INDIAN WELLS GOLF RESORT Celebrity Course (760-346-4653)
Palm Springs Golf Course Review 1/05/07
The Celebrity Course at the Golf Resort at Indian Wells is a Clive Clark championship layout that opened for play in November of 2006. Its sister course, the Players by John Fought, is currently in development and should be open in time for the Skins Game - which will take place at Indian Wells in November of 2007. During our 2006 visit the clubhouse was also in construction, along with all the practice facilities (with the exception of the mat driving range) with all golf related facilities scheduled for the November 2007 opening.
Callaway's Golf Academy is also on property and is open for lessons and clinics of all types while renovations are taking place. The redesign of the Celebrity course deserves two thumbs up from the twoguyswhogolf website, who had the opportunity to play the original layout during the summer of 2005. When renovations to the second course are complete, Indian Wells will able to provide outstanding golf experiences on two distinctive layouts - with stay and play packages available at a variety of adjacent hotel resorts.
The new Celebrity Course is perhaps the most meticulously landscaped golf property in the Palm Springs area. Vibrant flower beds are situated near every tee area and tropical plants plus other native foliage line the fairways and green complexes. There is a clear cascading stream that winds throughout the extremely rolling terrain, and waterfalls often flow into greenside ponds. The resulting environment is one of the most gorgeous we have encountered in our travels out west.
Golfers will have to contend with an undulating topography the results in some uneven lies. Many fairways are parallel - separated by vegetation and mounding that sometimes creates a bowl effect. A local rule allows for golfers to take a "free drop" if there ball ends up in any of the plentiful flower beds (this to preserve the landscaped environment). In fact, some golfers may say that if you cannot hit the fairways and greens - play from flower bed to flower bed!
There is a great amount of sand on this course - in fact we counted 97 bunkers which are located near the landing zones along the fairways or greenside. These white, soft sand traps are consistent and provide sufficient recovery opportunities near the greens, but the high lip nature of the fairway bunkers can be quite penal.
Water is another significant feature of this course. Thirteen holes have hazards in play in some shape or form. Those on the front are mostly along the perimeters, but the back nine has some beautiful and incredibly challenging water holes. On the front, golfers will have to carry ponds on the approach to the green on the short par five 4th and again on the par three 6th. Both are beautiful golf holes with palm trees and mountains forming a memorable backdrop.
The back nine opens with a couple score-able par fours that play along a wide and deep wash, and another short par four that can be reached off the tee. The finishing holes are quite challenging, beginning with the 13th and 14th, which share water hazards off the tee. Number 14 is a spectacular par five, with a wide landing zone off the tee that plays towards a steam which crosses about 115 yards out. Fifteen demands a tee shot over water, and the par three 16th is one of the most scenic holes on the course, with mountains, bunkers and water framing the view. Water falls situated near the tee and greenside on 18 make this a beautiful closing hole.
There are 4 sets of tee boxes that play to distances measuring 7088 (rating 74.2/slope 138), 6668 (72.5/132), 6029(69.9/124 for men and 75.6/137 for women), and 5316 yards (71.7/128). All carts are equipped with ball & club washers plus UpLink GPS, which provides hole diagrams and accurate yardages from tee to pin. Sprinkler heads are also measured to the center of the greens, which run fast and have a significant amount of undulation.
This is a highly recommended golf experience...wonderful tract and outstanding scenery. The terrain is generally more rolling than what golfers will encounter on the usual Palms Springs area course. This is not a desert layout - and the parallel fairways provide more room than one might expect, to recover from errant tee shots, making this a friendly experience for all levels of golfers. The new Players course is open for play beginning Thanksgiving 2007! For more info, visit our page for the course, with direct link to the Indian Wells Golf resort website by clicking here.
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