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Rating Index Rating
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4.6
960 Reviews (960)
5 Stars
606
4 Stars
270
3 Stars
61
2 Stars
12
1 Stars
11
Conditions
4.5
Value
4.2
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.3
89.7%
Recommend this course
886 out of 960 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.4
13 Reviews (13)
5 Stars
7
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.7
Layout
4.4
Pace
4.2
Amenities
3.8
StaffFriendliness
4.3
76.9%
Recommend this course
10 out of 13 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
37 Reviews (37)
5 Stars
25
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.3
Value
4.1
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.3
StaffFriendliness
4.7
83.8%
Recommend this course
31 out of 37 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Strategically placed bunkers and heavily undulated greens create a rewarding challenge that consistently earns top marks for course layout and conditions. Exceptionally friendly staff and strong overall value make this desert resort course a repeat favorite for visiting golfers.

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Resort
Par 71
Length 7006 yards
Slope 135
Rating 73.7

Nick Faldo brings his exacting, often critical eye to West Coast golf for the first time at this Shadow Ridge Golf Course in Palm Desert. Faldo wanted a design that forced a ton of strategic choices and the architect team of Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt delivered for him.

Options? You want options!

Ten of Shadow Ridge's 18 holes are doglegs. The towering Santa Rosa Mountains serve as backdrop. The tall native tawny grasses contrasts sharply with the white sand bunkering. But it's the golf choices that are likely to seize your attention at this 7,006-yard, par-71 course.

The finish alone is enough to rattle an average golfer to the bone. No. 17 is a 157-yard par 3 that puts the wind in your face and nothing but trouble straight ahead. There's a lake to carry, deep bunkers and a green that slants left to right like a wayward chalkboard. No. 18, a 446-yard par-4, places both a stream and big fairway bunkers right in the straightest path to the green.

"The fairways are generous and the bunkering style is bold," Faldo said. "And the greens have plenty of subtle undulations that reward and encourage a variety of approach shots."

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Shadow Ridge Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 2000
Golf Season Year round
Architect Nick Faldo (2000) Lee E. Schmidt (2000) Brian Curley (2000)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
GPS Yes
Clubs No

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "Golfzon Leadbetter Academy"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed No
Dress code Proper golf attire required.

Food & Beverage

Bar, Grill

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities, Sauna, Locker Rooms

Available Activities

Swimming, Billiards

Available Sports

Fitness

Accolades

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Reviews

4.6
960 Reviews (960)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 44
Patio Dining 32
Brunch 20
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 79
Undulating Greens 70
Water Hazards 57
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 52
A Weekend Splurge 42
Locals 37
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 66
Convenient to the City 44
Worth the Drive 26

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Know before you play

Cart path only, no water available, snack shop not open, restaurant not open, greens were very slow.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Best Course for Hot Weather

It's a Marriott what can you say. Great Conditions, Professional staff, top of the line golf cart. Great Planning to provide shade on every tee box in the desert. Deep challenging bunkers . Generous Fairways. It was a 108 degrees when we golfed this course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Used cart

Great Condition just before over-seeding!

Hot morning but there were a lot of cooling shade opportunities with frequent visits from the cart gal. A very fun day.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Always an amazing experience

This was my second time playing the course. The first time I played, I played from the gold tees, which offered me a tough but fun experience. This second time playing, I chose to play the green tees with my group. The experience was even greater. The fairways were in pristine conditions, greens were great and everything about the course was just amazing. Nice service and amenities, including complimentary driving range balls to warm up. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to get in a great round of golf. I know I’ll be back again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 30
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Marriott Shadow Ridge

Great course. Play it every time we are in the desert.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Amazing Course

Booked an early 640am tee time which was great being that it was already 110 degrees by the time we finished. Although the heat didn’t bother me so much because I had such a wonderful time on the course. The conditions were the best I’ve ever played on and it was challenging enough for me to bring my best golf game in. The staff so was great & accommodating to anything we needed. Social distancing was in effect nicely and you could tell that they were really on top of cleanliness & sanitation. I’d definitely be back for sure.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course was stressed

They aireated the greens 2 weeks ago, but due to heat, they hadn’t been cut in maybe 4 days. They were consistent however. Fairways were also a little messy, but I like the layout, so I could deal with it. One annoying little tidbit, a couple of kids ran out of their villa on hole 15 and took off with my ball. I laughed at it, but this is something u findin low rent districts. Didn’t expect it here. Times are changing.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Effects of Covid-19

Haven't been here in a few years and I could tell the impact of Covid-19's impact on course maintenance. While they just did deep maintenance on the fairways/greens, the fringe areas and general maintenance shows limited staff, maybe also because of Summer. I also thought their tee selections made for some really tough holes for seniors/ladies (eg 485 par 5 for ladies, 424 for men from combos). Lady in our group was pretty good ball striker but could rarely reach greens in reg.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Amazing course staff super friendly cart girl on time,will definitely play again

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 33
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 41
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Would have been nice to know

The course itself was nice staff friendly and helpful however when I checked in the pro shop told us they had just punched there front 9 green so we had to play back 9 twice. That would not have been so bad but after we finished the first 9 holes we were so backed up it was taking about 25 mins of waiting per hole so we left. It would have been helpful to know the course condition prior to booking the round we would have probably played elsewhere

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Nice practice round

A great course to warm up on before tackling the big ones

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Can’t go wrong

Finding these gems of a deal out in the desert can’t be beat. Just finding a day that’s not much over 100 degrees, and get out on a $200+ course for $52! You can’t beat it! Although they do seem to want to close early, so you can’t lag around here. Nobody out there, beautiful course, nice breeze, tricky greens, good round, I’ll definitely be back

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Fun layout, conditions meh.

Course is definitely a fun one. The greens were in good shape, especially for this time of the year, but the fairways could definitely use some work.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice layout greens were a little tough but overall experience was good staff were very friendly and helpful since this was the first time around this track

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
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Golf Packages

Best of Indian Wells Package

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PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy accommodations at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort, the Tommy Bahama Resort & Spa, the Indian Wells Resort Hotel, or the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa and golf at Indian Wells Golf Resort - Celebrity & Players Courses.

Best of Indian Wells Package

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PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy accommodations at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort, the Tommy Bahama Resort & Spa, the Indian Wells Resort Hotel, or the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa and golf at Indian Wells Golf Resort - Celebrity & Players Courses.

The Palm Mountain Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

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PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at Palm Mountain Resort & Spa and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Indian Canyons – South Course, Indian Canyons – North Course, The Classic Club, Tahquitz Creek – Resort Course, and Tahquitz Creek – Legend Course.

The Hilton Garden Inn Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Hilton Garden Inn Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Indian Canyons – South Course, The Classic Club, Tahquitz Creek – Resort Course, and Tahquitz Creek – Legend Course.

Aviara Stay & Play Package

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SAN DIEGO, CA | Enjoy lodging accommodations at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa and golf at Aviara Golf Club.
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