The Coachella Valley has 120 courses, depending on how you count those courses, so why is one more course a big deal?
Well, if that course is from a world-class designer, his first course in the desert, and is the first course to be built in the desert in more than three years, then a new course is interesting. That’s the case with the proposed Coral Mountain Desert Club in south La Quinta. Expected to begin construction in the summer and open in early 2028, the design by David McLay Kidd should add to the depth of great courses in the desert.
But as much as the desert is considered a mecca for golfers, the truth is not many golf holes have been built in the Coachella Valley in the last few years. By the 1990s, golf courses in the desert were being built with housing developments or hotels, and by the early 2000s that kind of development had dried up in the desert. True, some very strong high-end private courses were built, but that didn’t add to the golf courses that tourists or snowbirds were likely to play.
The new Coral Mountain Desert Club course shows that there may still be an appetite for new courses in the desert. Here’s a list of the most recent five courses completed in the desert, a list that dates back nearly 20 years:
Ladera Golf Club (2023)
Perhaps the most exclusive golf club in the desert, this private course was the 2023 Golf Digest New Private Course of the Year. Built on a 300-acre lemon and mango farm in Thermal by co-founders Irving Azoff and Eddy Cue, the course was designed by Gil Hanse and features wide fairways that run into the native desert rather than traditional grass rough. The course also features a few of the more severe greens in the desert. Again, though, this is one of the most private courses in the desert and isn’t particularly looking for members from the Coachella Valley. It is a brilliant course.
Back nine, North Course, Toscana Country Club (2014)
Okay, this is cheating a bit. That’s because when Toscana opened in Indian Wells in 2005, the developers built 28 of the planned 36 holes, all of the South Course and 10 holes of the North Course. Finally, in 2014, developer Sunrise Company decided the housing market was ripe to build the final eight holes of the North Course, basically the back nine. Original designer Jack Nicklaus oversaw the building of the eight holes that he had designed more than a decade earlier. The North Course at Toscana has less turf than the sprawling South Course, giving the course more of a desert feel.
Back nine, North Course, Shadow Hills Golf Club (2012)
This nine holes was always going to be built after the front nine holes of the course were completed. The holes completed what is considered to be one of the best par-3 courses in California. Designed again by Schmidt-Curley, this course has some holes that play as a par-4 from the right set of tees. It also features plenty of water and sand, like the first nine holes
Front nine, North Course, Shadow Hills Golf Club (2010)
The original 18-hole regulation course at Shadow Hills Golf Club in north Indio, part of a Del Webb 55-and-over development, opened in 2004. Six years later, on a piece of land away from the regulation course, the first nine holes of the North Course were built. It was a well-designed nine holes by Schmidt-Curley with the feel of a planned course that flowed from one hole to the other rather than just a collection of nine par-3s. This gave the city of Indio two stellar par-3 courses, the other being the city-owned The Lights at Indio courses just a few miles away.
Eagles Falls Golf Club (2008)
For 15 years, this was the last 18-hole regulation course to be built in the desert. Designed by La Quinta resident and former Ryder Cupper Clive Clark, the course is open to the public but is also a resort course for guests at the Fantasy Springs hotel and casino in north Indio. The course has some of the most interesting features in the desert, including sod-faced bunkers and an intriguing drivable par-4 at the 11th hole. The 18th hole features a huge waterfall with a green protected by water. It has been a popular course for resort and recreational players alike.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley has only added five courses in last 20 years
Reporting by Larry Bohannan, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
