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PGA WEST Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course
Rating Snapshot
About
The Golden Bear tests you with tabletop fairways at PGA WEST - Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course in La Quinta.
If your shot's too wild, it's rolling up, often down into the desert. That's just one bit of the showmanship at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament course. This was designed to hold a PGA event, but it's spent its days delivering damage and fun to regular hackers.
Nicklaus particularly tests your short game with his bunkering around the greens. Confidence in your wedge shots is crucial here. Still, it's not as tough and unforgiving as Pete Dye's Stadium Course or even Greg Norman's course.
It's possible to get lost in the scenery at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and there's plenty of scenery to go around with the desert brush and the mountains looming in the distance.
No. 15 is probably the most well known - and notorious - hole. Nicknamed "Long Island," it's pretty much that: a daunting 572 yard par five with an island green. The fairway's split, giving you a chance to pick your path. Either way you go, getting onto the green in two is oh but a dream.
"Nicklaus also abundantly uses non-traditional design features throughout the course to give the track its own unique flavor," TravelGolf.com's Jeffrey Rendall said. "In many ways, I don't think I've seen another course quite like it."
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 7204 yards | 75.3 | 143 |
| Black (W) | 72 | 7204 yards | 81.9 | 151 |
| Blue | 72 | 6522 yards | 72.2 | 134 |
| Blue (W) | 72 | 6522 yards | 78.2 | 142 |
| Blue/White | 72 | 6224 yards | 70.8 | 130 |
| Blue/White (W) | 72 | 6224 yards | 76.4 | 138 |
| White | 72 | 6061 yards | 70.0 | 128 |
| White (W) | 72 | 6061 yards | 75.4 | 136 |
| Gold | 72 | 5627 yards | 68.1 | 122 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5627 yards | 73.1 | 131 |
| Gold/Red | 72 | 5325 yards | 66.5 | 117 |
| Gold/Red (W) | 72 | 5325 yards | 71.5 | 123 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5023 yards | 70.1 | 120 |
| Red | 72 | 5023 yards | 64.9 | 113 |
| Silver | 72 | 4014 yards | 60.5 | 101 |
| Silver (W) | 72 | 4014 yards | 63.8 | 111 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 75.3/143 W: 81.9/151 | 412 | 444 | 192 | 549 | 364 | 462 | 527 | 172 | 461 | 3583 | 370 | 528 | 188 | 419 | 442 | 572 | 440 | 209 | 453 | 3621 | 7204 |
| Black/Blue M: 73.8/139 W: 80.0/146 | 412 | 398 | 163 | 549 | 364 | 420 | 527 | 143 | 431 | 3407 | 370 | 528 | 164 | 378 | 442 | 516 | 423 | 209 | 431 | 3461 | 6868 |
| Blue M: 72.2/134 W: 78.2/142 | 378 | 398 | 163 | 505 | 320 | 420 | 471 | 143 | 431 | 3229 | 330 | 490 | 164 | 378 | 381 | 516 | 423 | 180 | 431 | 3293 | 6522 |
| Blue/White M: 70.8/130 W: 76.4/138 | 349 | 398 | 163 | 505 | 320 | 386 | 471 | 132 | 383 | 3107 | 330 | 490 | 155 | 338 | 381 | 472 | 368 | 180 | 403 | 3117 | 6224 |
| White M: 70.0/128 W: 75.4/136 | 349 | 387 | 155 | 482 | 299 | 386 | 450 | 132 | 383 | 3023 | 318 | 480 | 155 | 338 | 339 | 472 | 368 | 165 | 403 | 3038 | 6061 |
| White/Gold M: 69.1/125 W: 74.3/134 | 349 | 387 | 155 | 482 | 288 | 373 | 450 | 125 | 340 | 2949 | 318 | 480 | 116 | 323 | 339 | 462 | 348 | 165 | 388 | 2939 | 5888 |
| Gold M: 68.1/122 W: 73.1/131 | 311 | 354 | 133 | 447 | 288 | 373 | 426 | 125 | 340 | 2797 | 283 | 449 | 116 | 323 | 330 | 462 | 348 | 131 | 388 | 2830 | 5627 |
| Gold/Red M: 66.5/117 W: 71.5/123 | 311 | 322 | 133 | 414 | 288 | 342 | 426 | 125 | 335 | 2696 | 283 | 400 | 116 | 323 | 330 | 417 | 304 | 97 | 359 | 2629 | 5325 |
| Red M: 64.9/113 W: 70.1/120 | 273 | 322 | 120 | 414 | 225 | 342 | 391 | 92 | 335 | 2514 | 232 | 400 | 104 | 295 | 301 | 417 | 304 | 97 | 359 | 2509 | 5023 |
| Red/Silver M: 62.4/106 W: 66.7/115 | 218 | 249 | 119 | 414 | 225 | 281 | 391 | 92 | 268 | 2257 | 232 | 400 | 104 | 241 | 237 | 417 | 234 | 97 | 267 | 2229 | 4486 |
| Silver M: 60.5/101 W: 63.8/111 | 218 | 249 | 119 | 322 | 173 | 281 | 328 | 74 | 268 | 2032 | 195 | 318 | 102 | 241 | 237 | 303 | 234 | 85 | 267 | 1982 | 4014 |
| Handicap | 5 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 4 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 9 | 13 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 4 |
Course Details
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by chrispsd on 02/12/2026
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First view Photo submitted by Richter6103254 on 12/22/2025
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Photo submitted by setch on 12/19/2025
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Photo submitted by u000002367479 on 09/19/2025
