Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Golf Course

Nick Faldo thought he was cute by burying elephants under his greens. What a joke. It’s like a miniature golf course. All that’s missing is hitting it into the clown’s mouth.
Save your money and play Desert Falls or the Classic Club.

Great course. Amazing views and lush grounds. Very challenging for me as a high handicap golfer, but I truly enjoyed the experience.
It was immaculate, nice folks running the course, and the price was super cheap due to the HOT HOT temps and summer season rates.
— On course water was abundant.
— Fairways and greens were perfect.
— Decent amount of shade to find some relief.
— Nice grass driving range and chipping range.
— Gorgeous location and layout.
All-​in-​all it was one of the best courses I have ever played. I actually did not lose one ball all round, which was weird for me… but it was a tough course and it was hard to score low.
Had fun with my golf club and that’s what matters! Will definitely come back to Shadow next year!

We arrived at the resort quickly as it is located within a stones throw from our home. We came to participate in the Palm Desert Chamber Tournament.
The starter was a bit confusing to find. There are two different structures near each other so pick the one that says THE GRILLE.
The main building reminds me of the setup at Bellatrix. I wonder if it was the same designer.
The course is definitely wide enough for a hacker like me. I did lose a few balls but I had not been out since September. There is water and a PLETHORA of beach real estate if you know what I mean.
All in all, the service staff was great and the tournament went on without a hitch. I would like to GARDEN here again.

Amazing golf course perfect for a weekend getaway. Would recommend staying at the Marriott for a weekend of golf.
Amazing practice facilities. Endless buckets of balls if you have a tee time. Long range driving range, short range driving range, deep practice bunker, beautiful putting greens.
Carts are in great shape. Everything on board: scorecard, pencils, divot repair and ice in the coolers.
Friendly staff and incredibly well maintained. One of my favorites.

Beautiful course, meticulously maintained, and very challenging with over 80 sand traps. I had the breakfast wrap for a 9^th hole snack and a shock top beer at the bar too. The greens are very beautiful. A real pleasure to golf at… we had a 7 am tee time and it was busy so be sure to call ahead. The Marriott golf academy is also worth checking out.

The golf fitting service here is a scam. I spent over $ 500 for a custom driver and it snapped at the hosel after 3 rounds. When I contacted them they basically told me too bad. Charles the «Pro» is a scam artist. Do not trust this establishment. Do not buy clubs fro them. They are crooks.

Golfed here back in May. Great course and a lot of fun. Very challenging and the course has a lot of water hazards. Staff is very helpful and only down side is the price of a round of golf.

Played 2 rounds back to back on a sunday.
1^st round teeoff was between 9 and 930.
it was a little slow but not slow enough to drive you crazy.
we ate lunch and then teed off again around 245 and we flew through the course.
course was in ok condition but the greens are bumpy and slow. it was over 100 degrees.
lots of bunkers and the greens are really undulated. you better be ready for some 3 putts.
would play it again but wouldn’t make the drive for it.
always wanted to play it because it was the only Faldo course near by.

Went golfing here in non peak season last winter. Had two new golfers with us, but we know how to keep pace of play (not too busy a day on the course either). The starter was the most rude and sexist person I’d ever encountered on any golf course, nevertheless one as expensive as this. He followed us to the 4^th hole, after hawking us through the first and second. Needless to say, at that point our experience was ruined and we left to golf elsewhere (the one pro being that they refunded our round, as we stay at Shadow Ridge).
Highly recommend finding one of the other 20+ courses in the area, due to lack of professionalism at Shadow Ridge.

I’ve been a golfer for 40 plus years, ranging from weekend hacker all the way to 2^nd assistant to teaching pro. Today, the Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Golf course facility tried to charge me $ 25 for the use of their practice facility. When I complained because there was only an hour left before they closed it (4pm), the associate said he could make the charge $ 15. You have to understand it’s the end of summer here, so there’s little grass and the course is set to close for over-​seeding. The range isn’t too good either. Normally, the chipping greens and practice bunkers are decent, but not for that much $$$…
Outraged, every golfer needs to know how grotesque and unfair this is. Their twilight rate is $ 37 for the course, but to charge people that much for practice is just mean! The Marriott is doing its part at keeping golf a rich man’s game. So remember that when you pour your hard earned money into that facility. You are supporting the main problems in the game of golf: EXPENSIVE EXCLUSION

My buddy and I decided to take quick trip out to the desert for a little bit of golf. He found a deal for the Marriott Shadow Ridge Golf Course online, think it was about $ 40 – 50 per person. If you’re wondering why the deal was so cheap, we were playing in late August meaning the temperatures will easily soar into triple digits. This is NOT considered peak season for golf around these parts. What made it even more of a convenience to us was that we ended staying at the Marriott Shadow Ridge Village but that is a separate review on its own.
We called in about a week or two in advanced to book our tee time. We asked for the earliest which was about 6am. When I initially woke up in the morning, it was pitched black. The hotel had a shuttle service pick us up from our room because we were at the far end of the property. It seriously would’ve taken us forever if we walked it especially with the bags on our backs. We got to the club house and they haven’t even opened the doors yet. It was still dark (circa 5:40 — 5:50am). When we finally checked in and things were up and running, the worker downstairs by the golf carts informed us that we could tee off whenever we were ready. Why wait? We popped the cherry for the day and headed out. It’s a bit tricky when the sun is barely peaking over the horizon and you’re about to tee off. My memory is a bit hazy but probably due to the fact that my brain was still hitting the snooze button. It took up until the late second hole that the sun finally came out to play with us.
It’s a bit biased to say that the front nine is harder than the back nine. I did score much better on the back nine but again, I blame the lack of sleep and the super early tee time. Excuses, tsk tsk. There’s plenty of sand traps and water hazards on this course. What I did notice on the back nine is the Marriott Shadow Ridge hotel property running alongside a good number of holes. At any given moment, you’ll see people hanging out on their balcony, watching you shank that ball into the water. Kids are playing about and you’ll see joggers casually running past you (FORE!).
For being the desert and temperatures blasting into the 100s, the course itself was kept in pretty good condition. Early in the morning, we saw maintenance guys working on the course trying to prep for the day. They gave us that look like we were crazy for being out there so early. I recommend sucking it up and getting out there as early as you can to be the heat. Fortunately, for us two we were done in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Probably the fastest round of golf for me. Our voucher actually would have allowed us to play another round but it was Sunday and we were ready to go hit the Cabazon outlets on our way back to LA.
Great condition and decent greens. Caution: the desert heat occasionally will make your golf balls want to dive into the water to cool off. Overall, the course wasn’t too difficult or too easy to conquer. An enjoyable round.
In terms of this review: date played was late August 2014

