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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - I can't help myself.
As I check the weather app on my iPhone, I'm reveling in everyone else's pain. It's minutes before teeing off at the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa for the first of four sun-splashed rounds in Greater Palm Springs during The American Express week, the desert's annual PGA TOUR event in mid January. It's 12 degrees in Michigan where I used to live, and even a chilly 51 at home in San Jose. Minnesota - where much of my extended family lives - is a bone-numbing 20 degrees. Even Florida - home to most of my co-workers - remains mired in a brisk sub-par stretch of weather. Rival Scottsdale? It's wet and wicked there, too.
I'm literally standing in the only place in the continental United States where the term "golf weather" makes any logical sense. And you can bet I'm broadcasting that far and wide on social media. A humble bragger, I am not.
First round of 2024!! First off at sunrise on #Dunes at the #westinranchomirage pic.twitter.com/XSjrrRnjZm
— Jason Scott Deegan (@WorldGolfer) January 14, 2024
When it comes to the best mainland winter golf getaways in America, it's hard to find a better option than Greater Palm Springs, an extended run of seven desert communities loaded with golf resorts, public courses and some of the most exclusive private clubs in the world. The average temperatures in January and February range from 65 to 75 degrees depending upon your source, and spike above 80 degrees in March and April. Although mornings can be brisk, where courses can battle frost delays, the golf ranges I visited were still packed by 7 a.m. with snowbirds ready to roll.
Unfortunately, the American Express is far removed from its glory days of hosting A-list celebrities, but that doesn't diminish what's still a fun tournament experience for fans. The new nightly concerts and the chance to see the world's best players go low on one of golf's most visually intimidating courses - the Stadium Course at PGA West in La Quinta - makes for a grand time. Oh, and how about that sunshine?
What it's like playing golf in Palm Springs in peak season
If you've never been to Scottsdale or Palm Springs in winter, you won't understand how beautifully manicured their courses are this time of year. Every maintenance practice is geared to deliver the best conditions from December through early April. Most of the courses have been overseeded with Rye grass, so the fairways, tees and greens are perfectly green, while the rough is a dormant, brown bermuda. It's a gorgeous contrast set against the Santa Rosa Mountains.
I'm glad I played the Pete Dye Resort Course at the Westin first. It's one of the most fun Dye courses I've found, playable and a tad forgiving. There are some really dynamite short par 4s. Water hazards were used effectively on an intimidating par 3 (No. 8), a tricky, two-pond par 4 (No. 14) and the scary 385-yard finishing hole. (FYI, the Gary Player Signature Course across the street is no longer affiliated with the resort but still a great second local option for guests.)
On day two, my first impression of the highly regarded Shadow Ridge Golf Club came from its sprawling clubhouse. Sadly, its restaurant hasn't been open since a pandemic closure. The lobby is loaded with memorabilia of Nick Faldo, who teamed with Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt for a bold interpretation of desert golf. They went big - maybe overboard? - in creating wild, sloping greens protected by deep, swooping bunkers and sprawling waste areas. Starting at the ninth, water lines five of the final 10 fairways. The path to safety - or disaster - is clearly defined for you.
The next two days Dye exacted his revenge, first at his Pete Dye Dunes Course at PGA West and then at the vaunted Stadium Course. The 6,578-yard Dunes Course is part of an incredible 36-hole facility with its sister 6,666-yard Pete Dye Mountain Course. Although they're short by today's standards, I'd recommend anybody above a 7-handicap move up to the 6,200-yard white tees. Missed approach shots to the endless parade of plateau greens kick balls into all sorts of collection areas and steep-faced traps. It's a short game examination.
Thankfully, things ended on a super-high, as I teed it up in The American Express Pro-Am with past PGA TOUR winner James Hahn, who couldn't have been nicer. The shamble format led to manageable approach shots into PGA West Stadium's treacherous greens. I made two birdies along the way, but got punked by par-3 17th, aka 'Alcatraz', the West Coast version of the island green at TPC Sawgrass. Hahn and three of my four teammates rinsed their attempts, so at least I had good company.
Staying at the Westin Rancho Mirage
My home base all week - the 512-room Westin Rancho Mirage - features all the amenities vacationers want: a fun golf course onsite, multiple restaurants, spa, tennis and pickleball courts, off-property excursions, live music events and an outdoor pool complex with water slides for the littles. The 365-acre property rebranded in 2022, dumping its old name, the Westin Mission Hills, after a $15-million renovation.
At check in, your greeter in the lobby just might be a lovable furry friend. Rescue dogs - in my case, a cute pug named Miguel hanging out in a mini-hotel doghouse - are often available to adopt and take home. To date, the program has sent hundreds of future pets home with someone.
Just off the lobby, Pinz & Pints, a bowling alley/arcade, turned out to be a fun hangout, no matter your age. The kids entertainment is obvious. For adults, the bar serves a free daily happy hour from 4-6 p.m. I hadn't gone duckpin bowling - where you toss a smaller ball that fits in your hand at 10 pins - since I was a teenager crossing the Michigan border into Canada to play with family and friends. I'm still bummed my wife beat me all three games.
Off the course adventures in Greater Palm Springs
No matter how good the golf is, the local dining scene often becomes the highlight of any vacation to the Coachella Valley. If there are 80 courses you want to play, there are double that many restaurants worth sampling.
I went from eating pork osso bucco at The Penney & Parlour at the Desert Island Country Club to chicken curry at Kitchen 86 and meatloaf at the Lulu California Bistro. Talk about variety in both the tastes and their vibes. Lulu was colorful and casual, a place that mixed families and couples equally well. We watched our beloved Detroit Lions win their first playoff game in decades at Kitchen 86, which is equal parts sports bar, nice restaurant and local happy hour hang. The Penney & Parlour was my favorite experience, though, transporting diners back to the days of the Rat Pack. I hope to someday return to that really cool old-school clubhouse to play some golf. The public course, designed by Desmond Muirhead in 1971, sports a solid 4.4 rating on GolfPass.
Normally, whenever I visit Palm Springs, it's all about golf. But with the wife along for the ride, we discovered some cool new places together. One afternoon, we went hiking inside Indian Canyons, a tribal nature preserve home to the world's largest grove of fan palms. These towering trees incredibly rise from a rocky desert landscape along trails following some streams. They're a sight to behold, well worth the $12 entry fee. We explored both Palm and Andreas Canyons. With 15 more miles of trails we didn't see, we will definitely return.
And no trip to Palm Springs is complete without a Taking of the Waters at the Spa at Séc-he, recently named the No. 1 spa in the United States by Top 100 Spas of 2023. The waters of the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring have been used for healing for more than 130 years by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. There are 22 private tubs where guests soak for up to 15 minutes to rejuvenate their bodies and relax their minds. I can't completely vouch that a visit will help your golf game, but I did make my only birdies of the trip the following day.
Coincidence? Maybe there is a little magic in that water.
What's your favorite golf course in Palm Springs? Let us know in the comments below.
Golf Packages to Greater Palm Springs
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