Golf Club at La Quinta & Indian Wells, Celebrity Course

[Steel President]

Our golf trip continued with a round at the Golf Club at La Quinta, home of the PGA's LG Skins Game from 2003-2006. It was another really cool course, incorporating a lot of water and tight spots. The design was challenging and it was fun to read about the experiences that the professionals had on this track.

The clubhouse was nice, the practice facilities were solid, but the carts did not feature GPS. However, they did give both of us a really cool course book that was both detailed and provided little bits of trivia from when they hosted the Skins Game.

The course was in fantastic shape minus a couple holes that were recently fertilized due to some troubles with frost. Still, the greens were nice and so were the majority of the fairways. Actually, some of the greens were extremely difficult. The course was lined with some cool looking homes and it was a quiet and peaceful round.

I'd say it was probably my least favorite of the four courses that we've played so far but it was still a fun track (and it's facing some stiff competition).

I'd still recommend this course to a friend looking for a good round. Plus, we managed to get on for a fantastic price. And, as expected, it provided some fantastic views of the Santa Rosa Mountains.


Steel Tappin'

 

[Steel President]

Our fourth round in as many days took us to the crown jewel of them all - the Ted Robinson designed Celebrity Course at Indian Wells. It was truly just on another level of cool - it's as much of an experience as it is a round of golf. Plus, it is, of course, a course of Big Break fame. It was really fun to play so many of the holes that we saw on television. Everything was truly first class - the clubhouse was fantastic, the pro shop was really, really cool, and everything about the course was stunning.

As I said, the IW Club was really great and the shop provided a ton of options. Indian Wells provided something like five or six different practice facilities and they were all awesome. Even the drink cart was really nice!

The course is designed to capture some of the most stunning views imaginable. That, combined with tremendous landscaping and a cool layout, provided for an awesome round of golf. I didn't even play particularly well but the beauty of the course still made it a blast.

Of course, all the frills are awesome but the Celebrity Course brings it from a golf course aspect as well. Each hole is challenging, well-designed, and provides an element of risk/reward. No hole is as much fun as a downhill par-4 on the back that plays only 248 yards. Take a risk and go for the green and a realistic score is anything from a two to as high as you can count. Definitely a lot of risky situations that can provide great benefits of one can take advantage of them - that just makes a golf course a lot of fun.

Just the combination of the lush conditions, the stunning views, the first class treatment, and the added coolness of the course having been featured on television makes the Celebrity Course an experience. Do yourself a favor if you're ever in this area and find a way on to this track. You'll never forget it!

As an aside, we stayed at the Hyatt Grand Champions at Indian Wells. Just beautiful. They treated us so well and everything about the resort was wonderful - they had eight different pools, an outdoor game area, a first rate gym, and a really cool spa. Just a great place. I'll post some pics of the resort/amenities along with the pictures of the course.

We're back in Los Angeles right now but we're heading to Palm Springs again tomorrow. My brother and I are tied 2-2 so we decided to have our rubber match at another treat - SilverRock, the most recent host of the Bob Hope Classic. Looks amazing.

I'll post up all of the Indian Wells pictures when I can get to a computer. I have a bunch.


Steel Tappin'

 

[Divebell]

Great reviews and thanks for sharing.