Southern California's magnificent Santa Rosa mountain range serves as the breathtaking backdrop for one of Palm Desert’s premier golf resorts: Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort.
Shadow Ridge is located just minutes away from Palm Springs airport, making it a very convenient first stop on your golf tour of southern California. Not only that, the resort is home to one of the Desert Playgrounds finest golf courses. The first signature course designed by British golfing legend, Nick Faldo in US, it’s a very long par-71 (7,006 yards), a course that probably plays at least two stokes longer than that. Faldo is well-known for his tricky approach to golf course design and nowhere is it demonstrated more than here at Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Resort. It’s a challenging course, but enjoyable for golfers of all levels of skill, and that makes a one of the top choices on my own list of “must play” courses in southern California.
The 5-star hotel is typical of Marriott’s Vacation Club: spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas all feature a gas fireplace in the living area along with a large TV and DVD player, a large soaking tub in the master suite, and two private balconies that overlook rolling fairways and sparkling lakes that meander this way and that across the Nick Faldo-designed the landscape. The master guest suites feature a king bed along with the signature, oversized soaking tub, spacious living and dining areas, and a full kitchen that offer guests as much comfort as they do convenience.
Other amenities at Shadow Ridge include the Faldo Golf Institute and practice facility, pools, children's activities including arts and crafts, movie theatre, video arcade, a heated pool complete with waterslide, ping pong tables, on site lighted tennis courts, a park with a picnic area and BBQ grills, exercise and fitness facilities, a grocery store and deli, a luxurious clubhouse and, of course, the Nick Faldo Bar and Grill.
One of Shadow Ridge’s most popular facilities is the Faldo Golf Institute(R) by Marriott. Marriott, like most golf resort providers, realized that to compete with their peers, they had to come up with one of these instructional institutes. One has to wonder exactly what goes into putting this kind of thing together. Instruction is never cheap, no matter who’s name carries the instructional flag, and this one is no exception. Still, the Faldo name, along with his innovative ideas, do make for something a little different. Combine this with the majesty of the Santa Rosa Mountains and some of the most imaginative golf design in the United States - Nick Faldo designed the 18-hole championship golf course and the practice facilities - and you have a great golf learning experience. As a student of the Faldo Golf Institute at Shadow Ridge, you can tweak and test your game while being subjected to some of the latest innovations in golf instruction. From there it’s just a short walk from the practice facility to the championship course proper where you can put all you’ve learned at the Institute to the test.
Palm Desert is rapidly becoming an international destination for golf enthusiasts, hosting such world-renowned tournaments as The Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, The Skins Game, and The Nabisco Championship.
The city of Palm Desert itself has plenty to offer its visitors, including a number of world-class restaurants, elegant shopping plazas, and a diversity of nightlife that’s rarely found outside of the great US cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and so on. But there’s more: Palm Desert also offers a unique collection of natural attractions, such as The Living Desert, the San Andreas Fault and Moorten's Botanical Garden. No experience can compare with a desert sunrise seen from a hot air balloon or exploring the desert on horseback, just as it was done by the pioneers of 175 years ago.
From Palm Desert it’s a drive of just a few minutes to Palm Springs itself, and that famous city has to offer. For instance, the Aerial Tram ride to the top of San Jacinto Mountain has to be experienced to be believed, and a jeep ride out into the desert is one that shouldn’t be missed – to stand inside the San Andreas fault is more scary than anything I’ve ever done before (is the gap going to close and crush me?). A funny thought, but one experienced by almost everyone who’s stood in the gap between the two great continental plates.
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Current specials, packages and deals at Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Resort
And don’t forget: there are many other opportunities for great golf all over the world. Favorite locations include Scotland], Florida, the American Southwest, Bermuda, the Bahamas and many more. For up-to-date golf travel news and information, be sure to Subscribe to my weekly Newsletter.