I played this course way back when they first opened and remembered it as being a good layout. I am glad I returned. I played in the afternoon in August, so it was hot and not very crowded at all. Even though it was in the middle of the hot season, the course was in great shape. If you play it smart, it is a very easy course, but still has enough of a challenge to keep it interesting. A couple of the golf publications rank it as one of the best that you can play in California and second only to PGA West in the Palm Springs area.

Nice people everywhere though the starter chose to stick with the scheduled foursome ahead of us followed by our twosome instead of brokering a switcheroo at the first tee, which would have saved the group we followed some stress.
Interesting layout with plenty of memorable holes. 17^th hole is in an amphitheater of sorts formed by the hotel; come through at cocktail hour and you’ll have a gallery. 9 and 18 have water carries if you choose; layups also an option. Fun stuff.
Tee boxes and fairways were perfect. The day we played, several hole positions apparently had been there for a while and the greens were worn surrounding the cup. A few of the greens made more sense while standing on them vs. what you could see from the fairway or tee box.
We snagged a good rate on GolfNow. Well worth it at what we paid, less than half the published rate.

Really $ 180 for a round at 11:42 am? Im not at Pebble beach. I mean the course was well kept but When there are so many guys getting free rounds because they looked at a timeshare why gouge the regular guy who jut wants to play a decent course? Will not be back

Favorite course in the desert. Matt, Joseph, David, Colin, Ed, Andy and Tiare are the best. Can’t say enough about Enrique, Rene and Eric either. They rule.
Played 5 rounds in 6 days and love the lay out, the challenges, the fact there is ample drinking water available, cart girl comes around regularly and the staff is superb.
Have played other courses but this one has it all. Course is in excellent shape. Rates are decent and if you have a summer pass you’re golden. Get a summer pass next year. You won’t regret it.
We love Shadow Ridge

Played here yesterday, don’t ask! Fairways are in really good shape but the greens had been sanded last week and were impossible to read, no one fault.
Julio on the cart crew did a great job with my clubs, however, I was disappointed in the pro shop attendant. After my round I tried to buy some shirts and other stuff but he was too occupied with another employee to pay attention to me. Thus, they lost sales when I walked out.
In fairness, in several years of coming here this was the only time the staff has let me down.
Great course, just drink lots of water (and NOT beer), go slow and you’ll be fine.

A fantastic course to play wether you’re a scratch golfer or shoot double par. We play here every year and this year we played twice in 3 days. You have water and you have sand but you also have the opportunity to find your ball if you go off the fairway which is basically me every time i tee it up. They usually run on time and if you golf in the summer it’s less than $ 40 to play. Thats a deal!
Will I again? Yeah, see you guys next year

Great course with some difficult holes and some wide open fairways. Excellent driving range, chipping, putting and sand bunker practice areas.
Staff is very nice, plenty of drinking water on the course. We played two times in a week and would return the next time we are in the area.

Of all the courses I’ve had the joy of playing since being here in the desert. Shadow Ridge has by far been the finest of fine. Such a beautiful course that was designed by a man who was going through a brutal divorce and oh baby it’s a soul crusher to the ego. This course has a hole I fondly call the «Division of Assets» hole. As it’s fare-​way is lined down both sides with sand trap after sand trap of the deepest angriest places to land you ball.
Great staff that greets and preps you for your fabulous day of play. after hitting their custom made drive balls and taking a few putts your on your way to a glorious day of wide fare-​ways and beastly sand traps. With water hazards that creep out of no where at you. Though beautiful to the eye. Rude to the sticks and balls you hit! (Bring more balls then normal)
The drink cart girl has a beautifully stocked cart with all the snake and beverage desires one couple dream.
Such a terrific challenge to players from intermediate to pro. So set up your tee time bring your tip $ and have a fabulous day of golf with your favorite pals!

I’ve played this course in the past and It’s one of my favorites in the Coachella Valley. Located in the Shadow Ridge Vacation club — a Nick Faldo course which includes a immaculate practice facility and even offers half hour lessons to multiple day lessons at the Nick Faldo school of golf.
I had a Saturday am tee time at 8:10 and teed off right on time. The course is challenging with deep sand traps, uneven fairway lies and several holes with water hazards. Greens here are like putting on glass fast and have plenty of undulation — which makes them so challenging.
After your round head upstairs to the Faldo’s Restaurant for lunch and cold beverage.