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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4.6
1181 Reviews (1181)
5 Stars
726
4 Stars
315
3 Stars
93
2 Stars
30
1 Stars
17
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.3
Layout
4.8
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.7
92.3%
Recommend this course
1064 out of 1181 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
60 Reviews (60)
5 Stars
43
4 Stars
13
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.3
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.1
Amenities
4.7
StaffFriendliness
4.7
93.3%
Recommend this course
56 out of 60 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
89 Reviews (89)
5 Stars
66
4 Stars
17
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.4
Layout
4.8
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.7
StaffFriendliness
4.7
92.1%
Recommend this course
82 out of 89 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
1181 Reviews (1181)

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 33
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful Course

We had a great time. Course was challenging and not so hsrd we couldn't play well. Beautiful mountain views. And the course was in very good shape. The staff was wonderful.. I would highly recommend it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 43
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great course.

Fun to play where the pros play. Super condition. Great rate with golf now.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Tough but Fun

One of the best. But you have to place your ball right especially arround or better on thef greens.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Still within the Tip10 of public US courses

Overseading made to the perfection. We booked over Golf Now. Many courses there are rated with 3 and more stars. So this one needs 7 stars.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

When booking this course, I was not made aware that it would be cart path only due to local course control. Had I known in advance, I would have selected another course venue.. Further, PGA West should have discounted the round more than they did. My wife and I only played 13 holes because I have an inflamed hip joint and the criss cross walking back and forth became intolerable. At a minimum. PGA West should have let it be known that a handicap flag might be available for conditions similar to mine. Very disappointing experience at a very good golf course that we found to be not worth the money.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Cart path only

Good course tough track narrow fairways lots if bunkers around the greens

Started at 12:30 finished 18 holes by 5 pm

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Slow play

5 hour round, greens just sanded.

Good layout, great club house and restaurant. Food good value.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course, pace of play painful

The Nicklaus Tournament Course is an excellent track, too bad the pace of play was glacial. Groups in front of us clearly playing the wrong set of tees forced us to wait on every shot. Five hour round on a Thursday is unacceptable given we played the much more difficult Stadium Course a few days earlier in four and a half hours. Marshall was gracious but pace of play disappointing.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Best course in the desert (my opinion)

Course was beautiful as always. This place takes a lot of pride in customer service and course conditions. Staff is friendly as always. Practice facility is top notch. World class right here. Keep it up PGA West!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great day at PGA West

This was our first time playing the Nicklaus course. In very good shape considering it just came out of over seeding. Staff were very friendly and the starter had great information for us in regards to the course and it’s layout.

Pace of play was okay could have been better if golfers understood ready golf especially when you are on cart paths only. Be ready to hit your shot instead of waiting for a partner that is in front of you and letting them hit.

One thing that bothers me is the lack of respect that some golfers have to a course, ie: divots not repaired in the fairways and ball marks not repaired on the greens. This course just reopened and way too May to fix.

Overall a great day and will be back to play again.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 21
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Honourable people

Course was in good condition, but more importantly the management made up for the error between golf now and the course. I have a thought about mistakes, we all make mistakes, it is how they are handled that is important. PGA west deserves 5 stars.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Desert Golf

Challenging course. Cart path only but pace of play was very good. Greens were on the slow side ... probably around 7.5 or 8.0 on the stomp.

Good value given cart path only.

Course conditions were very good.

The course layout is not ideal. Long distances green to tee especially on the back.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 21
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Tee time problems

Booked through golf now and got to the course and they did not have my reservation even though golf now had take my money. Course staff were helpful and got me a later tee time at a higher rate. Hard to know what exactly happened but it is clear the course did not want to book as many tee times at low rates as golf now wanted to book. Golf now did call me and tell me that they have refunded the money they took and I paid the course. I have another booking for Tuesday and the course did verify it at the quoted rate. Mistakes do happen and while I am not thrilled to pay $30.00 extra I did get to play today

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 274
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 100 Contributor
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Course wrong time to play it

Flawless fairways and dressed greens and yes the surprise of oh yea its cart path only. Im just tired of courses not making it well known in advance. PGA West is no exception.

Greens were so slow its like putting with brakes on... .

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 37
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1000
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 1 Contributor
California Advisor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Nicklaus Tournament

Played the Blues (6522/72.2/134) in slightly over 3H mid day using Forelinx. The weather was sunny, breezy and around 105.

Nicklaus Tournament is one of the toughest chipping courses I have ever played because of the firm raised greens that are surrounded by steep banks on 2 or more sides on almost every hole. The layout features mounds along the side of fairways, large/deep bunkers, several split fairways and some expansive sand waste bunkers. Not in as good condition overall as Stadium, but still quite playable for late summer.

The Bermuda tees were mostly lush and decent to play from.

The Bermuda fairways were mostly lush and nice to play from. A few hardpan areas along the perimeter on some holes.

The Bermuda rough was lush and mowed low but still thick.

The large sand traps are plentiful here. Many have decent size lips and need to be avoided in most cases because of the raised greens. Mostly in good condition, decently maintained.

The Bermuda greens putted medium speed & were firm and somewhat bumpy.

The cart gal was out making the rounds numerous times. Excellent customer service from everyone involved with the golf. Plenty of water stations on the course. Good GPS on the carts. Nice all grass range that was unfortunately closed today. Definitely recommended.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played

Poor attention to detail

They need to buy 100 rakes. Huge sand traps often had only one rake. Greens slow and uneven. Rough was too wild and not mowed consistently. I was a member of PGA West 13 years ago and played this course many times. In much worse condition now. Very disappointing!

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
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