PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament
A view of a green with water coming into play at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
GolfPass Icon
Rating Index Rating
Tooltip Information Icon
4.6
1173 Reviews (1173)
5 Stars
720
4 Stars
314
3 Stars
92
2 Stars
30
1 Stars
17
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.3
Layout
4.8
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.6
92.4%
Recommend this course
1057 out of 1173 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
58 Reviews (58)
5 Stars
40
4 Stars
14
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.8
Value
4.3
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.0
Amenities
4.7
StaffFriendliness
4.6
93.1%
Recommend this course
54 out of 58 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
94 Reviews (94)
5 Stars
68
4 Stars
19
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
3
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.4
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.6
StaffFriendliness
4.6
91.5%
Recommend this course
86 out of 94 reviews
Read Reviews
frame.svg
AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
circle-star.svg
Course Highlights
The Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West delivers immaculate tee boxes, true-rolling greens, and first-rate fairways that consistently impress visiting golfers. Friendly staff and outstanding course amenities make this a rewarding and memorable round at exceptional value.

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Resort
Par 72
Length 7204 yards
Slope 143
Rating 75.3

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."

Book a Tee Time at
PGA West - Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course
Powered by GolfNow.com

Course Details

Year Built 1987
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Jack Nicklaus (1987) Rick Jacobson Thomas Pearson (1987)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
GPS No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "PGA WEST Golf Academy"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes
Practice Hole Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted Visa, MC, AMEX, Discover
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code No denim, collared shirt and bermuda shorts required.

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Available Sports

Fitness, Tennis

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in California (2019 #30) (2014 #24)
  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 Off-course amenities in the U.S. (2019 #15)
The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+ Annual
golf ball.svg
$120 in monthly tee time promo codes
waivedfees
12 rounds of waived fees
redeemtrophy
GolfPass Member Pricing
teetime protection.svg
Tee Time Protection

Reviews

4.6
1173 Reviews (1173)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 24
Patio Dining 24
19th Hole Scenic Views 18
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 46
Water Hazards 36
Forced Carries 22
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 40
A Weekend Splurge 21
A Bucket list/Top 100 Pick 15
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 24
At a Resort 15
Convenient to the City 11

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Walked
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/14/2022

Hi, u314162445620. 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!

Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Fun to play

The snack bar was closed but we found the beverage cart on the 11th hole. A golf course that is both forgiving and intimidating making for a good round of golf.

Conditions Excellent
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/14/2022

Hi, u314162517255. 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.

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/14/2022

We love hearing about our golfers' experiences, Schranz14. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

11 handicap golfer’s review.

Anytime you can play a course used for a PGA event, it’s always a treat. Friendly staff, challenging but fair layout, and good pace of play made for a great day. The course was in great shape and the greens rolled true. The fairways were wide, but the challenge comes with the areas on the edges of the fairways that drop off to lower depressions where you have to get the ball up in a hurry and potential blind shots to the green. Also lots of sand traps all over the course. The one disappointment was the sand in the bunkers. The bunkers could’ve used more sand as it was very difficult to blast balls out of the steeply sloped green side bunkers. If you avoid the sand, you will score well.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/14/2022

Thank you for your review, u000007655989. 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.

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/11/2022

Hi, steverutt. 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!

Played On
Reviews 9
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/09/2022

We love hearing about our golfers' experiences, ewgriggs. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fabulous Course!

We’ve played many courses throughout North America and I would rate the course layout as one of the best. Every hole is a signature hole. Greens were firm and fairly fast just as I like them. Take an extra club or even two when the winds are blowing as most greens are elevated. Some water holes on the back nine which can be carried if you’re a long hitter but if not the fairways are generous to the side. The fairways were in great shape as well. My only recommendation would be to have a Marshall out on the course to speed up play for those who think a 5 hour round of golf is okay instead of 4. Perhaps the starter can tell golfers to keep up with the group in front as is the rule in all private courses. Now that I’m familiar I’d like to play it again soon.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/09/2022

Hi, RGAB2A06F0A8392BA8CA. 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.

Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/04/2022

Hi, jolberding. 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.

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Not a good day

Assured a day before playing staff that our 2:00 tee time would allow my spouse and I to play as a twosome, and that we would be able to finish before dark- - both proved to be untrue. No matter, paired with two enjoyable pro’s, who left the course at 5:15, when three different foursome were stacked up on the 15th tee box. It never cleared, so I headed in as well only to find there were 3 different foursomes waiting to tee off in 17 as well. A lot of $$ for 14 holes

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/02/2022

Hi, ryugler,

We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are going to pass on your feedback to the teams in charge so they can work to make changes.

