[David Wigler]

I just finished planning a trip to Palm Springs for May.  Any of you So Cal types (Or others familiar with the area) willing to give me a 1 - 10 of the best courses in the area - Public or Private.  I figure that I can get 5 or 6 rounds of golf in.  The only course I have played in the area is PGA West, which I flat out love.  Big Horn looks cool on TV but how is it in person?  Any help will be appreciated.

[Dan Grossman]

David,

I've played both Shadow Ridge (the new Faldo at the Marriott) and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West.  Both were great, although I thought that the Nicklaus course was especially good.  I was very surprised as I normally don't think much of his architecture.  Shadow Ridge was an Aerial not too long ago and I think some people posted their thoughts on the course after it was revealed.

[Billy]

I can only speak for the ones I have played

1. Stadium (PGA WEST)
2. Landmark Golf Club
3. Nickalus Tournament (PGA WEST)
4. Nickalus Private (PGA WEST)
5. Desert Willow (Firecliff)
6. Mission Hills (Pete Dye)
7. La Quinta Resort (Mountain)
8. The Plantation

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

David,
PGA West TPC - 8.5 (Might be a nine, my favourite in the Valley)
La Quinta Mountain - 8.0 (Might be an 8.5, but I like TPC more, still, a great track.)
Landmark North - 7.5 (Good test and interesting topography for Palm Springs.  Better than the South)
Lanmark South - 7
PGA Nicklaus - 7  (Rigid lines, somewhat typical of Nicklaus in the 80's, but not as bad as some people give it.
PGA Norman (other I trust disagree with me on this one) - 7
La Q Dunes (lacking in asthetics early in the round, but solid and fun. - 7
Pete Dye at Westin Mission Hills - 7 (Underrated course, hurt by housing)
Desert Dunes - 6.5 (Wind can make this insane, also the condition can be suspect)
Player at Westin Mission Hills - 6 (Pretty, some decent holes, but I did not really get into it)
Tahquitz Creek (Ted Robinson, pretty, but not much else) -5.5

These are on a 1-10 of just general assignment, NOT the Doak scale (would have required more thought).  Email me if you have any questions.

[Jeff Fortson]

I grew up in the Coachella Valley and was a pro out there for 3 years and I have played all of them except for ones built in the last year or two.

1.  Mission Hills Dinah Shore Tournamnet Course (Private) - My family were members there when I was in high school so I am biased on this course.  It truly is a wonderful course and every bit as challenging for men as it is for the ladies.  This course could host mens events for sure.  

2.  The Palms (Private) - Newer private course designed by Couples   I just played it in March while visiting and it's in great condition and doesn't have the usual homes on every side of the faiway like many courses in the desert.  It's sculpted through an old Palm Tree farm.  Great practice facility too.

3.  La Quinta Mountain Course (Public/Resort/Private) - A really stunning course visually.  A Pete Dye gem with about 8 holes carved out of the side of a mountain.  Unfortunately, it is overpriced unless $195 per round on the weekend is reasonable to you.

4.  The Reserve (Private) - Newer course set up in the hills south of Palm Desert.  A lot of scenic fun holes where the mountains come into play.  Usually in great condition.

5.  Ironwood Sout Course (Private) - An old-school looking desert course.  Pretty long from the back tees and also has some good views of the desert floor.

6.  PGA West Stadium (Public/Resort/Private) - One of the most penal courses anywhere.  I happen to love the mind melting it throws on you.  A good course to take a beating from.  Pete Dye at his cruelest and craftiest.

7.  Landmark Golf Club (Public) - Way out in Indio off the I-10 Freeway and on the north side of it too which is unusual for the desert.  Wind can kick up out here and the natural beauty isn't quite up to some of the other courses but the strategic values of the holes help make up for that.

8.  Desert Dunes (Public) - Also on the north side of the I-10 Freeway way out in Desert Hot Springs.  This course is also in a wind tunnel and it can flat out HOWL here.  25mph winds is a calm day out here.  If you catch it on a halfway playable day it can really be a lot of fun.  Catch it on a windy day and it could take you a week to finish.

9.  Indian Wells CC (Private) - A Bob Hope Classic rotational course.  Very short by modern standards and tree lined but a really fun, traditional, desert style course.

10.  Bermuda Dunes CC (Private) - Same description as Indian Wells excetp slightly longer and not as tight.

Honorable mentions:  Cimarron, Mission Hills Player Course, La Quinta Citrus, PGA West Nicklaus Private and Public, PGA West Palmer Private, Bighorn Mountain, The Vintage, Morningside, Thunderbird CC, The Quarry, Tamarisk, La Quinta CC, Desert Island CC and many others I didn't mention.

Keep in mind that I have not played Shadow Ridge, Country Club of the Desert, or The Tradition.  Those could make the list once played.  If you have any question on any course please feel free to ask.  I still know many people in the desert and have a lot of connections at the courses.  If you need any non-golf related info I can help with that too.  

Have fun out there and make sure to drink plenty of water!!!

Jeff F.

