SilverRock Resort Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.5

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
La Quinta, CA
Website

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SilverRock Resort Review

Review & Rating of SilverRock Resort in La Quinta, Ca

Arnold Palmer designed a fantastic 18 holes of golf at SilverRock Resort that sprawls over 200 acres at the base of the stunning rugged and steep Santa Rosa Mountains.  Massive native waste bunkers, cascading waterfalls into sparkling ponds, huge steep and deep sand bunkers, challenging green complexes, wide-open landing zones, near-perfect conditions, and friendly service make SilverRock one of the best in the Palm Springs area and a must-play.

SilverRock Resort in La Quinta is owned by the City of La Quinta, managed by Landmark Golf Management, and was home to the Bob Hope Classic from 2008 to 2011. Some of the well-deserved accolades and awards SilverRock Resort has received include:

  • Best Tour Golf Course You Can Play by Golfweek Magazine
  • Zagat America's Top Golf Courses Award
  • Top 10 New Golf Courses You Can Play in America by Golf Magazine
  • Voted Best of the Best by Palm Springs Life Magazine

Every hole is a little different from the previous hole and during your round you'll encounter forced carries over waste areas and water, strategically placed huge fairway bunkers, doglegs left and right, risk-reward opportunities, wide-open landing zones, and challenging green complexes.  SilverRock Resort is challenging but fair and there are six sets of tee boxes with yardages ranging from 4542 to 7239 yards - don't bite off more than you can handle, in fact you may want to move up a set of tee boxes and play something that is a little shorter than you normally play!  Some of the holes are set up against the side of the Santa Rosa Mountains and all of the holes have stunning views of the Mountains. 

Both nines are excellent but we liked the back nine a little better - it seemed to be a little more challenging with some very interesting and fun holes plus 3 beautiful par 3s and 3 outstanding par 5s.  Some of the holes that we really loved included:

  • #4 is a 385 par 4 that offers a good risk-reward shot to carry more of the huge waste area and shorten the hole which turns left toward a well-guarded green - there is a large waste area along the left side of the fairway and the mountains come right down to the fairway on the right side
  • #12 is a fun 578-yard par 5 with a carry over the lake, a landing zone that ends in a large waste area, and a fairway that takes a sharp right to the green with a big left side bunker and no room for error
  • #14 is a 572-yard par 5 with a tight split level contoured fairway, a small deep bunker in the middle of the fairway at 50 yards out, and a green set off the right - and of course waste bunkers along both sides and the back of the green
  • #18 is an excellent finishing hole with a long carry over a waste bunker and canal, a small bunker that splits a contoured sloping fairway, and a small heavily contoured green with a left and right big bunker

The SilverRock Resort Greens were in near perfect condition, soft, and a little slow at around 8 or so.  They seemed easy to read and ran very true. All of the greens are well guarded with big bunkers and waste bunkers.  Most of the greens are huge and all have some minor to severe slope and contour.

The fairways at SilverRock were also in near perfect condition.  Off the tee, in most cases, the fairways are wide open but miss and you're in a nasty strategically placed bunker or a huge waste area or water on 8 holes.  The small rough around the fairways was also in good condition and a tad thick but playable.  Some of the fairways are contoured and sloping others are flat offering some extra roll.

The bunkers a SilverRock are huge and multi-fingered and steep and deep.  Some are so big they could swallow a small house.  And they are everywhere!  The good news is that the sand is excellent.  Huge waste bunkers with sand and brush and trees typically line both sides of the fairways and cover the back and sides of the greens. 

SilverRock Resort is a must-play if you're in the area - it's fun, scenic, and challenging but fair.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 7,239 75.0 139
Blue 6,313 70.6 129
White 5,669 67.7 122
Gold 6,809 72.9 134
Red 5,089 69.9 126

Course Information

Course Architect:
Arnold Palmer
Greens Condition
9.5
Greens Difficulty
9.0
Fairway Condition
9.5
Bunker Condition
9.8
GPS:
Yes
Walkable:
Yes
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 7 holes and the 46 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.5 out of 10
Beauty:
9.5
Difficulty:
9.7
Variety:
9.2
Fun to Play:
10.0
Value:
8.7
Condition:
9.5
Front Nine Rating:
9.2
Back Nine Rating:
9.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $50.00 to $170.00

Service is excellent, the pro shop is in a temporary location but has all the basics, and the practice area is good

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Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this:  links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses! 
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

  • Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
  • Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10. 
  • Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box?  That’s right, it gets a 1.
  • Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
  • Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course.  For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
  • Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
  • Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale.  Condition is self-explanatory.  

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course.  In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40.  We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.