The Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club is a do-not-miss course in Whistler. It’s scenic and offers gorgeous views of the Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. Carts are mandatory because of the elevation changes. We’ve been able to golf a couple of times now and have always seen wildlife on the course.

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We were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in Las Vegas. Since we had fallen head over heels with the sport of golf over the last couple of years, it was only fitting that we treated ourselves to a round at the Wynn Golf Club during our vacation. We also got married at the Wynn, we have always loved visiting the Wynn and Encore, and so it just all made sense.

Since we were staying at the Encore, we didn’t even have to leave the property to head to the golf club. We lucked out with our tee time because we were supposed to be joined by another two-some, but they never showed up so it was just us two and our caddie Stuart. I didn’t know what to expect when we rolled up to all of this, but our cart had our name on it, and we got engraved bag tags! We will be keeping those forever. We made sure to show up early so we could hit the practice facility before our round.

When it was getting close to our time to play, we made our way to the putting green, which was just off the first hole. That’s when I saw the giant industrial fan. A lot of the holes on the course have these giant fans to keep the air moving and make the area less hot. Amazing! We wondered if the noise would be distracting while we were out there, but we ended up not noticing them very much!

There ended up being way more water features than I thought for a course in the desert. There was water on 12 holes. I’m proud to say that I cleared a majority of them.

The caddie, Stuart, really added to the whole experience. Having a caddie was mandatory, and he would do things like give us course intel and advise us on how to play and approach each hole. Stuart would help us clean our clubs and balls after each hit, and it was luxurious. It felt a lot like when we stayed at the Four Seasons in Whistler, when their hillside team would help us put on our ski boots. A bit unnecessary, but absolutely appreciated and enjoyed as an experience.

The 18th hole is a little par 3, but with a huge opportunity. If you get a hole in one, you win $10,000. It has views of the hotel, with a stunning waterfall on the back of the hole. I gave it a good whack with my (rental) hybrid, and wish I had hit it with a bit more juice because, according to Stuart, if I had cleared the hump of the sand trap, I would’ve stood a really good chance. I mean, I’m sure he says that to everyone, but I was pretty proud of my hit off that tee. We were ready to call it a day when we rolled off 18. It was getting really hot, and it was nice to retreat back into the clubhouse. The aesthetic was fun, old country club done in Wynn style.

We will never forget this golfing experience! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we’ll probably try and play here every time we go through Las Vegas. Club rentals were free so we don’t have to bring anything except for our golf shoes! Our caddie, Stuart, also helped us have a great time, and we are looking forward to the next time we can go back to the Wynn Golf Club.

Planning a trip to Vegas? Be sure to book a round at the Wynn Golf Club! Let us know your experience in the comments.

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We had lunch on the patio afterward. All of the servers were wearing masks. The menu had a lot of options outside of burgers! Lots of appetizers and fun things to eat like chicharrones. We kept our order simple because we had plenty of food to keep eating through at home. Our fridge and freezer had broken down a few days prior to our golf day, and I wanted to make sure we ate through as much as we could. My tuna tacos were a perfect order to tide me over, and Justin ordered the chicken burger which looked amazing.

It was a pretty lovely experience golfing at Predator Ridge, as usual. The only thing that wasn’t so nice was that there was a Player’s Assistant who was constantly around and then started rushing our party as we were on the last few holes. Our friends are really good at golf. Justin and I normally play pretty fast, and I’m super mindful to keep up. There was no one ahead of us, and the party behind us fell behind pretty quick. Yet the Player’s Assistant would come by and let us know that there was 1 hole ahead of us. And came by again and told us there were 2 holes ahead of us. All this time, there was no one behind us!

I’m not sure what kind of “course flow management” this is, but it definitely added unwanted “pressure”. I ignored it because it honestly made no sense. We were on the 16th hole by then, with no one in front or behind us. Afterward, when I mentioned to another friend that I wanted us to play here on their next visit in August, she mentioned how they were made to hustle the same way (maybe by the same Player’s Assistant?) and they were made to skip holes! So now I’m a little wary of returning so quickly because the green fee is on the upper end and I just don’t want to be hassled like that.

Eventually, we’ll get around to checking out the Sparkling Hill Resort & Spa. But since we’re in a pandemic, we are choosing to stay close to home (read: stay home). And we heard that many of the amenities at their acclaimed spa are closed. So for me, what’s the point? Sparkling Hill is also dog-friendly, and it’s only mountain-view rooms. I think those rooms face the golf course, but if you’ve seen the views that Sparkling Hill offers… the mountain view is really the last view you’d want while staying there. I want to enjoy the in-room soaker tub with views of the lake at sunset!

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We ended up playing four times over the course of our vacation, at three different courses. The first thing I want to say is, remember to bring money for gratuities! We never use much cash and I forgot to pack our American pocket money so that was at home back in Canada. I felt a little awkward because there would be people helping carry and load our bags onto the carts, as well as clean our clubs after our game, and I’ll admit I didn’t tip … because I didn’t have any cash! I felt so bad.

We played at the following clubs around Palm Springs, and really enjoyed our experience at each one. These are considered resort courses, read: easy courses, so they are perfect for playing on vacation. We thought the courses were very forgiving, so if you haven’t played in a while or just not very good, it’s a really nice way to experience golf. The views are stunning, and the course designs were great. We also realized that we have it really good in Kelowna for golf, and that some of the courses we play at home are hard AF!

• Gary Player Signature Course at Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa
• Pete Dye Course at Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa
• Dunes Course at La Quinta Resort & Club

We brought our own golf clubs because we had the option of extra baggage with our vacation booking. When we did our research, it also looked like the most economical choice anyway. We didn’t know how many rounds of golf we were going to be able to get in in our week in Palm Springs. We didn’t know the quality of the club rental, or the selection, or price, so we decided to bring our own equipment down. Just make sure you have a big enough rental car. With 2 dog carriers, 2 checked pieces of luggage, and 2 golf bags, our rental SUV ended up being quite full. It looked like our hotel also offered golf club storage, but we didn’t take them up on that and instead just stored the clubs in our room.

Upon reflection and with the recent experience of air travel and transporting our golf clubs, it might be time to upgrade our golf bags because they are a million years old and weigh a ton. They both also have kickstands, and mine has always been a bit confusing for golf helpers to deal with, so it may be time to get lighter bags without stands. We recently bought golf carts because there are courses at home we like to play at, like 2 Eagles in West Kelowna, that are very walkable. So between having hand carts, and playing at courses that require power carts, it really makes sense.

Some of the courses in Kelowna allow you to take the power cart into the parking lot, so you can load up at your car. None of that is acceptable in Palm Springs. You can do valet or someone will greet you in the parking lot and help carry your bags over. When you wrap up your game, someone will help wipe your clubs, as well as the unload/load. When we played at the Pete Dye course, since it was on the property of the hotel, we got to take the golf cart back to our room, with supervision by one of the golf helpers of course! Otherwise, at the Westin they have a golf cart shuttle, so you can be picked up or dropped off, and not have to lug your golf bag so far.

We had a really fun time golfing around Palm Spring. We’re already looking forward to the next time we can golf there, and it’ll be a matter of coaxing our parents into playing with us! We mostly played in the afternoon, so the light was especially stunning on the landscape. We enjoyed the mild December weather, but do make sure to pack some warm layers because the temperature can vary so much in December. And throw some little heat packs into your golf bag, like the ones you can use for skiing. One of our fellow golf couples gave us some in one of our games, and they were such a nice little lifesaver!

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