utinreg on 03/09/2024
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Photo submitted by utinreg on 03/09/2024
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Photo submitted by utinreg on 03/09/2024
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Photo submitted by pkapalko1 on 12/23/2023
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Photo submitted by pkapalko1 on 12/23/2023
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Photo submitted by pkapalko1 on 12/23/2023
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Photo submitted by pkapalko1 on 12/23/2023
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Beautiful par 3 Photo submitted by Corey4652891 on 12/19/2023
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Note the green size and shape Photo submitted by Corey4652891 on 12/19/2023
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Photo submitted by Smitty71234 on 03/30/2023
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Photo submitted by coltonwalter on 03/26/2023
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Photo submitted by markvlewis317 on 11/28/2022
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Photo submitted by markvlewis317 on 11/28/2022
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Photo submitted by u964555270 on 04/09/2022
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Photo submitted by u314160894003 on 01/31/2021
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Photo submitted by GREGCGOLFER on 09/26/2018
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Photo submitted by GREGCGOLFER on 09/26/2018
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Photo submitted by GREGCGOLFER on 09/26/2018
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Photo submitted by GREGCGOLFER on 09/26/2018
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10th tee Photo submitted by hammer74 on 05/18/2015
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17th approach Photo submitted by hammer74 on 05/18/2015
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Photo submitted by davedcp64 on 03/04/2015
Nice course interesting greens
As indicated in the title, the greens are interesting. Most are long but narrow with very small target areas. It’s important to know if the green is in the front, middle or back, because it can both make the distance very greatly and determine where the edges of the green are. Definitely your normal round or oval greens. I couldn’t tell where the flag was on the green from where I hit my drives. As a result I was short,or long several times. Use a rangefinder rather than relying on your GPS, ( which the carts don’t have)
Course was in good condition. Some patchy spots in the fairway, but I noticed them when driving by in the cart, they didn’t seem to be near my landing ares.
I posted a couple of pictures that show a few greens.
It was a lot of fun and a good short game test for the time you inevitably miss greens.
great course, good value
Desert Falls was recommended to me by another golfer and lived up to his praise. Pretty tough track, fair bit of water that comes into serious play on 3 or 4 holes. Rough was punishing, but wide fairways. Excellent variety of holes. More slope than most PS courses. Greens a tad slow was my only criticism, but fairways and greens in excellent condition.
Nice Challenging Course
I've played this course a few times from the blue tees. One of the things I like best about it is that the homes in the community are not too close and that the course is in the center, surrounded by the houses. This means the fairways are not too narrow or surrounded by houses on both sides.
It's a good long course with two of the par 3's around 200 yards and all four par 5's running over 500 yards.
The greens are in good shape, fairways better.
Not as good as it used to be
New owners a few years back have not been able to make it viable and the course has certainly slipped from years past
It is unfortunate to hear that your experience did not meet our standards of excellence. We sincerely hope that you will give us another chance in the near future to provide you with a more pleasant experience that meets your expectations.
Range balls
The course was fine and uncrowded but I was surprised to find that range balls were an extra cost. It shouldn’t be that way.
Great hole design and views of the valley
Course has really interesting golf holes and does not play like desert golf. There is extended rough. Greens and tee boxes could use an additional mowing, but compared to other similar priced courses in the area it is good value.
Good not great…
Overall, a decent value compared to some of the more expensive options in the desert. Just seems like this course is a little bit rundown. A suggestion would be to not overseed every single piece of earth on the property. This requires a ridiculous amount of water and maintenance. I would rather they spent the money on the fairways and the greens. The greens were no better than seven on the stimp. There’s so much grass on this property that will never see a footprint. Seems like a waste of maintenance budget.
Still a fun design, and I had a great time playing it.
Very nice course.. not for beginners or hackers. Staff was friendly & worked with the customer..will definitely play it again & again
Great day on the course. Pace of play was very good. Course in great shape. Nice course to play. Would play again.
Staff
Had an early tee time and attendant wouldn’t accommodate with a cart plus we ask for range balls and he also refused. I had to rent a lousy push cart . He made no effort to accommodate. He made us feel like we were bothering him. I’ll never play there again and I’ll let as many people as I know about your staff.
Not playing again until course gets better
We were a threesome playing on Sunday morning. I was charged $118 per player.
Arrived at 7am for a 7:43 tee time. Nothing was open. No coffee. No snacks. Nothing but pro shop. Staff was nice and they did bring our bags down and loaded carts.
Course was average condition. My complaints are the excessive rough height and the greens being fuzzy and not properly shaved.
Course has been neglected and it shows. Was once a very good course. Appears the current owners are unable to afford the maintenance- or- are just profiteering.
I would still recommend it because the place was pretty empty and round was enjoyable- also the you get usually get a tee time last minute on Golf Now.
Unusual greens
The most notable challenge with this course are the lobate shapes of several greens. We played the course twice during our vacation. Both times I had seemingly decent approach shots that ended up as 3 putts because the only way to a line to the cup was putt to a spot further from the hole.
Your 5 -star rating is greatly appreciated. We would like to express our thanks and look forward to your return.