A Week in the Coachella Valley

I've just recently returned home from a week in southern California, and regret to report that my long awaited round at one of the west coast's more private clubs fell through. A freak downpour the night before my scheduled round rendered the course unplayable the following morning. Alas, my golden invite remains on the table for the next time I can return to the area.. hopefully very soon!

On a more positive note: For the first time in 4 years I played Desert Willow (Firecliff), my home course for 2 years while a member of the local college golf team. The course will probably never find its way onto a top100 list, but it is consistently included in Golf Digest's list of California's top public courses. If nothing else, it was a nice walk down memory lane. As a golf team member I played the course every Mon/Wed/Fri, but had my lowest score on the front 9 this past week (ironic, given my relative lack of practice).

Firecliff's par 5 13th

Par 4 16th

Having played nearly every decent public course in the Coachella Valley, I was in no rush to pay top dollar to revisit. PGA West courses always make for a nice afternoon (if, of course, you bring your first aid kit to the Stadium course), and the Indian Wells Resort is a great place to visit. One of my playing partners at Desert Willow had recently played the La Quinta Resort courses and had nothing good to say about the course conditions. My past experiences there (2 rounds on each course) were much the same. If you want to see good Pete Dye golf in the desert, the TPC Stadium at PGA West is the one you have to play.

When I return to get onto the private clubs, I'll also be looking to pick up a round at Pelican Hill (North) and/or Torrey Pines. The Ocean South course at Pelican Hill is one of my favorites in California, and I can't believe I never made an effort to play the North. Long overdue.

Pelican Hill Ocean South, 2nd of 2 world class, back-to-back par 3s

It worked out that the PGA Tour was at Riviera the weekend I was around, so it seemed like a good time to catch some live action. The course is even better than it looks on TV; Rory is shorter than he looks on TV; Spieth's swing is more graceful than it looks on TV; and, much like on TV, Freddy Couples has the smoothest swing on earth, but can't make 4-foot putts. While walking near the driving range/hospitality area I was twice mistaken to be one of the Tournament competitors. Perhaps it was a sign from the heavens that I should take one more chance at playing professional golf. Divine intervention. I certainly got antsy having to stand behind the ropes. If/when I take another shot at professional golf, I might have to start another blog to document my crazy journey through the competitive ranks.

With no golf trips planned in the immediate future, I'm going to try to catch up on golf course write-ups. I'm underway on a post for the Old Course at Wolf Creek, and hope to finish soon (despite a flurry of midterm exams just around the corner). Check back soon for more!


'Til next time, keep your stick on the ice!

The Golfing Canuck