Shadow Ridge Golf Club
About
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."
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 71 | 7006 yards | 73.7 | 135 |
| Green | 71 | 6621 yards | 71.5 | 130 |
| Gold | 71 | 6204 yards | 69.2 | 125 |
| Gold (W) | 71 | 6204 yards | 75.8 | 140 |
| Combo (W) | 71 | 5708 yards | 73.2 | 132 |
| Combo | 71 | 5708 yards | 67.0 | 120 |
| White (W) | 71 | 5158 yards | 70.8 | 128 |
| White | 71 | 5158 yards | 64.5 | 113 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 73.9/136 W: 81.0/149 | 397 | 609 | 342 | 177 | 417 | 489 | 218 | 371 | 417 | 3437 | 463 | 396 | 206 | 345 | 547 | 451 | 541 | 174 | 446 | 3569 | 7006 |
| Green M: 71.9/131 W: 78.6/144 | 381 | 583 | 306 | 165 | 396 | 463 | 204 | 351 | 397 | 3246 | 461 | 366 | 186 | 328 | 518 | 428 | 506 | 157 | 425 | 3375 | 6621 |
| Gold M: 69.6/125 W: 75.9/138 | 368 | 549 | 278 | 158 | 379 | 424 | 176 | 328 | 379 | 3039 | 431 | 345 | 167 | 306 | 485 | 401 | 485 | 140 | 405 | 3165 | 6204 |
| Combo M: 67.4/120 W: 73.3/132 | 368 | 478 | 278 | 158 | 275 | 424 | 146 | 328 | 379 | 2834 | 373 | 345 | 147 | 306 | 430 | 308 | 485 | 140 | 340 | 2874 | 5708 |
| White M: 65.1/114 W: 70.5/126 | 306 | 478 | 250 | 101 | 275 | 371 | 146 | 292 | 295 | 2514 | 373 | 267 | 147 | 260 | 430 | 308 | 425 | 94 | 340 | 2644 | 5158 |
| Handicap | 9 | 1 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 4 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, GrillAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities, Sauna, Locker RoomsAvailable Activities
Swimming, BilliardsAvailable Sports
FitnessReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u826916558 on 12/24/2023
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Photo submitted by u826916558 on 12/24/2023
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Photo submitted by Boone43atc on 09/17/2023
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Photo submitted by u000004876203 on 05/31/2023
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Photo submitted by u459521915 on 04/21/2023
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Great par 3 Photo submitted by nolan2509462 on 12/24/2022
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Road Runner hangn out Photo submitted by nolan2509462 on 12/24/2022
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Photo submitted by uYGIR9367YG on 04/15/2022
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Photo submitted by Stuartallen on 12/25/2021
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Photo submitted by ascotsgirl on 05/18/2021
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Photo submitted by hacksalot03 on 11/16/2020
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Photo submitted by SlowLefty on 11/18/2019
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8th Hole Photo submitted by frednaimer on 02/22/2018
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Photo submitted by hacksalot03 on 11/25/2016
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Photo submitted by hacksalot03 on 11/25/2016
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Photo submitted by morourke00 on 03/20/2016
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Photo submitted by morourke00 on 03/20/2016
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Photo submitted by morourke00 on 03/20/2016
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Practice bunker Photo submitted by morourke00 on 03/20/2016
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Short Range Driving Range Photo submitted by morourke00 on 03/20/2016
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Photo submitted by morourke00 on 03/20/2016
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Photo submitted by Steven5117215 on 01/29/2016
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Photo submitted by JClemonsGC on 02/07/2014
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Beautiful resort Photo submitted by MagecD on 10/08/2012
Punched
Pretty annoying that we aren’t notified when a course is punched. It makes the whole experience pretty pour
Birthday round
We drove 1.5 hours to Palm Springs to play the course and found out all greens were aerated. If we knew this in advance, I would cancel my tee time and play else where. We paid $76 through Golfnow.com. I would never play this course again.
Birthday round
We paid $76 to play the course today. We drove all the way from OC to celebrate my birthday. However, we were not informed that the all greens were aerated by Golfnow.com. We did not enjoy the round at all. Overall course condition was below average or similar to a muni course or worse. The whole experience was a huge disappointment.
