I played here on 05/26/12 from the black tees at 72.9/135/6732. I had my eye on this Pete Dye design weeks before my trip because there are some spectacular pictures of the course on the website. While I do not normally care for his designs, I enjoyed this one as it did not seem as consistently punishing as other courses of his that I have played. The course sits right up against the mountains so it features some elevation change and picturesque views of the mountains and the valley. Because of these features I think it is a good desert course. Right from the start you know it is a Pete Dye course with a huge waste bunker down the left side on #1 and a 200+ yard par 3 for #2 with water all down the left side. The hole has Dye’s famous railroad ties as a bulkhead. There are two sets of consecutive holes that are as good as I have ever played and those are #4 thru #6 and #14 thru #16, the latter which winds up into a canyon. These holes require tee shots and approaches over the rocks and #16, my favorite hole, has to be the signature hole. It is a 167 yard par 3 that drops maybe a club or more to an island green surround by all rocks. A miss on these holes will have the ball bouncing off the rocks like you would find in a pinball game. I play to a 5 or 6 handicap and had trouble with #16, but I think for the average golfer it might be close to unplayable. I actually took a triple bogey when my iron shot landed on the green and chased off the back. On the flip side #10 thru #12 are some of the most boring consecutive holes that I have ever played as all are mid length par 4’s that are palm tree lined and go through the housing development.

I really enjoyed the course, but I think I would enjoy it more heading around another couple times as there is some local knowledge that could be applied. Hole #14 and #17 had blind landing areas off the tee and I thought hole #8 was goofy too as I only could see a sliver of fairway to hit to from the tee box. The course was burnt out pretty bad compared to the other courses that I played on my trip but the greens rolled fine. It was a little overpriced for the condition at $60 during the afternoon on a weekend in my opinion, but I am glad I played it.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):