[John_D._Bernhardt]

Once you accept desert golf as good golf, I recomend both the Mountain Course at La Quinta and Big Horn(both). The Mountain course is fairly free of housing except for 4 or 5 holes and really has some beautiful parts with good golf holes. Bighorn is a great example of what an unlimited budget can do.It has incredible natural and man made beauty, as well as stunning views of the valley below.

[Will E]

Dave,
From what I've heard I'll guess that CCoftheDesert is really good and is worth us checking out. I wonder how Faldo's design turned out, is it Desert Willow? Landmark sure didn't appeal to me from what I saw in the Skins game, is it better than what they showed? I think Tommy would be upset if we even looked at Norman's course at PGA West.
I'm not thrilled about returning to Big Horn, however it is worth the trip out there just to hang out in the clubhouse. I played it a number of times in a fantastic pro-am they used to host called the Rattler. Pretty much Art Hills does the desert with a few really cool holes thrown in and a couple of his trademark "what was he thinking" holes . I've only seen the Fazio course on TV and it looked better to me, although I think the LPGA may disagree.
Ben is right again in calling Dye's work at Mission Hills underrated, I also think that La Quitna Citrus is very good.
The trip could probably be Dye exclusive and turn out great.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Dave,

Of the older courses I would recommend:

1. Mission Hills tournament courses
2. Bermuda Dunes, a fun Bell design with tiny greens. It gets knocked a lot because it's in the Hope and the pros shoot a million under, but it's fun.

From the recent past:

1. PGA west stadium-just to see if you've got the game!
2. La Quinta hotel-Mountain course. The dunes isn't bad either. (I don't like Desert Dunes, but to each his own.)
3. The Quarry, good luck getting on.

Haven’t seen Plantation, but have heard good things

Newcomers.
1. Shadow Ridge
2. Desert Willow
3. The Dye Course at CC of the Desert looks very interesting. The Clive course is good if you like lakes, waterfalls and acres of annual flowers.  

[David Wigler]

Guys,

Thank you all for your advice.  I'll do a post when I get back on the five or six we play.

[Brian_Belden]

I just returned from Palm Springs last week. I played the canyons course at Big Horn for the first time. Conditioing was great. Plenty of awesome of the views valley. Some real good holes and a few average ones. Some holes were memerable while others are not. They are getting ready to change a few holes and i don't remember the numbers (I believe either 6 & 7). A far five and a par 3. The par 5 was a downhill reachable hole with trouble left and plenty of bail out to the right. I believe their intention is to bring the water more into play on the second shot to the green by moving the green back and to the left. This in turn will make them have to move the tee for the par 3 which also involves moving an existing water tank.

I liked the back nine better. A little more movment to the holes on the back. Also hillier. A good selection of holes. If you have the chance to play it i would recommend doing so.

[Jeff Doerr]

So, this thread is quite a few years old now.

For those in the know, what's changed? We now have Stone Eagle and The Classic Club among others.

What are the new must plays in PS?

If you have one round, one weekend, or one week - what's on the short list?

[Peter Wagner]

If I were there for a week I would go with:

The Quarry
Tradition
Stone Eagle
The Reserve
Vintage - Desert
Big Horn - Canyons

I haven't played Stone Eagle yet but everybody I know likes it. 
I am not a fan of Mission Hills including the Dina course.

[Matt_Ward]

Jeff D:

On the public side of the aisle try to include Shadow Ridge at Marriott (Palm Desert) and the Firecliff 18 at Desert Willow -- also in Palm Desert. Both won't break your bank account.

On the private side try to get on Stone Eagle and The Quarry.

[cary lichtenstein]

If I were there for a week I would go with:

The Quarry
Tradition
Stone Eagle
The Reserve
Vintage - Desert
Big Horn - Canyons

I haven't played Stone Eagle yet but everybody I know likes it. 
I am not a fan of Mission Hills including the Dina course.

I'd add the other course at Big Horn and Stone Eagle to your mix

Cary

[rjsimper]

Terra Lago North is a good course - to me it's on par with or better than Shadow Ridge, also good.

Agree with Matt W. on Firecliff at Desert Willow - Mountain View there is passable but
unspectacular

Escena was a very good golf course as well, but I believe it is still in a state of "dead until the market turns around"

[David Botimer]

Bighorn is private, so first you have to gain entry through a member.  As to the course, there are actually two, Canyons and Mountain.  The Mountain is the original and hosted the Skins Game a few times in the mid 90's - VERY hilly, hence the name.  Canyons opened in 1998 and hosted the Battle at Bighorn with Tiger several years, and recently four years of the Ladies Samsung World Championship.  I assume that's the one you saw.  Very good track, one of the top ten in the desert, and if you like Fazio, will definitely like it.

Many of the best in desert are private, here are a few I'd have on my list.  Tradition (my personal favorite, a Palmer design), StoneEagle (Doak design, great vistas, DEVILISH greens), The Quarry, Palms, Madison Club would be on the private list with Bighorn.

On the public list, Classic Club (host of the Hope), PGA West, La Quinta Mountain a few of the best.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()