PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament
A view of a green with water coming into play at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
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Rating Index Rating
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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
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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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."

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PGA West - Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course
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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)
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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

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Dissapointed

First off, let me say I love this place. I routinely make the drive out from Orange County to play here, in fact I have played Nick Tourney or Stadium four times now since Thanksgiving. We got to the starter 1 minute behind our tee time because the putting green on Nick was closed and were promptly told we missed our tee time. The 4th in our group has an auto immune disorder and wanted to ride solo since Omicron was going on, the starter tried to make him pair up, even though the proshop said it was fine,; then wouldn't allow more than 2 carts on the fairway at once (even though I played stadium as a 3&1 two days before with 3 carts and it was fine)... On top of that, the greens might as well have been sand traps, with ZERO notice told to us. It completely changed the Jan pre-Amex greens to a sandy punched like greens. After the greeting by the starter and then the sandy greens with no notice, it was a tough pill to swallow at almost $200, even though I absolutely love this place.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/14/2022

Hi geoffsumpter,

Let us first say that we are so glad to hear you enjoy PGAWEST. We work hard to create an enjoyable experience so you can focus on enjoying yourself and let us do the rest. We also want to thank you for your honest and constructive criticism of the course.

We are going to escalate your review to our team in charge and do everything we can to improve before your next game.

Thank you for visiting and playing at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We hope to see you again soon!

Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/10/2022

Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, u6011340! 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 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fun times. Golf is fun

It was slow but only because it's a pga west course. Shots awesome. Fun golf.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/10/2022

chachathewave, thank you for your kind words! We hope to see you again at the course very soon for another 5-star experience. Thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.

Played On
Reviews 13
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/10/2022

Hi, u000007826189. 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!

Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/10/2022

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

Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Rude starter and sandy greens

We played at 7:03 today on Nicklaus course. We came off the range and drove up to the starter as no one called our group. He asked when our tee time was and I said 7:03am sir. He yelled at me and rudely said we missed our tee time. I pointed at the cart time and informed him that it just turned 7:04am sir I am confused. He said it’s 7:05 now and you just missed your tee time and he may need to find the group after us (wasn’t anyone after us). Then yelled at us for having 3 carts when we politely explained our group member has a serious health condition and office staff said it was okay. He said he makes the rules not them and he needs to do cart path only and we can do 90 degrees if we want 3 carts when there was no 90 degree rule or cart path only rule in effect for anyone else on the course.

We paid $186 to be rudely greeted and to top it off they never said the greens had a fresh coat of sand on each one. People pay a lot of money to play here and there is no place for a rude man on a power trip and shady practices. It was literally 7:04am, we finished 15 minutes ahead of pace. I am still at a loss for words.

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

Hi, u000007461011. We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are sorry to hear your customer service experience was not up to par. Please reach out to our management team at (760) 564-7111, and thanks for visiting PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We hope you'll give us another try in the future.

Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
First Time Playing

Great Trac in “okay” shape

Lived the layout and the risk reward BUT cart paths only (would have rather walked) was frustrating and the greens hadn’t been cut or rolled forever . The greens took 9 holes to get use too and were the slowest of anywhere I’ve played in PS and nothing like the other PHA west Tracs.

Cheers

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/03/2022

Hi, Goodwinz1963! 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!

Played On
Reviews 128
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 500 Contributor
First Time Playing

Best ever!

One word that comes to mind is PURE. Course was in great shape. I’ll definitely come back to play it again and again next time I’m back in Palm Springs. Probably check out all the other PGA West courses also.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/03/2022

Thank you for your review, tec642. 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 4
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/03/2022

Hi, Chilo1542. 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 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Bucket list course

This course embodies it's motto: "The home of golf in the West". Fantastically laid out, PGA level conditions, and great service. The Nicklaus Tournament course is not very hard to tee off from, but has absolutely devilish greens. Would recommend breakfast! Pace of play was great for us. The staff is super attentive and the service is fantastic. My only complaint would be that there were no locker rooms to change in, or at least I couldn't find them.

An amazing experience, and would love to play here again.

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

Hello, u314161249483. Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review. We're so glad that you enjoyed your round at PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. Please visit us again soon!

Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 12/13/2021

We're glad you enjoyed your 5-star experience with us, TPHogan. 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!

Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 12/13/2021

Hi, u314162214346. 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 6
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great course but slow

Great golf course but pace of play ruined the day. 3 groups on all the par 3’s and not a Marshall to be found

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 12/08/2021

Hello. Thank you for reviewing the course. We apologize for the delay of play during your round. This is by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We work hard to accommodate everyone who visits our course and to best control pace allowing everyone to finish in a reasonable amount of time. We will continue to look for ways to improve, and we are glad to see you rated the course conditions to be great during your game. Thank you for playing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. We hope to see you again soon.

Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Intermediate
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 Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 12/08/2021

We're glad you enjoyed your 5-star experience with us, Bobheller. 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!

Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 12/08/2021

Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, jammers1! 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 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 12/07/2021

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!

Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 01/14/2022

Hi, nowaks1. 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!

Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Good spot for a snickers commercial

Friendly staff, beautiful course and clubhouse, but the pace of play was slow and no rangers out to keep groups moving, we had a 12:36 tee time and couldn't finish our round , I would like to play the course again !!!!!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 11/29/2021

Hello, Themutt60. 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 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 11/22/2021

Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, u314159690846! 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 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 11/22/2021

Hello and thank you for your 5-star rating, nowaks1! We're delighted you enjoyed your round. Please book another round with us soon, and thanks for choosing PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course!

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