18-Holes, Cart, Towel for $20

I always get a kick when I get to play a 18-hole round at a golf course with a shared power cart for less than $20. On top of that, when I checked in, I also received a golf towel from the golf course for souvenir. That tops it at Palm Springs at the Mesquite Country Club in Cathedral Canyon. $20 is not the regular green fees but a substantially discounted rate from EZLinks where I frequently pick up cheap treats.

Playing Mesquite C.C. isn’t for everyone but for me, it’s the perfect course to warm up those tired winter muscles. It’s a relatively friendly course, wide open with palm trees lining the fairways. The course is pretty flat with a few water hazards coming into play. Bring your ball retriever and you will be fine. And bring lots of sunscreen because behind a slow group, you will get lots of sun.

For the long hitters, it will be easy for you to hit the green in two. Even for the par 5’s, you can probably come close to being on the green. I couldn’t for the life of me when I played it. It was a relaxing pace and I found myself enjoying the warm California air instead. The greens are nice at this time of year and there are plenty of locals playing here too, mostly senior and retired types.

For $20, it’s better than Cathedral Canyon because there’s no chance of hitting any houses which you may feel closed in. Here, the condos are away except for hole # 12 where my wife’s line drive ended up on the road to the left. Just make sure to look both ways before driving the green.

Westin Mission Hills – $50 Round?

They say it’s a terrible time to visit Palm Springs (if you’re a golfer) because most courses are overseeding and alot of the preferred courses are closed until early December. I disagree. 

For the average golfer like me, I think it gives you a chance to play some select courses for a substantially low price. For example, the Westin Mission Hills Gary Player Signature course which is the course I am reviewing today. Normally when the course is prime, it goes for a whopping $145 per round. That’s a little too high for my taste. I have a handicap of 23 and as much as I am hooked to the game, I don’t like spending a fortune on golf. During this season, I paid roughly $50 to play this course.

As you can expect, the service is impeccable. When you drive up, your bags are taken from your trunk and onto a cart. The cart attendant brings your cart around the front of the proshop where after you check-in, will send you down to the driving range. I always take note of the brand of balls they use. The better the ball, the better the players they expect will play their course. Here they use Callaway practice balls. There are no mats to hit off from, just plain grass tees. When you’ve had enough, the starter will send you off on your way to hole # 1.

If you are scared of water then hole # 1 will test your skill right away because water comes into play on your left as you tee off. I was hitting it pretty good on the range so I decided to play off the Gold tees. At 6643 yards, I had figured it was going to push me to the limits. I normally like to play at the tees where the par 3’s are makeable with a mid-iron. At Gold, the par 3’s were 160 yards, 156 yards, 130 yards and 145 yards which were all hole-in-one capable. 

If you tend to spray your ball off the tee or can’t guarantee a straight drive then don’t take your driver out on this course. This is a course where multi-million dollar houses line the fairway and you don’t want an errant shot to introduce you to the world of high finance. I personally think houses are too close to the fairways and tee boxes at this course. There are alot of water that comes into play but overall, I managed to lose only 3 balls. 

The course was immaculate, well manicured greens and smooth sand in the bunkers. The greens were hard to judge and made putting a challenge. I scored a 101 but it was not a good round for me. I usually don’t do well at courses where an errant tee shot can easily break glass.