Palm Springs Golf Recommendations?

[Indiana Jones]

I will be in Palm Springs next November for a week, but I have never been there before and don't know much about the courses other than the few I've seen on television. I'm looking for advice on where to play, including "don't miss" courses. I can handle tougher courses if they are the favorites and since I will be on vacation, price really doesn't come into play. However, I did hear about a company there which offers last minute tee time specials..but don't know their name. Can anyone share their thoughts on what the best tracks are in Palm springs? I'm looking for advice to help make it a great golf week! Thanks!

[mapa94]

1.	These are the top 20 according to Greenskeeper.org. My favorites are: Classic Club (tough) and Indian Canyons South (easy), Indian Wells Golf Resort (Celebrity) - $$$$ Green Fee Worth:	9.51 Immaculate Customer Service:	06/07/11
2.	Classic Club - $$$$ Green Fee Worth:	9.36 Immaculate Customer Service:	07/15/11
3.	Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players) - $$$$ Green Fee Worth:	9.20 Immaculate Customer Service:	06/02/11
4.	TPC Stadium Course (at PGA West) - $$$$ Green Fee Worth:	9.00 Immaculate Customer Service:	06/14/11
5.	Heritage Palms Golf Club - $$ Green Fee Worth:	9.00 Immaculate Customer Service:	04/03/11
6.	PGA West (Nicklaus Tournament Course) - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	8.96 Great Customer Service:	06/12/11
7.	SilverRock Resort - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	8.81 Great Customer Service:	07/04/11
8.	Indian Canyons Golf Resort (South) - $$ Green Fee Worth:	8.67 Great Customer Service:	06/12/11
9.	Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	8.61 Great Customer Service:	07/17/11
10.	Indian Canyons Golf Resort (North) - $$ Green Fee Worth:	8.48 Great Customer Service:	06/09/11
11.	Desert Willow Resort (Firecliff) - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	8.39 Great Customer Service:	07/04/11
12.	PGA West (Greg Norman Course) - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	8.38 Great Customer Service:	05/08/11
13.	Eagle Falls Golf Course - $$ Green Fee Worth:	8.35 Great Customer Service:	06/14/11
14.	Westin Mission Hills (Resort Pete Dye) - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	8.30 Great Customer Service:	05/31/11
15.	Indian Springs Golf Club - $$ Green Fee Worth:	8.13 Great Customer Service:	06/12/10
16.	Indian Palms Country Club - $$ Green Fee Worth:	7.88 Great Customer Service:	07/01/11
17.	Desert Willow Resort (Mountain View) - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	7.79 Great Customer Service:	06/24/11
18.	Shadow Hills Golf Club - $$ Green Fee Worth:	7.74 Great Customer Service:	07/11/11
19.	Marriott Desert Springs (Palm) - $$ Green Fee Worth:	7.69 Great Customer Service:	01/03/11
20.	La Quinta, The Golf Club at - $$$ Green Fee Worth:	7.41 Great Customer Service:	07/17/11

[tristanhilton85]

I live in the area so I'll give you some help.  First, I believe the company that you are talking about is Stand By Golf...

There are a lot of great courses in the valley; my recommendations would be the following:

1. SilverRock Resort (La Quinta)

2. Any of the PGA West courses (if I had to order them I'd say the TPC stadium course, then Nicklaus, then Norman) (La Quinta)

3. Shadow Ridge (Rancho Mirage or Palm Desert... not entirely sure)

4. Indian Wells Resort (Indian Wells)

5. Desert Springs Marriot (Palm Desert)

6. The Golf Club at La Quinta (this was formerly Trilogy at La Quinta)

7. The Golf Club at Terra Lago - North Course (this was formerly Landmark) (Indio)

8. Shadow Hills (Indio)

9. Indian Springs (La Quinta)

10. Eagle Falls (Indio)

That's just off the top of my head... there are so many more around here that are great; I'm sure that I left others off this list, especially those that are actually in Palm Springs (west end of the valley).  I hear that over on that side Cimarron is nice as is Indian Canyons but I haven't played either one of those.  Tahquitz Creek isn't bad either... the Legends course isn't nearly as nice as the Resort Course but both are maintained pretty well.  Terra Lago is my home course and I like it quite a bit; the North course is definitely in better shape than the South though so be aware of that.

