Palm Springs sits in the scenic Coachella Valley just 100 miles east of Los Angeles, so it’s not surprising that it’s been a favorite getaway spot for Hollywood A-listers since the 1930s. The sidewalks of downtown Palm Springs are studded with stars honoring the legends who’ve holed up in the area—names like Lucille Ball, Elvis, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack pals, and many others. Golf was often high on their to-do lists, and it still is for residents and visitors today, especially in the shoulder seasons, when the courses are in perfect shape and the temperatures comfortable.
The area is blessed with sweet private courses galore—clubs like The Madison Club, The Quarry, Stone Eagle, Hideaway, and the new Ladera Golf Club. But you won’t need a gate pass to experience fantastic golf there. Here’s a sampler of some of the best publicly accessible places to play and stay on your next Palm Springs golf getaway. It’s not a comprehensive list by any means—but it’s a good starting point for planning your trip to America’s most glamorous desert golf hotspot.
PLAY and STAY at Sensei Porcupine Creek
PLAY: Once an uber-private personal estate, Sensei Porcupine Creek is more a retreat than a resort—a highly exclusive one through whose gates not many people will ever pass. The golf course that only its guests can access is a singular experience, too.
Playing golf at Sensei Porcupine Creek is like playing in the Garden of Eden and an outdoor museum at the same time. The variety of brightly colored flora in evidence everywhere must require an army to maintain. And the sculptures you’ll encounter as you make your way around the course are equally bright in color, an exhibit that includes the world’s largest collection of outdoor Keith Haring works. Against this backdrop, the course’s two nines have a high standard to meet. And they’re equal to the test.
The front nine occupies gently rolling terrain and weaves its way through tall palms and flowering plants of all kinds. It steps out at just over 3,200 yards, so it’s not overly long. But it’ll give you all you can handle. The course starts off par five, par three, par five—with each offering opportunities to make birdie. The 9th hole is the front nine’s longest at 420 yards, with fairway and greenside white-sand bunkers its chief challenges.
When you make the turn to the back nine, you enter a different world. From the 10th tee on, you’re venturing onto much higher ground, and judging elevation changes becomes more of a factor. Then there’s the 217-yard par-three 15th hole, which is a five-minute cart ride up to a tee that sits 100 feet above the steeply canted (front to back) green bordered by nothing but rocky hillside and scrub. Making par there seems like a miracle.
Your round ends with a par five that calls for an uphill tee shot over water and an approach shot over sand to an elevated and shallow green. But wait, there’s more—a 135-yard bye hole. You’ll find it to be as pristine as every other on the course, which has greens so smooth, and fairways so immaculately maintained, that I’ve only seen their equal at Augusta National when the Masters is being played. The place is that pure.
STAY: There are just 22 estate rooms, casitas, and villas at Sensei Porcupine Creek, which makes it one of the more intimate wellness retreats in the world. The uber-luxurious and light-filled accommodations, some with private outdoor spa tubs, coddle guests in comfort without being opulent. You’ll dine in the world’s only completely private Sensei by Nobu restaurant, which offers sumptuous wellness-focused menus, or at the sushi bar featuring sushi, sashimi, and nigiri choices featuring fish flown in daily. A wide range of wellbeing consultations is available with skilled fitness, yoga, nutrition, and mindset practitioners. And there’s an amazing tennis facility (including both hard and clay courts), spa services that elevate the arts of restorative bodywork and relaxation, and a pool complex that transports you to an island rainforest. The only problem with the Sensei Porcupine Creek is that at some point, you’ll have to return to the real world. Take solace in the fact that when you do, you’ll be a different person.
PLAY at PGA WEST—STAY at La Quinta Resort & Club
PLAY: PGA WEST is the big dog in the Palm Springs golf neighborhood, with five beautifully maintained public courses from some of golf’s top designers. It bills itself as the “Western Home of Golf in America,” and the claim isn’t a stretch. PGA WEST recently completed a three-year, multi-million-dollar restoration of three of its acclaimed Pete Dye courses: The Stadium, Mountain, and Dunes Courses. Of the three, The Stadium Course may be the best known, owing to its hosting of Skins Game events from 1986–1991 and the PGA Tour’s American Express event in more recent years. It’s Dye at his best, with sweeping fairways and challenging (often elevated) greens that you dare not miss—in part because of Dye’s signature bunkers, like the famous one at the par-five 16th, where the greenside bunker sits 30 feet below the putting surface. The course stretches to 7,300 yards and boasts the highest slope rating (150) of any of PGA WEST’s courses. But there are tees for mortals, too, and fun to be had by all from start to finish.
