PGA West
Located in scenic La Quinta, part of the Greater Palm Springs area, PGA WEST is home to 9 championship golf courses, 5 clubhouses and 4 Private Clubs that offer an array of services for visiting Guests and Members. Nestled up close to the Santa Rosa mountains PGA West is a golfer’s dream. Nine exceptional courses with 5 allowing public play, PGA West has something for everyone. Currently the PGA tour make an annual stop in January to play the American Express championship, Using the Pete Dye Stadium course as well as the Jack Nicklaus tournament course.
PGA WEST earned its title as “The Western Home of Golf in America”® by hosting numerous renowned PGA TOUR, Senior PGA Tour, LPGA, and NCAA tournaments. One of the most famous shots in golf history occurred at the Stadium Golf Course, when Lee Trevino made a hole-in-one during the 1988 Skins Game at number 17, “Alcatraz.” And David Duval’s eagle on the 18th of the Arnold Palmer Private course to win the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic with a record-shattering 59, is one of professional golf’s greatest moments
On this trip I played the Dunes course. Fabulous track, as you can see from my pictures. The course has hosted PGA Tour Q-School events and it was in tip top condition. The scenery with the mountains is fantastic and the course is a great challenge. The collection of par 3’s at the Dunes course are memorable. The 6th hole plays up to 191 yards and feature large bunkers in front and on the sides. A sloping green adds to the fun. The Par 3 eighth plays 184 yards over water. The green runs left to right increasing the carry over the water to hit the right side of the green. The 13th again plays over water at 145 yards. A shorter par 3, the mountains in the background make this my favorite par 3 on the course. The 16th is the longest par 3 at 198 yards. Trouble left and right the large green will accept a wide range of shots.
Enter to Win a Dozen Pro V 1’s
The highlight of my round was the bridie on the par five 9th. We were playing from the Silver tee’s, so it played 466 yards. The tee shot sets up over water, a little daunting, but really not in play. Hit my driver around 260 in to the fairway which left me a shot to the green. I used my 5-wood and knocked it close to the green, clearing the bunker on the left side. That left me with a downhill chip that I hit to 10 feet out. I made the putt and walked of the green 1 over for my front nine.
The back nine proved to be a bit more challenging as the 17th and 18th holes have water on your approach shots and I found the water on both holes. Finishing with an 81, I left a few shots out there and most of us do.
I highly recommend a visit to PGA West. I visited in January and the weather was quite comfortable. Coming from Virginia where the grass is dormant and brown in the winter, the green grass of PGA West was a welcome site.
Dune's Course Hole 9