Your feedback helps us do better. We are looking into this issue and hope to resolve it promptly.

Thank you for visiting PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We hope you'll give us another try in the future.

Played On
Reviews 22
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/22/2022

Hi, u00000337120. We would love to hear more about your 4-star experience on our course. Please tell us what we can do to earn that last star, and thanks for golfing at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Played On
Reviews 22
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/28/2022

We love hearing about our golfers' experiences, u00000337120. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/28/2022

Hi, dcope123. 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!

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great day golfing

Played with a couple from Oregon.

Amazing time

We all had a great time

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/28/2022

Hi, Golfmd50. 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.

Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Needs work

Course is very challenging but sand bunkers need sand.

Most were hard and could not even rake they were so hard. Driving range is closed from 1pm to 2 pm? Go figure…allowed us to tee off at 2:06 knowing we could not finish 18 holes before dark. Played the front 9 in 2 hours but only got 6 holes on the back side before we had to quit. Disappointing.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 03/01/2022

Hi, u695365217! Thank you so much for leaving us with your feedback. We value our customer experience, so your review is important to us. Please know the current conditions are by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We will continue to work towards a 5-star experience and we hope to see you back!

Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Disappointed

High winds forced us to stop. Very disappointed that the GolfNow hotdeal customers were the only ones not to receive a refund.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/28/2022

Hi, stephen333. 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.

Played On
Reviews 22
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/23/2022

Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, Dave2701734! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great day of golf

Enjoyed playing golf and had a nice dinner at Ernie’s

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 22
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Fun track. Back nine was great

The mounding on a lot of the front nine helped make it playable in 30 mph winds, but was awkward. The greens are large, and the fast speed made them difficult. The traps need more sand at the bottom, although the wind probably blew some of it out. The staff in the pro shop was excellent.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/23/2022

We love hearing about our golfers' experiences, Kell67jim. Please tell us more about what you enjoyed during your round. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Played On
Reviews 18
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

FIRST TIME PLAYING HERE…

Enjoyed playing your course today. Decent shape, and pace of play was decent. Much nicer than a lot of courses in the area , but the more than double the price makes you think about how many times I would like to play , as compared to the quality of the golf course. Playing your course was a joy, but the number of times I could play a course of similar amount would leave me far too short of my golf fix, being from north of the boarder and not having a club in my hands since November. . Thanks for a good day , and I would recommend your course to play, only with the warning of be prepared to pay.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/17/2022

Hello, sableref2. 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.

Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/17/2022

Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, JeanneBors! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

Request A Vacation Quote From La Quinta Resort
Please provide your information below and a staff member at La Quinta Resort will be in contact to help you start planning your travel.
Nearby Courses
La Quinta, California
Private
4.0
4
La Quinta, California
Private
5.0
3
La Quinta, California
Public/Resort
4.6178346426
1443
La Quinta, California
Public/Resort
4.5313400032
1197
La Quinta, California
Private
5.0
1
La Quinta, California
Private
0.0
0
La Quinta, California
Private
0.0
0
La Quinta, California
Private
4.0
4
La Quinta, California
Private
5.0
2
La Quinta, California
Private
2.7142857143
7
La Quinta, California
Semi-Private
4.6815072913
145
Golf Packages

Best of Indian Wells Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy accommodations at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort, the Tommy Bahama Resort & Spa, the Indian Wells Resort Hotel, or the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa and golf at Indian Wells Golf Resort - Celebrity & Players Courses.

Best of Indian Wells Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy accommodations at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort, the Tommy Bahama Resort & Spa, the Indian Wells Resort Hotel, or the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa and golf at Indian Wells Golf Resort - Celebrity & Players Courses.

The Palm Mountain Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at Palm Mountain Resort & Spa and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Indian Canyons – South Course, Indian Canyons – North Course, The Classic Club, Tahquitz Creek – Resort Course, and Tahquitz Creek – Legend Course.

The Hilton Garden Inn Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage Stay & Play Package

CLICK BELOW
PALM SPRINGS, CA | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Hilton Garden Inn Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Indian Canyons – South Course, The Classic Club, Tahquitz Creek – Resort Course, and Tahquitz Creek – Legend Course.

Aviara Stay & Play Package

Click Below
SAN DIEGO, CA | Enjoy lodging accommodations at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa and golf at Aviara Golf Club.
Now Reading
  • Home

  • Memberships

  • Library

  • Account