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Photo submitted by u000002367479 on 09/19/2025
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Photo submitted by u000002367479 on 09/19/2025
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Photo submitted by u000002367479 on 09/19/2025
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Photo submitted by Mincer24 on 04/16/2025
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Photo submitted by AroundtheHorn on 07/04/2024
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Photo submitted by AroundtheHorn on 07/04/2024
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Photo submitted by AroundtheHorn on 07/04/2024
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Photo submitted by AroundtheHorn on 07/04/2024
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Photo submitted by daddyzzang on 09/25/2023
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Photo submitted by Magoo6047 on 05/17/2023
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Photo submitted by u7326787 on 05/13/2023
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Photo submitted by u379613247 on 02/03/2023
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Photo submitted by mcry on 01/17/2023
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Gorgeous Photo submitted by igolowuc on 12/27/2022
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Photo submitted by Goegl01 on 12/06/2022
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Photo submitted by u2138341 on 10/04/2022
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Photo submitted by u2138341 on 10/04/2022
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Photo submitted by Golfmd50 on 02/24/2022
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Photo submitted by u355891953 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u355891953 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by captainlandius on 09/26/2021
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Photo submitted by captainlandius on 09/26/2021
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Par’d it…i can go home now lol! Photo submitted by u000001295218 on 09/22/2021
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Photo submitted by u000001295218 on 09/15/2021
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History!!!!!!!!! Photo submitted by U04596 on 07/06/2021
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Number 8. Photo submitted by u378708142 on 05/16/2021
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Pretty sketchy Photo submitted by jbsocal on 09/13/2020
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Photo submitted by u314159354135 on 01/02/2020
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Photo submitted by u314159354135 on 01/02/2020
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Photo submitted by u314159354135 on 01/02/2020
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18th green Photo submitted by Dave1883044 on 11/10/2019
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Photo submitted by James2537435 on 11/07/2019
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Photo submitted by u841910878 on 05/20/2019
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Photo submitted by u841910878 on 05/20/2019
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Photo submitted by hacksalot03 on 12/31/2016
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Photo submitted by u664859348 on 01/28/2015
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Photo submitted by gjcheney60 on 02/25/2014
Nicklaus Course at PGA West
The course is in excellent condition. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Ernie’s grill is a good choice for food.
Hi, trishv. We would love to hear more about your positive experience on our course. Please contact us to share with us your favorite part of your experience. Thanks for golfing at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Pace of Play Horrid
Well, we played two rounds at PGA West, our first visit. Buddy of mine and me, both decent players. The first day at Stadium was 4:58, not great, but it is the stadium course.
Second day at Nicklaus was awful. We had to leave after 16 as our round was easily going north of 5 hours. The worst part is that slow play seems to be acceptable here.
The marshal's excuse of "people pay lots of money and want to hit from the tips, what can we do" was the lamest thing I have ever heard on a golf course.
Here is what you do. Go to the group in front that is slowing things down and tell them to stop hitting 4 balls off the tee. Move into position or we will give you your money back and you can go home.
