Desert Falls CC
A view of a green and snowy mountains in background at Desert Falls Country Club.
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Rating Index Rating
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3.8
1448 Reviews (1448)
5 Stars
437
4 Stars
641
3 Stars
236
2 Stars
84
1 Stars
50
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.8
Layout
4.2
Friendliness
3.9
Pace
4.2
Amenities
3.2
77.1%
Recommend this course
1176 out of 1448 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.8
89 Reviews (89)
5 Stars
20
4 Stars
40
3 Stars
22
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
5
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.8
Layout
4.2
Pace
4.0
Amenities
2.8
StaffFriendliness
3.3
77.5%
Recommend this course
69 out of 89 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
149 Reviews (149)
5 Stars
37
4 Stars
61
3 Stars
36
2 Stars
5
1 Stars
10
Conditions
3.7
Value
3.8
Layout
4.1
Pace
4.1
Amenities
3.0
StaffFriendliness
3.6
74.5%
Recommend this course
111 out of 149 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Semi-Private
Style Links
Par 72
Length 6686 yards
Slope 143
Rating 79.5

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.

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Desert Falls Country Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1984
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Tifdwarf Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Ron Fream (1984) Chris Pitman (1984)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Proper golf attire required.

Food & Beverage

Bar, Grill

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Meeting Facilities, Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

3.8
1448 Reviews (1448)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 20
19th Hole Scenic Views 15
Patio Dining 12
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 42
Bunkers 39
Undulating Greens 31
This course/club is great for:
Locals 30
Advanced Golfers 29
Seniors 17
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 37
Worth the Drive 14
At a Resort 9

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great day on the course. Pace of play was very good. Course in great shape. Nice course to play. Would play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
4.0
First Time Playing

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.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

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.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

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.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Desert falls

Overall a great course but some issues with water hazards and the snack bar was closed after we finished 9 holes.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played

Disappointing again

Tried last year. Mediocre. Tried again this year. Somehow worse conditions. Greens patchy, shaggy, disappointing. Practice facility is good though

Strange layout at pro shop with a long hill and walk around. Short of power carts on a busy day. Short staffed in F & B too. Halfway house not open, not enough staff to service members and players.

Odd two group back up on 10 lead to 4h 40 min round and finish in the dark

The track is laid out fine and isn’t too narrow. Some really good holes like 6, 8 and 10, really strong finishing holes. Some

Gimmicky holes like 7 (Wacky par 4 green) and 11 (odd dog leg par 5) detract.

I’m cheering for this track to improve on and off the course. Not this time though

Price point is about right

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Loved this challenging golf course!

Only downside was that the driving range was closed before I started my 7:30am round so I wasn’t able to warm up.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Layout is superior

Challenging course. Fairways are excellent. Greens were slow. Very well maintained. Great range and putting/ chipping area.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 23
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 13
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Not Good

Greens are in terrible shape. Rough needs to be cut down a lot. Hard to find balls just off fairway. They made you pay extra for range balls when the course was already overpriced for the conditions. Don’t play here rite now

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Good course but rough needs attention

Played the course not long after it reopened. Was generally in very good condition but the rough had been left a little too long and as a result, balls could be hard to find - keep it on the fairway then, I hear you say!! Two gripes - firstly it was cart path only which I can understand following overseeding and secondly, partly as a result of the first gripe, the pace of play was quite slow and despite starting at 12:35, had to miss out last two holes as it was dark.

Would return and play again though.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 23
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

poor course

due to the cart path only left a lot of blind landings, you see where your ball landed. The ruff was too long for this course, we lost and found balls in the ruff. The greens were too hard and wouldn't hold good shots My gap wedge landed on the green and ended up 30 yards past the back of the green .Don't waste your money on this course.........

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Very Good Track - Just two days after reopening post over-seeding

We played Desert Falls just 2 days after they re-opened after annual over-seeding. The rough was still being cut down and the greens were a bit fuzzy but overall we liked the course. Laid out well. Staff and amenities excellent.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
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The Palm Mountain Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

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