Cimarron, a Warrior course
Because of my membership in Condo Travel Club, which comes with my timeshares, I get the Golf Card International for $4 (regularly $59), which gives me some discounts that are OK but hard to use, AND "free golf" at 20 Warrior golf courses around the country. For the one here in Palm Springs, I had to pay a cart fee of $39, instead of the regular greens fee of $49 which includes a cart. Kind of typical of Warrior, in my previous experience with them. 16 of the 20 have no restrictions like that, though.
This golf course itself isn't really very hard. Ample fairways, reasonable greens. Plenty of bunkers, some around the greens have very steep faces. I played the "championship" tees, 6328 yards, 69.6 / 117, par 71. It played considerably harder than that, today. It turns out all those wind turbines a few miles away are in the wrong place. They should have been here, where this golf course is. It was a constant 2-3 club wind. Despite that, I shot 39 on the front with 2 birdies, one under great pressure.
It wasn't very crowded, and I was playing alone. At the 3rd hole I caught up with a foursome, and rather than try to get them to let me play through, I consulted the map and discovered I could come back to the 3rd hole after I played 7, so I skipped around them. On the 4th hole, there was a threesome on the green, and when they saw me alone in the fairway they waved me up. It's a short par 4, and I had a good drive, and hit a good 8-iron onto the green. Then, as they all watched, I drained the 15-footer for birdie. They were quite impressed.
The other birdie was on the par-3 9th. Only 3 holes have a crosswind, 1, 5, and 9. The others are all straight downwind or straight into the wind. I hit 9-iron, allowing about 5 yards for the left-to-right wind, and it landed short of the green on the left side, and bounced and rolled toward the front pin. My first thought was that I had no witnesses, and I looked around but nobody was nearby. Then it rolled past the hole about 8 feet.
Delayed by the detour to play the 3rd hole out of order, it took me a little over an hour to play the front 9. The back was harder. I had an 8 on 11, and a lost ball on 13, and after 15 I caught up to the next foursome. They weren't too slow, it looked like they were playing a scramble match, 2 against 2. So I had time to hit some mulligans (didn't count them), and finished in 2:40.
The 18th really showed the effect of the wind. Par 5, 549 yards, into the wind. I hit one of my best drives of the day, didn't reach the fairway. Two good 3-woods later, I had only 53 yards left to the center of the green.
The course was in great shape, the greens were fast and true, and it's a good value even at full price. But you'd better be able to cope with the wind.
I've played one of the other Warrior courses, Lakota Canyon Ranch in New Castle, CO. I liked that one a lot.
Pictures.
It wasn't very crowded, and I was playing alone. At the 3rd hole I caught up with a foursome, and rather than try to get them to let me play through, I consulted the map and discovered I could come back to the 3rd hole after I played 7, so I skipped around them. On the 4th hole, there was a threesome on the green, and when they saw me alone in the fairway they waved me up. It's a short par 4, and I had a good drive, and hit a good 8-iron onto the green. Then, as they all watched, I drained the 15-footer for birdie. They were quite impressed.
The other birdie was on the par-3 9th. Only 3 holes have a crosswind, 1, 5, and 9. The others are all straight downwind or straight into the wind. I hit 9-iron, allowing about 5 yards for the left-to-right wind, and it landed short of the green on the left side, and bounced and rolled toward the front pin. My first thought was that I had no witnesses, and I looked around but nobody was nearby. Then it rolled past the hole about 8 feet.
Delayed by the detour to play the 3rd hole out of order, it took me a little over an hour to play the front 9. The back was harder. I had an 8 on 11, and a lost ball on 13, and after 15 I caught up to the next foursome. They weren't too slow, it looked like they were playing a scramble match, 2 against 2. So I had time to hit some mulligans (didn't count them), and finished in 2:40.
The 18th really showed the effect of the wind. Par 5, 549 yards, into the wind. I hit one of my best drives of the day, didn't reach the fairway. Two good 3-woods later, I had only 53 yards left to the center of the green.
The course was in great shape, the greens were fast and true, and it's a good value even at full price. But you'd better be able to cope with the wind.
I've played one of the other Warrior courses, Lakota Canyon Ranch in New Castle, CO. I liked that one a lot.
Pictures.
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