PGA West - Nicklaus or Norman

ragingllama4 · March 6, 2014

Heading out to Palm Springs next week and will probably only have time for one round at PGA West. Has anyone played both the Nicklaus and the Norman public courses, and which do they prefer? I've heard the Stadium is a loose cannon - probably will avoid that one.

cdnrockies · March 6, 2014

Stadium is awesome.

sharkiesj · March 6, 2014

If you went to PGA West and passed on the Stadium to play either the Norman or Nicklaus, consider yourself the complete opposite of very smart....unless you've played it before.

But if you had to choose between the two, I'd pick the Nicklaus. The Norman is a little weird in regards to your ball is either on grass(fairway) or crushed rock(not on fairway), and hitting off that stuff will mar and ding your clubs all up.

golfingnut300 · March 7, 2014

Depends on what kind of golf you are looking for. If you want an easier resort course, play Norman. Nicklaus tournament is awesome, a little tougher than Norman but easier than Stadium.

Oilguy15 · March 7, 2014

I will be in the Palm Springs area in April. Staying at the Westin resort in Rancho Mirage. How far is the stadium course from the Westin? Also has anyone played the 2 courses at the Westin property? The Gary Player course seems to have good reviews.

sharkiesj · March 7, 2014

[quote name='Oilguy15' timestamp='1394203901' post='8818925']
I will be in the Palm Springs area in April. Staying at the Westin resort in Rancho Mirage. How far is the stadium course from the Westin? Also has anyone played the 2 courses at the Westin property? The Gary Player course seems to have good reviews.
[/quote]

20-25 min drive parking lot to parking lot. If you take the 111 it's a lot longer due to the signal lights. I'd jump on the 10 and get off at Washington or Jefferson.

The Gary Player is a really nice place, I love that course. Pretty open off the tee, only 2-3 holes where it demands a tighter tee shot, approaches into the greens are very straight forward, you don't get punished too hard for missing greens, good mix of holes, about 7-8 holes with water but not right in your face or unfairly cutting across fairways blindly. Visually more interesting than the Pete Dye course, a fun, fair, challenging course that will test all parts of your game but won't slaughter your misses and rob you blind. A critique could be that the course is somewhat flat-ish, and somewhat "easy" as it doesn't demand you hit heroic shots. It can get windy there but the course can handle most wind-blown shots.

Pete Dyes Resort Course is a lot more, well, Pete Dye. More mounding, more weird lie angles off the fairway, more demanding approaches into the greens, more penal, deeper bunkers protecting the greens so bringing it in high is an advantage. A somewhat more "tame" PD course vs. some of his other courses and this is probably not the most demanding shot-wise as most seem to think he took it easy on this course as it is a resort course after all. Probably demands a bit more from your game vs the Gary Player but I find the course rather mundane to look at and play, kinda not remembering anything that stands out about it as a great experience. I'm not trying to say its easy or a lame course but if I had to choose between the two I much prefer the Gary Player. I always felt like when I played the Gary Player, I was on vacation and really enjoying my time in a far away place whether I was playing good or bad. Whenever I was playing the Pete Dye I feel like I was just playing another course on a Tuesday. Kinda ho humming it..

Hope this helps. I hope others can give you more info. This is just my personal taste and feelings..

Gdane · March 7, 2014

This is the type of thread I was going to start. I'm staying at the Miramonte in Palm Springs in the beginning of May with my wife. I'll probably play a round on site at Indian Wells, but I'd like to go to PGA West if possible. I'll have a rental car so getting around won't be an issue.

I've read that the Mountain Course is closed b/c of flood damage. Can anyone confirm this? That's the course I'd really love to play, but if that's not available, and the Stadium course is completely booked, does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative?

jdhallissey · March 7, 2014

Skip playing the westin. Play silver rock and play stadium. Tho i loved norman course. Such a cool layout, you miss it hurts you. You cant go wrong with any of the three honestly.

sopel10 · March 8, 2014

[quote name='Gdane' timestamp='1394214857' post='8820331']
This is the type of thread I was going to start. I'm staying at the Miramonte in Palm Springs in the beginning of May with my wife. I'll probably play a round on site at Indian Wells, but I'd like to go to PGA West if possible. I'll have a rental car so getting around won't be an issue.

I've read that the Mountain Course is closed b/c of flood damage. Can anyone confirm this? That's the course I'd really love to play, but if that's not available, and the Stadium course is completely booked, does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative?
[/quote]

They opened it back up in January. Great course. Many people don't know this, I didn't, but you can play the la Quinta course in the morning and replay on any of the PGA west courses. Norman and Nick were $59, stadium could be more. Norman course is amazing.

MyShortGameSucks · March 8, 2014

While I am a big Pete Dye fan I did not like the stadium at all. It's not just the difficulty (although it's obviously tough). I think it's kind of ugly and there are way too many houses around most if it. My favorite amongst the public access couses is Norman and then Nicklaus. The Norman is very different from the others and has a different atmosphere from the main complex PGA West courses. I would also say that SiverRock is better layout than all of the PGA West/LaQuinta public actress courses. I really enjoyed that course