Dye’s Mountain Course is nestled at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains, and there you’ll find more of Pete’s trademark pot bunkers pinching fairways and shouldering greens, plus water hazards, waste areas, and rock formations that seem to have tumbled down from the mountainsides. It’s not as hilly as its name might suggest, but you’ll be treated to views of towering peaks on every swing. The same is true at its sibling, The Dunes Course, where the par threes are real testers. Holes like the 191-yard 6th hole with its green surrounded by bunkers, and the 184-yard 8th with water protecting the green on two sides, call for precise, well-struck shots.
The Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course co-hosts the Tour’s American Express event and serves as a site for the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School Finals. Expect plateau fairways with drop-offs into rough, waste areas, or water; angled and often elevated greens; and finishing holes on each nine that will test the game’s best players. To reach the green at the long, par-four 9th hole, “Jack’s Revenge,” you’ll need to carry water and stop the ball on a dime. At the 453-yard closing hole, “Bear Trap,” water and a long waste area snake all the way down the right side of the hole, and the green (shared with the 9th) is protected by four more bunkers. Bring game.
The newest course at PGA WEST is the Greg Norman Course. This is target golf set on just 68 acres of turf, but there are plenty of holes where you can open your shoulders and swing away. On some of them, like the 481-yard par-four 6th; the 617-yard par-five 8th; and 461-yard par-four 18th, you’ll need to. If you come to Palm Springs looking to work on your game, the PGA WEST Golf Academy is a great place to do it. It offers both golf schools and individual instruction from award-winning Top 100 instructors.
STAY: Known as the “Queen of the Desert,” the La Quinta Resort & Club has been welcoming guests to its 1,400-acre playground since 1926. Dwight D. Eisenhower prepped for his presidency by playing golf at La Quinta Country Club in the 1950s. The resort added its lavish spa in 1998, and today, guests who come to stay in one of its cozy, low-rise suites, casitas, or villas have all that and more to enjoy during their stays. Spa La Quinta has perfected the art of providing healing experiences for the mind, body, and soul, while the resort’s salon treats every guest like a member of the rich and famous club. Five different dining options beckon, from the Mexican-themed Adobe Grill, to the lively modern-American bistro TWENTY6, to Morgan’s in the Desert, the resort’s signature restaurant, where the craft cocktails and sumptuous, contemporary cuisine cater to all palettes, and its series of wine dinners featuring selections from esteemed California wineries draw visitors from far and near.
PLAY at Indian Wells Golf Resort—STAY at Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa
PLAY: Both municipally owned courses at Indian Wells in Palm Desert merit visits, each for different reasons. The Celebrity Course, designed by Clive Clark, is a beautiful track in more ways than one. Hilly, with lots of elevation changes, fairways lined with mature palms and brightly colored flower beds, and high-lipped bunkers guarding both fairways and greens, it’s a walk in the park from a visual standpoint. But it’s a real challenge to play—especially from the Cabernet tees, which tip out at over 7,000 yards. Holes like the 487-yard 5th, which plays over water and calls for a long second shot to an uphill green, make it clear this isn’t just a course for sightseeing.
The Player Course at Indian Wells offers a completely different look. There, you’ll see fewer flowers and play a more modern course with wider fairways, larger greens, lots of water, sculpted bunkers, and fewer trees. The course lists at 7,376 yards, but there are seven sets of tees, so you’ll find one that suits your game. John Fought did the design work here, and the course has a bevy of imaginative and fun holes, like the par-four 16th, whose green is situated well below the fairway, making your approach shot an exercise in careful judgment. The Player Course will close from March 5 through November 2025 to add some new holes to its routing and upgrade its irrigation system and bunkers. Expect the course that emerges to be even stronger than the terrific one that’s there today.
Cap off your day at Indian Wells with an inspired dining experience at the brand-new Kestrel restaurant, conveniently located upstairs in the clubhouse. Kestrel is a Richard Blais Kitchen and Lounge, where the celebrated chef and TV personality imparts his Left Coast take on American classics, signature cuts, and coastal catches in a lively, modern space that’s right at home overlooking the idyllic golf scene outside.
STAY: One of the great things about the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa is that it’s within walking distance of the Indian Wells clubhouse. But that’s far from the only thing to commend it. A large resort, it offers just about everything under the sun—including stylish accommodations in beautifully appointed rooms and suites, from the balconies of which you can take in breathtaking views of the Santa Rosa mountains and the largest pool complex in the Palm Springs area, replete with sandy beach, private cabanas, and a vibrant pool bar. The full-service Spa Esmeralda offers organic treatments, steam and sauna rooms, and yoga classes, while there’s plenty for kids to do at Camp Esmeralda. For on-property dining, choose the patio at Cava, Glo Sushi, or The Place restaurant—all of which are sure to delight.
