Play Like the Pros
The PGA brings their up-and-comers to Desert Falls, but when the big boys to roll into the Coachella Valley, one of their first stops is INDIAN WELLS GOLF RESORT (760-346-4653, www.indianwellsgolfresort.com).
The city of Indian Wells has taken significant steps to make itself more than simply a pass-through for those heading from exclusive Palm Desert to trendy La Quinta, none more significant than the $70 million transformation of the city’s two municipal courses at Indian Wells Golf Resort. In addition to a total overhaul of the resort’s 36 holes, management company OB Sports built a 53,000-square-foot clubhouse and 5,000-square-foot retail center, making Indian Wells not only one of the desert’s newest mega-resorts, but also one of its nicest.
Both new courses — the “Players” and “Celebrity” — ranked among Golfweek’s top-10 municipal golf courses in the nation, while the LG Skins Game, one of the winter’s most-watched golf events, signed a three-year deal to bring the tournament and its cadre of stars and television viewers to the Celebrity through 2009. Stephen Ames won the event last year, while Ames, Phil Mickelson, K.J. Choi and Rocco Mediate headlined the repeat engagement last month.
“We knew we had something special right away,” says Phil Green, President of OB Sports.
The 7,088-yard Celebrity opened first, in 2006, bearing little resemblance to the old Indian Wells-West course it replaced. Brilliant flowers, cascading waterfalls and pristine white-sand bunkers served as eye candy for a course completely reinvented by designer Clive Clark. Don’t let it’s length fool you — while the Celebrity may cater to the world’s top pros, it has remained true to its municipal roots, featuring large fairways and contoured mounds that keep mishits in play. Unlike many new courses that cater to pro events, Indian Wells isn’t looking to make you crack — they’d much rather make you smile. After all, you’re more likely to come back that way.
If you do, you’ll have the opportunity to check out the neighboring Players Course. Opened a year after the Celebrity, in 2007, the John Fought-designed Players is about 300 yards longer, at 7,376 yards, and boasts less water but more dangerous bunkers and waste areas than the Celebrity, plus challenging greens that make a good short game every bit as important as a big driver.
While residents of Indian Wells — which has the highest percentage of millionaires of any city in the country — can play either course for the stunningly low cost of $35 — the rest of us are looking at per-round rates of $120-$195. Of course, packaging a round or two with a stay at the resort hotel can bring that rate down significantly — in some cases, even by 50 percent.
Which is great, because after all, you want to play like the pros, not PAY like the pros, right?