Anyways, have fun on your trip.  If I think of any other courses I'll post here again.

[Ben]

The problem with The Desert, is that there are SO MANY great places to play! One of my favorites is PGA West Stadium. Nicklaus is alright, some with Norman. Stadium is definitely the way to go. Try to play in La Quinta or Indian Wells, just get along those jagged rock mountains. There is something magical about playing next to them. A great spot to get close is the Mountain Course at the La Quinta Resort. I don't know if you can get on at Indian Wells, but the back nine on the Cove course is ridiculous. There is a stretch of holes where its just you, the course, the mountains and million dollar weekend homes. Unreal! I have yet to play this place, but everyone I know raves about The Classic Club. I'm pretty sure Big Horn is open to the public too.

You can't pick a better time then November. The courses have all been closed for a month for maintenance and the weather is cooling down. May be a bit on the pricey side though...

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by Ben

The problem with The Desert, is that there are SO MANY great places to play! One of my favorites is PGA West Stadium. Nicklaus is alright, some with Norman. Stadium is definitely the way to go. Try to play in La Quinta or Indian Wells, just get along those jagged rock mountains. There is something magical about playing next to them. A great spot to get close is the Mountain Course at the La Quinta Resort. I don't know if you can get on at Indian Wells, but the back nine on the Cove course is ridiculous. There is a stretch of holes where its just you, the course, the mountains and million dollar weekend homes. Unreal! I have yet to play this place, but everyone I know raves about The Classic Club. I'm pretty sure Big Horn is open to the public too.

You can't pick a better time then November. The courses have all been closed for a month for maintenance and the weather is cooling down. May be a bit on the pricey side though...

Yeah... I forgot to mention Classic Club in my previous post... it's nice but can be very windy.  Big Horn is private, no way you get on that track.  The Dune course at La Quinta Resort is also very nice as is the Mountain Course.

In the list of the top 20 courses, Heritage Palms is a nice one and under rated and Desert Willow is awesome.  Indian Palms is ok but is nothing special; if you are only going to be here for a week I'd skip that one; not really worth what they charge in my opinion.

[Ben]

Heritage Palms is that good huh? A member at my club also has a house/membership there. I've borrowed the house before but only for tournaments I play elsewhere. They been bugging me to play there with them forever. I guess I should take them up on it!

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by Ben

Heritage Palms is that good huh? A member at my club also has a house/membership there. I've borrowed the house before but only for tournaments I play elsewhere. They been bugging me to play there with them forever. I guess I should take them up on it!

I played there a lot when I was in high school and not a lot since so it may have changed a bit.  From what I remember though, it was always in really good condition and was a good layout.  You're not gonna confuse it with PGA West or anything, but it's a good course and one that I think people forget about sometimes in the desert.

[rocky74]

Never been to Palm Springs, but the website you wanna use is www.lastminutegolfer.com

I used this exclusively when I was in Destin Florida to save a bunch of money.  You will usually be playing at the hottest times of the day, but hey, $80 at 2pm beats the hell outta $160 at 8AM.

[ejimsmith]

i want to add my vote for Desert Willow (palm desert)... both course are fantastic !!

[Cut68]

I played Silver Rock last Winter........ thought it was definately one of the best courses I've ever played

[Tomboys]

I was just there in May.  Really liked La Quinta Dune and Mountain course, but absolutely loved PGA West Stadium course.

[Bubba_13]

Desert Dunes was a nice track.  Just north of Palm Springs.  Reasonable prices and the course is in great condition.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by Bubba_13

Desert Dunes was a nice track.  Just north of Palm Springs.  Reasonable prices and the course is in great condition.

The one thing with Desert Dunes, as with the majority of courses on that side of the freeway, is that it is WINDY!

[fairwayguy2]

Both the courses at Desert Willow are nice and they have a great deal if you play both courses.  I also enjoyed Cimarron which plays along a draiin culvert but has some nice holes .The staff at both places were really pleasent.   The valley is quite long so remember if your booking a course in La Quinta with an early tee time you could hace a 30 or 40 minute drive from Palm Springs

Enjoy

[NuclearMike]

My favorites are Desert Willow (both courses), the PGA West Stadium Course, the Pete Dye Mountain Course at La Quinta, and his track at Indian Wells Resort.  I had the best round of my life on the Palmer Course at PGA West but it's private.