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GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
The Golfing Nomad
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 Featuring new bunkers and greens, Mountain View is lusher than ever. Color helps instill a memorable golf experience, and Desert Willow Golf Resort was created with a larger palette than most Southland courses. The 36-hole Palm Desert facility’s native vegetation, vibrant flowers and lush turf help generate beautiful landscapes on both the Firecliff and Mountain View layouts. Managed by KemperSports and municipally owned, Desert Willow has gained a strong reputation in the Coachella Valley for its amenities — a cozy clubhouse, Palm Desert Golf Academy and subterranean pop-up bunker rakes, to name a few — and elite service. I had played Firecliff before, but last month I teed it up on Mountain View for the first time since a comprehensive green and bunker renovation. What’s new All of the layout’s 100 bunkers were repaired, with an emphasis on improved drainage and sand depth consistency. They look good, too, featuring a mix of Augusta White and Desert Tan sands. Also, every green was stripped and replaced with Tiff-Dwarf hybrid Bermuda turf, an ideal year-round surface for the desert. The changes were implemented to enhance aesthetics and playability, mostly restoring specific greenside elements to the original design vision of architects Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and tour pro John Cook. Getting started I was among a trio of 10-handicaps, so we played from the Mountain View’s 6,507-yard blue tees that sport a 71.5 rating. The course begins with a quartet of par 4s and becomes interesting on the third, a 433-yard test that seemed a bit longer thanks a to left-to-right wind. The generous fairway is complemented by a two-tiered green, and the pin was perched on the front right level. I hit a safe approach to the left-hand side but unfortunately couldn’t get down in two. What makes the third hole cool is that once you reach the green, you can look back and catch a view of the mountains. We lucked out, since a huge storm had passed through a day earlier and deposited buckets of snow. That provided a nice mental shift after a bogey. Roll the dice The most accurate manifestation of a risk-reward hole is the par-5 sixth, which plays only 455 yards. But the narrow fairway is guarded by bunker complexes left and right, and since I drove into one of the right-hand traps I had no chance of trying to clear the water guarding the green. I couldn’t avoid the water on my third shot either, but I managed to save bogey. Smooth rhythm Mountain View doesn’t have a series of holes that stand out above the rest, nor does the track try to tug at golfers’ minds with forced carries or run-off edges on greens. There are a couple of fairways divided by creeks — the par-5 ninth and the par-4 17th — but GPS on every cart ensures all trouble is accounted for. The course is smooth, with holes that flow together nicely and are enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. Most par 4s play straight ahead, though one of the few that doesn’t was one of my favorites — the 366-yard par-4 16th, which has elaborate clusters of sand traps strategically positioned on each side of a fairway that doglegs to the left. The layout forces longer hitters to think about what club to use off of the tee. Rates and information Desert Willow offers sunrise, prime, midday and twilight rates — call the pro shop for up-to-date information. One of the facility’s most intriguing promotions is the Double Eagle package, which allows a golfer to purchase two rounds that are valid within a 14-day period. The package is $210 until Jan. 14 and $250 from Jan. 15 to April 4. For more information: (760) 346-7060 or visit desertwillow.com. ALSO SEE: Two resort clubs add convenience, luxury to Desert Willow |
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