Palm Springs 3/14-3/16 Itenerary Help

I know theres 1000 threads about certain questions regarding Palm Springs, and I have read them and taken away what I thought to be important. I moreso need some input on scheduling and which courses (if any) I should pass up for another trip.

Im doing a solo trip to Palm Springs Sunday evening March 13th - Wednesday morning March 16th. Never stayed in PS before, just passed through on the way to LA. Since its a solo trip, I'm 100% about golf this go-round. Playing in a GCAT event the morning of the 13th in Irvine at Strawberry Farms GC, then heading to PS afterwards. Planning on 36 holes Monday, 36 holes Tuesday, and then 18 holes Wednesday morning before heading back east that afternoon.

I glanced at the lunar schedule for those dates and it shows that sunrise is about 6:57 AM, and sunset around 6:54 PM. So I figured that I could get tee times around 7:15-7:45 AM in the mornings, and then around 1-1:30 PM in the afternoon for Monday and Tuesday and should allow me to finish before sunset with ease, and allow some time in case either round nears the 5 hr mark. (with my buddies, I have no problem finishing 18 in 3-3.5 hrs, solo I can play 18 in 2-2.5 hrs with ease and not feel rushed). I figured to aid in meeting the afternoon tee times driving to different courses, I would book tee times for Monday and Tuesday for courses near each other. Courses that seem to be popular with the WRX (and fit in my "budget") I have down for possible play are:

Classic Club

Escena

Desert Willow - Firecliff

Indian Canyons - South

Tahquitz Creek - Resort

Shadow Ridge

LaQuinta Resort - Mountain

PGA West - TPC Stadium

PGA West - Norman

SilverRock

Basically heres my rough plan:

Monday 3/14:

AM: Tahquitz Creek - Resort

PM: Indian Canyons - South (in case winds pick up this seems to be the only safe spot for the afternoon rounds, except for La Quinta area courses)

My thought with these two is that Tahquitz is cheap, looks to be pretty forgiving and will be a good place to warm up and shake off some rust. Then IC-South is also cheap and is the only course sheltered from the wind in the near vicinity of PS and Tahquitz Creek. Could easily replace Tahquitz with Escena or Classic Club, but only worry would be commute time to get to IC.

Tuesday 3/15:

AM: PGA West - Norman or SilverRock

PM: PGA West - TPC Stadium or La Quinta Resort - Mountain

This day I figured I would spend in La Quinta, and this is where I am less definitive on course selections. I didn't include the Nicklaus course at PGA West simply for the fact that I really don't like his designs that much, and the Norman course appeals to me since its different. The Stadium course I kinda want to include just because its so recognizable and something I think I should play at least once. SilverRock and Mountain course are a toss up. SilverRock looks pretty in some pictures, and Mountain course looks like it has some nice holes near the mountain but Ive heard the holes away from the mountain aren't anything special. Basically the top two course from the four I'll take, just need some input lol!

Wednesday 3/16:

AM: Desert Willow - Firecliff, then hit the road on I-10 back east.

Firecliff is a must-play this trip, and it logically falls here the best if I do decide to play Tahquitz and Indian Canyons the first day. I figured this is a course that might get windy in the afternoons, so I think it needs to be a morning tee time. If its not as prone to wind, then I could easily rearrange it.

Thoughts or opinions?

Also, any input on afternoon tee-times allowing you to finish before dark. I was planning on 1-1:30, but it looks like 2-3:00 PM may be doable as well.

Play SilverRock

I've Played: TPC: Stadium Resort, Nicklaus Resort, Norman Resort , La Quinta Resort Mountain ---- Stadium is crazy difficult but has great green complex's (typical Dye 2nd shot golf course) ---- Nickalaus was in really great shape the two time i've played it.

I really didn't care for the layout of Norman.....La Quinta Mountain has some fun holes but was in poor shape due to heavy rains(Spring 2014)....I would choose it over Norman.

