The Palm Springs Desert Resorts are a mecca for golfers. There are 111 public, semiprivate, and private courses in the area. If you're the kind who starts polishing your irons the moment you begin planning your vacation, you're best off staying at one of the valley's many golf resorts, where you can enjoy the proximity of your hotel's facilities as well as smart package deals that can give you a taste of country-club membership. On the other hand, if you'd like to fit a round of golf into an otherwise varied trip and you aren't staying at a hotel with its own links, there are courses at all levels open to the general public, many in Palm Springs, with others down the valley in Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio. Call ahead to see which will rent clubs or other equipment to the spontaneous player.
Beginners will enjoy Tommy Jacobs' Bel-Air Greens, 1001 El Cielo, Palm Springs (tel. 760/322-6062; www.tommyjacobsbelairgreens.com), a nine-hole, par-32 executive course that has some water- and sand-trap challenges but also allows for a few confidence-boosting successes. Generally flat fairways and trees characterize the relatively short (3,350-yd.) course. Greens fees range $15 to $19.
Slightly more intermediate amateurs will want to check out the Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort, 1885 Golf Club Dr., Palm Springs (tel. 760/328-1005), whose two diverse courses both appeal to mid-handicappers. The "Legend's" wide, water-free holes will appeal to anyone frustrated by the "target" courses popular with many architects, while the Ted Robinson -- designed "Resort" course offers all those accuracy-testing bells and whistles more common to lavish private clubs. Greens fees, including cart, range from $80 to $100, depending on the day of the week.
The Palm Springs Country Club, 2500 Whitewater Club Dr. (tel. 760/323-2626), is the oldest public-access golf course in the city of Palm Springs, and is popular with budget-conscious golfers, as greens fees are only $35 to $60, including the required cart. The challenge of bunkers and rough can be amplified by the oft-blowing wind along the 5,885 yards of this unusually laid-out course.
The Westin Mission Hills Resort Course, Dinah Shore and Bob Hope drives, Rancho Mirage (tel. 760/328-3198), is somewhat more forgiving than most of legendary architect Pete Dye's courses, but don't play the back tees unless you've got a consistent 220-yard drive and won't be fazed by the Dye-trademark giant sand bunkers and elevated greens. Water only comes into play on four holes, and the scenery is an exquisite reward for low-handicappers. Non-guest greens fees are $70 (summer) to $145, including cart. There's also Mission Hills North Course, designed by Gary Player.
One of our favorite desert courses is the PGA West TPC Stadium Course, La Quinta Resort & Club, 49499 Eisenhower Dr., La Quinta (tel. 760/564-4111), which received Golf magazine's 1994 Gold Medal Award for the total golf-resort experience. The par-three 17th has a picturesque island green where Lee Trevino made Skins Game history with a spectacular hole-in-one. The rest of Pete Dye's 7,261-yard design is flat, with huge bunkers, lots of water, and severe mounding throughout. It's one of the most difficult courses in the U.S. Also open for semiprivate play is the Mountain Course at La Quinta, another Dye design that regularly appears on U.S. top-100 lists. It's set dramatically against the rocky mountains, which thrust into fairways to create tricky doglegs, and its small Bermuda greens are well guarded by boulders and deep bunkers. Greens fees for non-guests vary seasonally, from $65 to $195. Also at La Quinta Resort is the Pete Dye-designed Dunes Course, the (Jack) Nicklaus Tournament Course and the (Greg) Norman Resort Course.
A complete golfer's guide is available from the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Authority.
Fairways & Five-Irons, Desert Style--Two hours outside of Los Angeles in the Coachella Valley, strung like ripe dates from I-10, lie the resort cities of Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and La Quinta. This all-season golfer's paradise boasts more than 100 courses, their lush fairways and velvety greens carved from the arid desert scruff. Both public and resort/semiprivate courses range in difficulty to accommodate low-handicappers and weekend duffers alike, and every imaginable service is available nearby.
If you'd like to sharpen your game, all the principal clubs have resident pros, and there are several schools and clinics, including the Indian Wells Golf School at Indian Wells Resort (tel. 760/346-4653), or the Golf Center at Palm Desert (tel. 760/779-1877). If you're looking to pick up new equipment or golf attire, try Nevada Bob's Discount Golf in Palm Springs (tel. 760/324-0196) and Indian Wells (tel. 760/346-6166), the Roger Dunn Golf Shop in Palm Desert (tel. 760/345-3133) and Cathedral City (tel. 760/324-1160), and Lady Golf in Rancho Mirage (tel. 760/773-4949).
Many fine resorts offer generous golf packages, among them Marriott's Desert Springs Spa & Resort in Palm Desert (tel. 760/341-2211), Marriott's Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage (tel. 760/568-2727), the Hyatt Grand Champions in Indian Wells (tel. 760/341-1000), and La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta (tel. 760/346-2904).
Tee times at many courses cannot be booked more than a few days in advance for non-guests, but Golf à la Carte (tel. 877/887-6900 or 760/771-3276; www.palmspringsgolf.com) is able to make arrangements several months earlier and even construct a package for you with accommodations, golf, meals, and other extras. A valuable service for the budget traveler is Stand-By Golf (tel. 866/224-2665 or 760/321-2665; www.stand-bygolf.com), which helps more than 35 area courses -- including semi-private and resort courses -- fill their bookings by offering players a last-minute discount of 40% -- 60%. For some courses you can book in advance, but many tee times are for the same or next day; call between 7am and 10pm daily.
For the non-playing spectator (or anyone longing to see the pros make it look so easy), there are dozens of golf tournaments year-round, including many celebrity and pro-am events in addition to regular PGA, LPGA, and Senior Tour stops. February brings the PGA Tour's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at the Bermuda Dunes Country Club and the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational at Marriott's Desert Springs Resort & Spa. In March, catch the LPGA Tour's Kraft Nabisco Championship at the Mission Hills Country Club; in April, the Senior PGA's Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf comes to PGA West. November brings the longest-running charity event, Billy Barty/7-Up Celebrity Golf Classic, at the Mesquite Country Club in Palm Springs. Also in November, check out the wacky Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade along El Paseo.
For more information, you can call the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Authority (tel. 800/41-RELAX or 760/770-9000; www.palmspringsusa.com). The bureau also maintains an activities hot line (tel. 760/770-1992).
