Course can challenge you to 'go for it' or play smart. Very Nice.
Written: Oct 09 '04 (Updated Oct 09 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Course Value: |
 |
|
| Course Difficulty: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Class operation all around. Condition of the course. Views of the foothills.
Cons: Nothing on this visit.
The Bottom Line: A terrific course and operation. A short course, easy to score on if you can control the ball. Challenging enough for the over 10 handicap.
|
|
|
| imaginetr's Full Review: Angel Park Golf Club - Palm Course |
I'm from the Seattle area so my comparison base is the Northwest. I have also golfed on two other courses a few years ago in Vegas: Desert Rose and the Las Vegas Golf Club, both public courses. I think Angel Park is far better. Angel Park - Palm Course is an Arnold Palmer Design. . Angel Park has two courses: The Palm Course and the Mountain Course. We played the Palm Course. See: www.angelpark.com
My two buddies and I golfed here on Sept 27th. Day temps were 95 degrees. We took a taxi from the strip, be advised it's $28 one way + tip. Our golf was free.
Upon arrival, an attendant directing you where to go and assisting you with clubs if you have them greets you. This same attendant will assist you upon leaving or with a taxi. The young man we met was friendly and helpful.
Upon approach from the drop off, there are two primary buildings. Restaurant and bar to the left, Club House to the right.
The immediate grounds around the restaurant and clubhouse are very well kept. Green grass, natural boulders, pond and mini water fall/rapids. Plenty of modest trees, shrubs and flowers dress up the area.
CLUBHOUSE: Fairly standard, upper scale clubhouse with clothing, clubs and accessories. Friendly staff greeted us and directed us to pick up carts to the range and first hole. We were set up with rental clubs, carts, and the works.
GREENFEES: Prices range from $35 - $145 depending on season, resident, weekday, weekend etc. During our trip, it would have cost us $70. I'd say $70 is very good. Over $100 would be too costly in my opinion.
RENTAL CLUBS: Wow. Full sets of Callaway X-16 irons and Steelhead III woods, Big Berthas. I hadn't planned on concerning myself with score since I knew I'd be playing with rental clubs but these were great and in great condition. Club rental is $50.00 per the website.
CART: We picked up our carts just outside and around the corner from the clubhouse. There are two attendants manning the cart garage. Quiet, electric carts. Clean. Very nice set up. Like any quality course, these carts are outfitted with tees, scorecard and pencil. But Angel Park steps up further. Each cart has a small ice cooler located on a rear side. It was stocked with ice AND two bottles of water. It also has a club and ball cleaner attached to the other rear side. Finally it has the usual basket behind the seat. The attendants were happy to provide us with extra bottles of water before we started.
RANGE: Golfing here includes range use, balls provided in a miniature golf bag located between every two stalls. Stalls are actually artificial mats with ball tray and club stand. Irons and drivers capable on the range. Various flag sticks for practice.
STARTING: There is a starter who checks golfers in and directs when groups can proceed to the first hole. There is a canopy for shade while you wait, parking for about 10 carts and a putting green just yards away. On our day we were told they were 15 minutes behind but it took more like 35 minutes, but that's sometimes golf.
At the first hole is another starter. This person reviews the scorecard and basic course rules. He also outlines key holes where problems may occur if you don't know the course. He points out certain terrain issues as well. It's a lot of information to take in and he covers it quickly but we found that when we came to key holes, we did recall the tidbits he provided.
COURSE: Personally I believe any course under 6,000 yards to be a short course. We played the "white tees" which is common in the NW. The card list white at 5438 yards, Blue 5857, black 6525, red 4570. Angel Park - Palm Course is an Arnold Palmer Design. Par is 70.
There are five Par 3's between 123 & 165 yards; three short Par 5's between 418 & 509; and ten Par 4's between 292 & 397.
CART PATHS: All paths are paved and in many areas curbed. Common paths sharing greens and tee boxes have loops built in for easy turn around. Additional yardage markers are painted on paths for the longer holes. This course does wind around, under the freeway and back. Distance between some holes is significant and you're grateful for the cart.
TEE BOX: Above average condition. Seed & Sand box present. Hole signs with yardage, Ball cleaners, benches and garbage cans.
GREENS: Above average condition. Speed varied noticeably from hole to hole. Practice green not especially representative of actual greens. Solid flag sticks with variable flag colors. Red = front, white = middle, = black = back for location on the green.
FAIRWAY: Good. Nice and green. Obviously well watered. There was even some standing water in some areas, but not unpleasant. Now on at least seven holes, you must hit over or directly alongside natural desert terrain. On a couple holes you will be tempted to hit across desert to shorten the hole and play for a bird or better. This can be done if you hit a consistent 220-yard drive and can control the ball. If you hit long but can't control it, you'll hit desert or water.
150 Yard markers in the middle of the fairway. Both stones and center stakes are used. There are also some sprinkler head yardage markings, but not a great deal.
ROUGH: Excellent. Challenging. Thick, I'd say 3-4” that really penalizes you if you don't hit the fairway.
SAND: Good. Only two holes do NOT have sand and one is a par three. Fairway bunkers and green side bunkers a plenty. Sand is clean and clear. Bunkers varied greatly in size and depth depending on the hole. I was only in one.
WATER: There is water on five holes. Three holes, water guards the greens. Two holes, water off the tee or fairway. If you can control your ball, water isn't really an issue here. It doesn't take much to clear any water from "in play" ball position.
TREES: There is not what I'd call a lot of trees. But there are some throughout the course, small to medium in size. Should you hit into another fairway, you would be able to get back despite most trees. There's just not a lot of shade on this course.
SNACKS: There is a courtesy cart that travels the course and has the normal snacks and drinks including beer, powerade etc. The cart girl was cute and friendly. There is also a snack shop I believe on the 7th hole bordering I think the 13th hole and close to another tee. (Don’t hold me to it). Normally priced I thought.
RESTAURANT: Nice. The restaurant didn’t impress me, I think it lacked decor. But it is pleasant and clean. Service was a tad slow but that could've been just an off day. We all had grilled sandwiches that were very good. A couple beers on tap, several good quality bottled beers and a full bar. There is a large patio off the side door of the restaurant with nice tables and cushioned chairs overlooking a pond and landscaping.
PHONE: Just to be thorough, there is a courtesy phone next to the pay phone. The courtesy phone is a direct line to a limo, town car, and taxi company. Upon my buddy's first two attempts, he got little or no help. On my first attempt I got through and the taxi was on its way.
OVERALL: Angel Park golf course is a pleasure to play. It's a class act from the people to the equipment and facilities. I'd happily play here when in town and recommend it to others. In fact, there are, I think, two hotel/casinos across the street from this course that I'd consider staying at because of the course.
Recommended:
Yes
Speed of Play (typical weekend): 3 to 4 Hours
Look Out For: Sand
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
imaginetr
|
|
Location: Pacific Northwest, Washington
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Husband and father, born in Washington 1961, military brat and college grad.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.