Try to stick with Stadium and Nicklaus --- unless your getting a great rate VIA Golfnow on Norman or La Quinta resort the shot value's aren't nearly as good.

Classic Club is supposedly the one to play if you can make it work. Also maybe see if your pro can get you onto TWC West - Palmer Private

I've Played: TPC: Stadium Resort, Nicklaus Resort, Norman Resort , La Quinta Resort Mountain ---- Stadium is crazy difficult but has great green complex's (typical Dye 2nd shot golf course) ---- Nickalaus was in really great shape the two time i've played it.

 

I really didn't care for the layout of Norman.....La Quinta Mountain has some fun holes but was in poor shape due to heavy rains(Spring 2014)....I would choose it over Norman.

 

 

 

Try to stick with Stadium and Nicklaus --- unless your getting a great rate VIA Golfnow on Norman or La Quinta resort the shot value's aren't nearly as good.

 

 

Classic Club is supposedly the one to play if you can make it work. Also maybe see if your pro can get you onto TWC West - Palmer Private

Thanks for the advice! Right now I'm too far out to book on golfnow, so im going off posted rack rates. The only reason I dig on Nicklaus courses is because Every one of his courses I've played has crazy tricked up greens or approaches it seems. So I guess I'm a hypocrite in wanting to play the Stadium course, so we'll see. If Norman truly is a snoozer I'll pass on it. I was playing around on Google earth today too and noticed the spotty conditions on the Mountain course around April last year...not good.

Skip Tahquitz and play both Desert Willow courses same day. Play Indian canyons on your getaway day if you want to keep it in the rota.

Classic club should be a must play. Just played it on Saturday and absolutely love this course. Escena is definitely one you should put towards the bottom of your list as it is very bland and nothing special. Silver rock is very good as well. As for PGA west I don't think you would be able to get on Palmer private but I would definitely recommend the Norman over the Stadium. Stadium course is also a pretty big let down, they basically made it as hard as possible and thought that would make a great course but there are only 3 or 4 holes that are really good. Norman is a fair challenge if you play the back tees. I play out there around 2 or 3 times a month so let me know if you need anything else, if not enjoy it cause it is a blast

Classic club should be a must play. Just played it on Saturday and absolutely love this course. Escena is definitely one you should put towards the bottom of your list as it is very bland and nothing special. Silver rock is very good as well. As for PGA west I don't think you would be able to get on Palmer private but I would definitely recommend the Norman over the Stadium. Stadium course is also a pretty big let down, they basically made it as hard as possible and thought that would make a great course but there are only 3 or 4 holes that are really good. Norman is a fair challenge if you play the back tees. I play out there around 2 or 3 times a month so let me know if you need anything else, if not enjoy it cause it is a blast

Thanks, that's great input! Second time ive heard that about Escena...marking it off.

I usually like Norman courses and hate Nicklaus designs...I was just surprised I preferred the Nicklaus(maybe just exceeded my expectations). When I was their in April of 2014. I was trying to play quick rounds (first off as a single) before going to Cochella Music festival. Was able to play each of the four rounds as a single, double or three some in <four hours.

Stadium isn't for everyone....its a total 2nd shot golf course....if you miss on the wrong side your making double..... I'm a sucker for difficult looking green complexes so I loved it more then my scorecard. Norman kinda reminded me of playing less version Piaute in Las Vegas w/out the wind. Classic desert course...just not my bag but a solid play........when i was on my trip Norman and Mountain were the deeper discounted tracks on Golf Now.

I guess that I'm the only one that doesn't think the stadium is hard. Since you play on the golf channel am tour, you could play stadium and Nicklaus course, the love course, although that was my least favorite. If you could swing Palmer private you will then be playing all the courses used for the national champ this past year.

Gcamtour also has a major in the spring at Nicklaus and stadium courses.

My wife and I spent 3 nights in Palm Springs Springs a couple of years ago. I made both of my tee times the day before playing and was able to get the first time of the day at the La Quinta Mountain Course, followed by an early time at Marriot Shadow Ridge the next day. Of the two I would definitely recommend the Mountain course. Playing up against the mountain sides, for a guy from Chicago, was a much more memorable experience.