Catering to the 5 hour round will drive away a lot of serious players. I can't see us returning here anytime soon.
Love the layouts, staff was nice for the most part, but the pace......ugh.
We apologize for the pace of play issue you experienced. We always try to keep a great pace when having our golfers on the course. Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback as we will use your review to better the experience going forward. We hope you give us another try in the near future!
Course is great, sand in bunkers in poor condition and rough around fairways not being maintained like in the past
Layout is fantastic but compared to years past the overall maintenance of course has declined, lots of crabgrass and lack of detailed maintenance that use to be norm at PGA west
Hello, u590590650. Thank you for visiting us at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We appreciate your 4-star rating and review. We hope you join us for another round soon.
PGA West Nicklaus Course
The course was in good condition. The greens were very good with far fewer ball marks than the typical public course. We had dinner at Ernie’s after the round. It was good food at a reasonable price.
I would recommend this course.
Thank you for your review, malinskiw. We will pass along your positive experience to our team at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Hi, bryporter. We would love to hear more about your positive experience on our course. Please contact us to share with us your favorite part of your experience. Thanks for golfing at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, Michael3603865! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, Michael3603865! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Good test
Course is in good not great shape. No drinking water on course
Hi, JeffSpere. We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. Thank you for the 4 stars! We aim for a 5-star experience, so we always welcome feedback for improvement. Thank you for playing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
We would love to hear more about your positive experience on our course. Please contact us to share your favorite part of your experience and what we can do to earn that last star! Thanks for golfing at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
We love hearing about our golfers' experiences, jbonez29. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
We love hearing about our golfers' experiences, jbonez29. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
u314160102484, thank you for the awesome rating! We hope to see you again at the course very soon for another great experience, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
We're glad you enjoyed your 5-star experience with us, Randynogolf. Please comment or reach out to our team in the golf shop to let us know more about your round at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Hi, u000001402059. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your time at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We look forward to seeing you on the course soon for another 5-star experience!
A must play
Great course, great challenge, perfect weather, excellent course condition. What else is there? Play this course at least once in your golfing lifetime.
Hi, Remyboykc. Thank you so much for the great review. We are glad you had an incredible time, and we hope to see you again soon! Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Nicklaus Tournament Course
Excellent day with Son playing course from Blue (6500) tees. Course was not manicured, but in good shape. Very challenging especially with wind. Teed off 7:57 am and only had one 2 some in front of us. Wide fairways but heavily bunkered and plenty of water. Greens were mostly elevated and VERY quick. We are both single digit handicaps and both shot low 80’s. Will shoot better next time knowing a little better what to avoid and green undulations etc. All in all and amazing day capped off by a great lunch in the restaurant above 9/18 connected green
Hi, Utjhnson. Thank you so much for the great review. We are glad you had an incredible time, and we hope to see you again soon! Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Nicklaus tournament course
Glad that I got to play a PGA West Course but the value really wasn't there. I actually thought that I was booking the stadium course but I didn't (that was my mistake). Course was a typical Nicklaus design that was very penal around the greens and I would have very much preferred the Stadium. The staff was barely adequate (we carried our bags from the trunk all the way around the building to where the carts were before the staff placed the bags on the cart). The whole process was more commercial than experiential. Kind of disappointing really. Weather in Palm Springs is unbeatable!
Hi, u314162575626! Thank you so much for leaving us with your feedback. We value our customer experience, so your review is important to us. We will make note and we hope to see you back at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
PGA West Nicholas Course
This course is challenging, and a terrific track, beautiful panoramas , but with the prolific bunkers that can be hit into, the lack of properly dressed traps (lack of sand) makes is annoying.
Hello, u314162307821. Thank you for leaving us a review. We are sorry to hear your experience was anything short of 5 stars, but we hope you will give us another try in the future. Thank you for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Impressed
First time playing the course, snagged a great deal so value was outstanding. The course was in great shape and very challenging so not for a beginner. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Hi, u314162575899. Thank you so much for the great review. We are glad you had an incredible time, and we hope to see you again soon! Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, skimichael! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, skimichael! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
Hi, u000003851497. We would love to hear more about your positive experience on our course. Please contact us to share with us your favorite part of your experience. Thanks for golfing at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!
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Hi, malinskiw. Thank you so much for the great review. We are glad you had an incredible time, and we hope to see you again soon! Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.