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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Standing atop a towering foothill of the Santa Rosa Mountains looking down upon the world is an empowering feeling.
Especially when it's 8:30 a.m. and the rest of the Coachella Valley is still waking up. It feels like you've already accomplished more than most people will the entire day. Shadows shrink within the canyons as the sun rises. The silence hiking above the 230-acre Sensei Porcupine Creek inspires a sense of calm and appreciation. The views of the immaculate golf course below are awe-inspiring. A special day at America's newest golf resort is just getting started.
Enjoying cool experiences like the hike up a private trail, feeling empowered by your surroundings and an enhanced appreciation of life is what Sensei Porcupine Creek aims to give every guest who steps on property. The luxe resort, which opened Nov. 1, 2022, is already one of golf's most exclusive stay-and-plays. It is the second Sensei property dedicated to wellness created by Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest men. The adults-only resort (ages 16+) features 22 rooms, casitas and villas providing an intimate getaway where only 68 guests will ever be on property at one time.
GolfPass is the only major golf publication to have experienced both Sensei properties. During last year's visit to Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort, I was introduced to the Sensei Way, a weeklong wellness program that promotes well-being that can also be tailored to golfers to enhance performance. It's an enlightening physical and mental examination. Sensei's principles of healthy living - Move, Nourish and Rest - are words to live by for everybody.
The good news about Sensei is you can dive deep into the wellness offerings or simply visit for a relaxing vacation. It's your call. While I went solo the first time around to focus on myself - I highly recommend reading my first story to better understand the mental and physical health benefits - I brought my wife this visit to experience it as a vacationing couple. I'm fully confident in proclaiming Sensei Porcupine Creek one of golf's greatest couples destinations after less than 48 hours of golf, yoga, Nobu, exercise and relaxing bliss.
Sensei Porcupine Creek: The Resort
Like every couple, my wife and I have things we like to do together - yoga, hiking and eating - and things we don't - golf for her and reading a book hours on end by the pool for me. The beauty of Sensei is everybody gets their way, guilt-free. There are no compromises or concessions. Do what makes you happy. That's the whole purpose of a wellness retreat, right?
My wife isn't a golfer, but she got to enjoy a glorious view from the stunning 15th tee of the Porcupine Creek Golf Club on the mountain just the same. We ended up there during a guided morning hike with several other couples staying at the resort. It's a short but steep and dramatic climb to reach.
After breakfast each day, we parted ways - me for the golf course and her to get her taste of the wellness program. The first day, she had to work for her pool time at the fitness pavilion, participating in an hour-long minimalist resistance training class, followed by Functional Fascia, a guided foam rolling class that teaches modern recovery techniques.
To prep for our 3:30 a.m. wake-up call ahead of our departure - a stark reminder of the real world - we reconnected on our final day for some pool time, an hour of restorative yoga, separate spa treatments and dinner. For much of our stay, the resort felt like our own private retreat. We saw the same couples or solo travelers at dinner or the pool. My wife went to the same daily classes as another woman. Guests are encouraged to treat the main room in the estate house like their own living room. You're always looked after thanks to an attentive staff.
My wife's exfoliating body renewal at the spa featured sea salt, algae, shea butter and essential oils for a rejuvenating 90-minute escape. My Move sports recovery experience was unlike any massage I've ever had. As my therapist twisted and stretched my muscles and joints, I couldn't help but wonder if this is how LeBron James preps his aging body for another NBA game every night. When it was through, I honestly felt taller. My hunched shoulders, tortured by years of computer time, were stretched back into proper posture. I felt untangled for the first time in forever.
As good as the chic rooms, manicured grounds, art and service are, where the Sensei crushes its high-end competition are with the Nobu dining experiences. Every bite brings joy - whether it's breakfast bao buns in the morning, filet and ribeye sliders for lunch at the pool or lobster rolls on the course. And again, there's no guilt because it's prepared so healthily.
The first night we sat at the Sushi Bar watching the Nobu-trained chefs prepare every plate. Overwhelmed by the menu, we asked Executive Sushi Chef Takahiro Masuno to guide us through a tasting sampler. It was honestly one of the best meals of our lives. Our final night at Sensei by Nobu, we ordered a collection of rock shrimp tempura, crispy Shiitake mushroom salad and desserts off the menu.
Sensei Porcupine Creek: The Golf
Golfers can thank Ellison for opening Porcupine Creek for resort play. The 6,665-yard course debuted in 2004 as a private playground for the original owner and his friends and every so often, a high-roller charity event. Past Robb Report and Palm Springs Life magazine articles claim that Tom Weiskopf, Annika Sorenstam, Dave Stockton and a few others all gave their input on a design that features endless variety and fun.
I played the course the weekend leading into The Masters, and I honestly think Augusta National probably had more visible divots. I only saw two other golfers playing over a high-season April weekend during California's traditional spring break time.
The cost for this exclusive experience sounds astronomical to most of us, so here's some perspective. The Sensei Porcupine Creek golf experience costs $1,600+ a night to stay for two people (requiring a two-night minimum), plus a green fee ranging from $650 (low season) to $950 (high season). If golfers use their $250 daily wellness credit for their round, its cost will compare price-wise to some of golf's other lavish getaways. For example, Pebble Beach Resorts requires a minimum two-night stay at $1,100+ a night to guarantee a tee time at Pebble Beach Golf Links, which is an additional $625 green fee, plus $150-$200 for a caddie and tip. Shadow Creek costs the most for a single round ($1,000 plus a stay at an MGM hotel on the Las Vegas Strip) but can't quite compete with either on the scenery scale. It's also worth noting that rounds at Pebble Beach take upwards of 5 1/2 hours, whereas golfers can play Porcupine Creek or Shadow Creek as fast (or slow) as they wish.
Sensei provides players with a luxury Club Car cart loaded with the Shark Experience GPS and speaker system and a legitimate feeling that it's your own personal golf course for the day. See almost every hole in our photo gallery below.
After a fun and gettable front nine where I made birdies on four different holes spread across two rounds, Sensei Porcupine Creek's back nine exacted its revenge. Reaching the elevated 10th tee requires a walk up several flights of stairs to reveal a gorgeous par 4 unfurling below. The 11th fairway climbs dramatically 280 yards up the foothills to one of the best stretches of golf on the West Coast.
Following a difficult par 3 and par 5, the 14th fairway bends left into a blind spot behind a canyon wall. A good tee shot sets up a short wedge into a crescent-shaped green guarded by a rock formation and multiple bunkers.
Next comes one of the longest cart rides in golf, a twisting, uphill journey that amps up the anticipation of stepping foot on the epic 15th tee. From this elevated perch 220 feet above a wildly sloping green, the 217-yard tee shot at No. 15 appears to be an almost impossible task. It sets the stage for an intimidating and memorable swing. I still can't believe I flushed 5-wood twice to the safety of the back of the green.
The equally compelling 16th tee also overlooks another beauty-and-beast of a hole, a 475-yard par 4 guarded by a pond and yawning bunker splitting the fairway. The par-4 17th stretches even longer to 484 yards with water up the right side. Any golfer who can play this West Coast version of a four-hole 'Amen Corner' in anything close to par has won the day.
Well, let me rephrase that. Anybody who plays the course - period, no matter the score - is winning the day, the week, even the year. I can't imagine anybody leaving Sensei Porcupine Creek not feeling pretty good about life.
Do you want to add this exclusive experience at Sensei Porcupine Creek to your bucket list? Let us know in the comments below.
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