I really wanted to play silverrock during my trip, but they had half of the holes closed when I was there for maintenance. I was also unable to make a time on PGA West as a single. From everything I've heard, those two, along with Classic Club, would be on my itinerary next time around.

It looks like the Nickalus Tournament Course (The public one) - is going to be used on the PGA Tour this week. Great opportunity to see the holes

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will be replacing Tahquitz Creek with Classic Club, then I will sort out the PGA West/La Quinta courses based on what tee times I can get.

You will hate PGA west Norman if you hit it 280-300 off the tee. Choose Nicklaus tourney every time over Norman.

I think Classic Club is great, a really strong course, good for better players, good eats in the clubhouse too, play early as it gets wind later in the day.

I know theres 1000 threads about certain questions regarding Palm Springs, and I have read them and taken away what I thought to be important. I moreso need some input on scheduling and which courses (if any) I should pass up for another trip.

 

Im doing a solo trip to Palm Springs Sunday evening March 13th - Wednesday morning March 16th. Never stayed in PS before, just passed through on the way to LA. Since its a solo trip, I'm 100% about golf this go-round. Playing in a GCAT event the morning of the 13th in Irvine at Strawberry Farms GC, then heading to PS afterwards. Planning on 36 holes Monday, 36 holes Tuesday, and then 18 holes Wednesday morning before heading back east that afternoon.

 

I glanced at the lunar schedule for those dates and it shows that sunrise is about 6:57 AM, and sunset around 6:54 PM. So I figured that I could get tee times around 7:15-7:45 AM in the mornings, and then around 1-1:30 PM in the afternoon for Monday and Tuesday and should allow me to finish before sunset with ease, and allow some time in case either round nears the 5 hr mark. (with my buddies, I have no problem finishing 18 in 3-3.5 hrs, solo I can play 18 in 2-2.5 hrs with ease and not feel rushed). I figured to aid in meeting the afternoon tee times driving to different courses, I would book tee times for Monday and Tuesday for courses near each other. Courses that seem to be popular with the WRX (and fit in my "budget") I have down for possible play are:

 

Classic Club

Escena

Desert Willow - Firecliff

Indian Canyons - South

Tahquitz Creek - Resort

Shadow Ridge

LaQuinta Resort - Mountain

PGA West - TPC Stadium

PGA West - Norman

SilverRock

 

Basically heres my rough plan:

 

Monday 3/14:

AM: Tahquitz Creek - Resort

PM: Indian Canyons - South (in case winds pick up this seems to be the only safe spot for the afternoon rounds, except for La Quinta area courses)

 

My thought with these two is that Tahquitz is cheap, looks to be pretty forgiving and will be a good place to warm up and shake off some rust. Then IC-South is also cheap and is the only course sheltered from the wind in the near vicinity of PS and Tahquitz Creek. Could easily replace Tahquitz with Escena or Classic Club, but only worry would be commute time to get to IC.

 

Tuesday 3/15:

AM: PGA West - Norman or SilverRock

PM: PGA West - TPC Stadium or La Quinta Resort - Mountain

 

This day I figured I would spend in La Quinta, and this is where I am less definitive on course selections. I didn't include the Nicklaus course at PGA West simply for the fact that I really don't like his designs that much, and the Norman course appeals to me since its different. The Stadium course I kinda want to include just because its so recognizable and something I think I should play at least once. SilverRock and Mountain course are a toss up. SilverRock looks pretty in some pictures, and Mountain course looks like it has some nice holes near the mountain but Ive heard the holes away from the mountain aren't anything special. Basically the top two course from the four I'll take, just need some input lol!

 

Wednesday 3/16:

AM: Desert Willow - Firecliff, then hit the road on I-10 back east.

 

Firecliff is a must-play this trip, and it logically falls here the best if I do decide to play Tahquitz and Indian Canyons the first day. I figured this is a course that might get windy in the afternoons, so I think it needs to be a morning tee time. If its not as prone to wind, then I could easily rearrange it.