PLAY at Desert Willow Golf Resort—STAY at Westin Rancho Mirage
PLAY: Another municipally owned golf operation (this one by the City of Palm Desert), Desert Willow offers two outstanding tracks that may well be the valley’s best values. Both courses were the handiwork of the Dr. Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry team, with help from PGA Tour player John Cook. Of the two, the Firecliff Course is the sterner, with over 90 bunkers, a lineup featuring some long par fours, extensive natural areas, and 18 challenging holes that add up to over 7,000 yards from the back tees. It’s hard to pick a standout hole here—though the par-four 9th with water all down the left, the par-three 17th with its green tucked behind a broad waste area, and the par-four 18th with water on the right as you approach the green all have to make the list of contenders. The course was closed this summer to restore the greens to their original size and switch them over to MiniVerde bermudagrass, which yields smooth, firm, and fast conditions year-round. It reopens December 20th.
Desert Willow’s other course, Mountain View, has a distinct personality of its own—and while it’s more scoreable for the average player, it’s no pushover. Holes like the 227-yard par-three 5th hole, 448-yard par-four 14th, and 386-yard par-four 16th are as scenic as they are challenging, with water, waste areas, bunkers, and pesky greens all demanding careful attention. Make a day of it—play both courses. And follow them up with a visit to the Terrace Restaurant, where the cocktails and cuisine are every bit as good as the golf.
STAY: Located a short drive from downtown Palm Springs, the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa is home to the Pete Dye Resort Course, a solid and always enjoyable track. Its rooms and villas are everything you’d expect from Westin, and the rest of the resort is, as well, with a diverse menu of excellent off-course experiences, including spa services, tennis, a pool with a waterslide for the kids, sumptuous dining at Pinzimi restaurant, and a regular concert series featuring live jazz.
PLAY at Classic Club—STAY in a Mid-Century Modern Home
PLAY: The Classic Club sits north of I-10 in Palm Desert, away from the hustle and bustle of Palm Springs. No housing will impinge on your experience here. Instead, you’ll play a course with rolling terrain, 30 acres of water features, 14 bridges, and more pines than palms. An Arnold Palmer design, it played host to the Bob Hope Desert Classic in the mid-2000s, and if you’re looking for great golf augmented by expansive mountain vistas, you’ll find it here. Water comes into play a lot, the bunkers tend to be deep, and flat lies will be few and far between. It all adds up to drama, as evidenced at the par-three 6th hole, “External Combustion,” where your tee shot must carry deep swales, avoid a barranca, and miss a yawning greenside bunker to reach the narrow, two-tiered green. There’s more drama at the par-four 11th, where water comes into play both off the tee and on your approach shot, and again at the all-carry-over-water par-three 12th and par-five finishing hole, where bunkers and water conspire to wreck your scorecard—or yield a closing birdie. For a desert course, there’s a surprising amount of elevation change, and Palmer uses it here to great effect.
STAY: The Palm Springs area is renowned for its stunning, mid-century modern homes featuring sharply angled lines, extravagant gates, and expansive patios that wrap around sparkling pools. Several websites list opportunities for renting these historic homes, and whether you’re coming with family, friends, or a golf group, reserving one of them for a few days is a fun way to enjoy Palm Springs the way the locals do.
PLAY at Eagle Falls Golf Club—STAY at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
PLAY: Clive Clark was at it again at Eagle Falls in Indio, which is affiliated with the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino owned and operated by the Cabazon Band of the Cahilla Indians. You’ll play three par threes, three par fives, and 12 par fours here, all of which are routinely kept in good condition. The course tips out at a little over 6,700 yards, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’ll be a cakewalk. Eagle Falls calls for straight hits and a deft short game as you navigate its hilly holes featuring five lakes, a couple of waterfalls, and fairways full of moguls.
STAY: Are you feeling lucky? If you stay at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, not only will the Eagle Falls golf course be right outside your back door, but you’ll also have 40 table games and 1,800 slot machines waiting at the 19th hole. You won’t go hungry or thirsty, either; there are four restaurants and four bars to choose from. Plus entertainment from national music acts, comedians, and more. They even have bowling alleys.
PLAY and STAY at JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa
PLAY: Many courses in the Palm Springs area are affiliated with resort hotels or border housing developments. The two courses at Desert Springs, the Palm Course and the Valley Course, fit into this category. But that doesn’t mean they’re not beautiful or less fun to play. Designed in the 1980s by Ted Robinson Sr., they feature undulating fairways, white-sand bunkers, more than a dozen water features, massive palm and pine trees, and enough elevation change to keep things interesting. The Palm Course is the slightly longer of the two, with its back nine offering the biggest thrills. But both provide great golf combined with unforgettable views of the Santa Rosa Mountains.
STAY: There’s no better place to stay when you’re hungry than the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, where no fewer than 10 restaurants will vie for your attention, including the popular Rockwood Grill. If you love swimming, you’ll love this resort, too, since there are five pools to choose from—plus a spa, tennis, pickleball courts, and more.