Scary to start, but end with a smile
Paided the extra $20 to play at 7:21 instead of 10:00, looking back 10 would have been better, not to the fault of the golf course, but maybe due to tee times. It was extremely windy, Mother Nature is strange but it simmered down after the first hole, what didn’t simmer was the multiple parties of 4 stacked in front of us and the party behind us. Whom tees off 3 minutes after our 7:21 to create the perfect golf sandwhich on a day that was not busy to begin with. Still had fun but would recommend the later booking and was uniformed they just punched the fairways and greens. Served for a bumpy rode
Summer Golf
Great course, great staff, great value especially if staying at the resort. One of our groups favorite desert courses.
Beautiful layout, especially the front 9
We really enjoyed this course from the moment we arrived. The front 9 has no houses and fabulous views. We were a group of varied skill levels, 13-32 handicap and we played from different tees and all had a great time.
The layout is fair but also challenging. Great beer in the 19th hole too. Very friendly staff.
Shadow Ridge
Rode the Greens (6621/71.5/130) in 4.5H twilight using Forelinx. Paired with Ed and Heather, we waited on most holes. The weather was in the low 90's, clear and fairly calm.
Fun Nick Faldo design. The landing areas on most par 4 & par 5 tee shots are generous in width. The par 3's offer a good variation in length and look. Two par 4's over 460 from the next to back set of tees. Several risk/reward par 4's that could produce birdies or doubles.
The course has mostly transitioned back to Bermuda for the summer. The tees were mostly lush, with only a couple needing divot attention.
The fairways were semi lush and firm. Well maintained, mowed low, nice to play from.
The rough was mostly lush and just tall enough that the ball sat down enough to usually be punitive. Nice to chip out of.
The green side sand traps were well maintained with good quality white sand. Some fairway traps are waste bunkers & less maintained. Numerous traps on this course are large, deep, and need to be avoided by most amateurs.
The Bermuda greens putted medium fast speed and rolled well. They were firm but held approach shots with some run out. Usually no significant ball marks because of their firmness.
The customer service was good from everyone encountered. Drink cart out and around numerous times. Water stations on the course every couple of holes. Good GPS on the carts. Practice facility is all grass and includes balls with your fee. Recommended.
Links in the desert
Easy course to maneuver off the tee. It's the greens where the challenge sets in. Severe undulations, plus traps deep enough that you may need a ladder to get in them. Visuals are solid. The only apprehension was the pace of play. We were near the five-hour mark on the 16th hole, so we left directly.
Another spectacular day at Shadow Ridge
Shadow Ridge is one of my favorite courses anywhere!
There is a great mix of scoreable holes (short par 4's , reachable par 5s) with some very challenging ones where par is a great score. The course is always in fantastic shape and plays firm and fast. The practice area is excellent. It has the feel of a private club in every way.
The course is generous off the tee. The challenge begins with your 2nd shot. I would say it is definitely a second shot golf course. There are many deep penalizing bunkers that surround most greens. (Stay out of these if you want to score well.) The greens are large but have a lot of undulation and can be penalizing if you don't put your ball in the correct spots as the greens are typically firm and fast.
I would highly recommend recommend shadow ridge to to any and all golfers, regardless of handicap. I am a 3 handicap and I played with my dad who is a 35 and we both enjoyed the course and had a great time. One last thing to consider. Make sure you pick the right tees. You don't want to be hitting long irons or fairway woods all day into the challenging greens.
Difficult but manageable
This Marriott resort course has a good setup. Practice putting green has undulation that is similar to the course. Practice range is iinclide with enough balls to warm you up. The course itself is in good condition with few dead spots. I found the fairways were fairly tight for a resort course. The other difficulty is the greens which undulate quite a bit. Bring your A game. Staff was very friendly.
Target shots
The fairways are fairly wide but bunkers are located in strategic spots that will probably catch the average players shot. Greens are large but have enough undulation that if your ball lands in the back and the pin is in the middle or front you have a long putt over at least one hill so chip shots onto the green is important to keep your score low. Tee boxes are in average condition while fairways and greens are in better condition. The practice putting green is a good example of overall green character. 18th hole is picture worthy.
Great game
Rarely do my husband and I have a great game at the same time - today we did! Love this course - wish it wasn’t so pricey!
Excellent experience!
I have played Shadow Ridge for years. This course simply does not get old. Plenty of risk-reward holes to keep things interesting and the conditions are perfect. The staff is always friendly and the off the course amenities are first class. A must play...
A gem.
Pretty course, immaculately kept, nice risk and reward balance on each hole keeps you thinking and makes it suitable for intermediates to experts.