 

Thoughts or opinions?

You will hate PGA west Norman if you hit it 280-300 off the tee. Choose Nicklaus tourney every time over Norman.

Haha! On my very best days I may sniff an actual 290 yd drive. That's usually with some wind help and firm-ish fairways. Average drive for me is 250 carry and about 265-275 total. If fairways are firm out there then that's a good point to consider. What tees did you play if you don't mind me asking??

I think Classic Club is great, a really strong course, good for better players, good eats in the clubhouse too, play early as it gets wind later in the day.

I know theres 1000 threads about certain questions regarding Palm Springs, and I have read them and taken away what I thought to be important. I moreso need some input on scheduling and which courses (if any) I should pass up for another trip.

 

Im doing a solo trip to Palm Springs Sunday evening March 13th - Wednesday morning March 16th. Never stayed in PS before, just passed through on the way to LA. Since its a solo trip, I'm 100% about golf this go-round. Playing in a GCAT event the morning of the 13th in Irvine at Strawberry Farms GC, then heading to PS afterwards. Planning on 36 holes Monday, 36 holes Tuesday, and then 18 holes Wednesday morning before heading back east that afternoon.

 

I glanced at the lunar schedule for those dates and it shows that sunrise is about 6:57 AM, and sunset around 6:54 PM. So I figured that I could get tee times around 7:15-7:45 AM in the mornings, and then around 1-1:30 PM in the afternoon for Monday and Tuesday and should allow me to finish before sunset with ease, and allow some time in case either round nears the 5 hr mark. (with my buddies, I have no problem finishing 18 in 3-3.5 hrs, solo I can play 18 in 2-2.5 hrs with ease and not feel rushed). I figured to aid in meeting the afternoon tee times driving to different courses, I would book tee times for Monday and Tuesday for courses near each other. Courses that seem to be popular with the WRX (and fit in my "budget") I have down for possible play are:

 

Classic Club

Escena

Desert Willow - Firecliff

Indian Canyons - South

Tahquitz Creek - Resort

Shadow Ridge

LaQuinta Resort - Mountain

PGA West - TPC Stadium

PGA West - Norman

SilverRock

 

Basically heres my rough plan:

 

Monday 3/14:

AM: Tahquitz Creek - Resort

PM: Indian Canyons - South (in case winds pick up this seems to be the only safe spot for the afternoon rounds, except for La Quinta area courses)

 

My thought with these two is that Tahquitz is cheap, looks to be pretty forgiving and will be a good place to warm up and shake off some rust. Then IC-South is also cheap and is the only course sheltered from the wind in the near vicinity of PS and Tahquitz Creek. Could easily replace Tahquitz with Escena or Classic Club, but only worry would be commute time to get to IC.

 

Tuesday 3/15:

AM: PGA West - Norman or SilverRock

PM: PGA West - TPC Stadium or La Quinta Resort - Mountain

 

This day I figured I would spend in La Quinta, and this is where I am less definitive on course selections. I didn't include the Nicklaus course at PGA West simply for the fact that I really don't like his designs that much, and the Norman course appeals to me since its different. The Stadium course I kinda want to include just because its so recognizable and something I think I should play at least once. SilverRock and Mountain course are a toss up. SilverRock looks pretty in some pictures, and Mountain course looks like it has some nice holes near the mountain but Ive heard the holes away from the mountain aren't anything special. Basically the top two course from the four I'll take, just need some input lol!

 

Wednesday 3/16:

AM: Desert Willow - Firecliff, then hit the road on I-10 back east.

 

Firecliff is a must-play this trip, and it logically falls here the best if I do decide to play Tahquitz and Indian Canyons the first day. I figured this is a course that might get windy in the afternoons, so I think it needs to be a morning tee time. If its not as prone to wind, then I could easily rearrange it.

 

Thoughts or opinions?

Good to hear! I booked Classic Club for 7:50 on that Monday morning. Should be a good way to kick off the week!

