Forgive me for the long review but I feel that I must explain my rating.
BLUF: Don't buy your own Golf Cart unless you can play at least 3-4 times a week. Great course for walkers.
Membership $1,004 per year
Trail Fee $1,350 per year
First impressions were good. Mainly because the other players and the community of golfers I played with. The course is in better condition than the nearby Air Force base but Desert Lakes is more than double the price. The base course is in bad shape and is only 9 holes. I decided to go with Desert Lakes seeing how it is close to my house, 18 holes and in better shape, though the prices are a bit high considering location, condition, quality, ect.
After a couple months I was enjoying myself with the other golfers, needless to say, I decided to buy a membership. To my surprise Desert Lakes does not offer a cart with their memberships, as a matter of fact, no discount on the carts at all. A bit odd, but OK. Additionally the rented carts have two per cart mandatory, even during slow times and off hours. So if two people use the cart is double the price.
I'm an 80% disabled vet, my back and knees can't take too much stress. Soooo I bought my own golf cart, seeing how I live close by, thinking I will play a lot and save some money on cart fees. To my very disappointed surprise Desert Lakes charges a "Trail Fee" to use MY OWN CART! The "Trail Fee" is $350 more than a membership!! After some quick calculations here is the breakdown.
Rent a cart 18 Holes: $12 *per person*
Rent a cart 9 Holes: $6.50
So to equal the Trail Fee of $1,350 you would need to play 112 games of golf in the year. That's about 9.3 games a month and 2.5 games per week YEAR ROUND. NOT TO MENTION ITS MY CART!!! I have to pay for it, plus maintenance, cleaning, batteries, ect!!!!!
I don't know who is setting these prices but I would have to play at least 3 times a week just to get my money's worth. I don't know about you but I can't play 3-4 18 holes of golf a week.
In comparison, the Golf Course Red Hawk is down the road in Las Cruces. They have a membership as well. $2,100 a year. It's a much better course with tons of more reviews, look it up. Guess what? Unlimited carts with membership. Huh? Say what? So quick math again. I am paying more to use my own cart on an significantly lesser quality course. Needless to say, I am severely disappointed with this "Trail Fee", it makes it pointless to buy your own cart.
Final note: I tried to divulge my disappointment with the club pro, he told me "The Trail Fee is from the city". I am going to look into this because it doesn't make any sense to me. I'll post an update once I find out more details.