The new Players Course is one of Indian Wells Resort's two "core" courses you can play on a Palm Springs golf vacation.
I don’t envy the staff at the Indian Wells Golf Resort right now. First, they have to help host the Skins Game this weekend, the nationally televised event being played on their Celebrity Course, and then they have to follow that up next week by unveiling the newest course to play on a Palm Springs golf vacation, their John Fought-designed Players Course. Talk about needing a breather.
Technically, Fought, who did the restoration work at Pine Needles prior to this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, redesigned the course, but the resort makes a point of pointing out that, “the mature tree cover and geographical location are about the only two things that the original East Course (opened in 1986) and the new Players Course have in common. By design, the Players Course is completely different than the original golf course.”
Thankfully, it’s not completely different from the Celebrity Course; both were laid out to afford the best views of the surrounding mountains and both are “core” golf courses, devoid of man-made structures like roads and houses, a rare treat on a Palm Springs golf vacation.
We haven’t played the course yet, so we can’t recommend it, but if it’s anything like the Celebrity Course, you’re in for a treat on your next Palm Springs golf vacation. Bring your driver, though: the Players Course stretches to 7,376 yards.
What’s almost unbelievable is that this 36-hole facility is owned by the city of Indian Wells. Yep, it’s a muni. While outsiders have to pony up as much as $185, residents of Indian Wells can play here for $35 all year long. Now there’s a group of people that should be envied.
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