Escena is not very memorable

I really liked Faldo's Shadow Ridge ... and also SilverRock is awesome !!

So guys.

What's the top 5 courses in order of conditions and overall experience?

On the Norman course, I played from the blue tees, which are about 6600 yards. I have played the course 5+ times, my grandparents are members of PGA West. The course never plays long because of how firm the fairways always are. Honestly to me it just isn't a fun course to play. Not much risk/reward and very target-golf like if you know what I mean. The fairway bunkers are an automatic 1 stroke penalty. For a tournament it would be a good course, but if you are looking for a more fun AND more fair challenge, you should play SilverRock instead which is a lot of fun. If you can possibly find a PGA West member to sponsor you, (there are over 1000 members), you could try and get on the Palmer Private or Nicklaus Private course at PGA West. The palmer is a great course and an extremely difficult but fair challenge. I went 32-41 last year on the palmer for a 73 :( . The Nicklaus private is on my top 5 courses I have played, and it was originally built for the Ryder Cup. Doesn't feel like lots of his other designs in my opinion. Hope you have a great trip, there is a ton of good golf in the Palm Springs area.

Just got home Saturday from 7 days and 6 rounds. Played Eagle Falls, Indian Wells Celebrity, Classic Club, Desert Willow Firecliff, SilverRock and Mariott's Shadow Ridge. All were in fantastic shape with the following caveats:

Eagle Falls greens were super smooth but were the slowest of the bunch. They had a big tournament coming up in a few days and the temps were in the mid 90's so they might have been waiting to cut them back some.

Classic Club best and fastest greens of all. Maybe the best I've played. Bunkers, however, were a huge disappointment. Very little sand, lots of dirt. Very hard surfaces to play out of. Maybe the best of the group overall though.

SilverRock's bunkers were about as bad as Classic's. Love the course however.

Desert Willow Firecliff had no drawbacks in my opinion. Had played Mountain View previously and we all thought that Firecliff blew it away. My personal favorite for the week.

Shadow Ridge. Just not a big fan of the course. Not sure why really. Overall conditioning was the "worst" of the week but still really good. Best bunkers of the trip and good thing cause there's LOTS of em'.

Indian Wells Celebrity was gorgeous, scenic and great shape. I would probably try the Player's the next time though. The layout didn't really wow me. Lots of short par 4's and parallel fairways. People playing from your fairway to adjacent holes frequently. Tremendous resort and clubhouse.

Played the "combo" tees on all courses where available. On those that didn't offer a combination, we created our own. Classic, Firecliff and SilverRock can get pretty long otherwise. Would have been hitting lots of four and five irons into tough green complexes on many par 4's. All the greens were REALLY firm but the fairways didn't provide that much roll.

Had a great experience at Tahquitz, nice stuff, good course, fair price

Thanks for all the input guys!

So far I have booked:

Monday Mar 14th:

Classic Club @ 7:50 AM

Afternoon open...seeing if any deals pop up and what the weather is like...if windy will play at Indian Canyons

Tuesday Mar 15th:

PGA West - Stadium @ 7:39 AM

SilverRock @ 1:30 PM

Wednesday Mar 16th:

Nothing booked yet, but looking for a deal for DW Firecliff...if not I'll just book through them for a morning tee time.

I finally got my rotation set:

Monday Mar 14th:

Classic Club @ 7:50 AM

Desert Willow Firecliff @ 1:30 PM - can only book as a twosome for some reason online...got 25% off since its my birthday month, so if anyone is interested in joining for $78 let me know and ill keep the second reservation

Tuesday Mar 15th:

PGA West Stadium @ 7:39 AM

SilverRock @ 1:30 PM

Wednesday Mar 16th:

Golf Club at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ @ 1:30 PM - Have to make it from PS to Las Cruces NM this day, and decided to leave PS early and play somewhere a little different along the way. GC @ Estrella was an option too but real expensive right now. Dove Mountain should be fun....greens will be a test!