Backspin Volume 4, Issue 1 | Page 18

gowaywest

Palm Springs California is set in the Sonoran Desert with four different mountain ranges surrounding the area . The population mainly resides in the Coachella Valley framed by the mountains in each direction .
Visitors fly in to the Palm Springs airport named after former mayor Sonny Bono with views of neighborhoods and golf courses as far as the eye can see . There are more golf courses in the Coachella Valley than any other region in California with numbers rising to 100 by the turn of the millennium .
Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club and the Stadium Course at PGA West are among the finest . Each course is challenging in its own way , and the playing conditions are second to none but different with their own style .
The Dinah Shore Tournament Course is named , of course , after the TV celebrity Dinah Shore . Desmond Murihead designed the course in the early 1970s , and the course opened for play in 1972 . Since its opening , the course has hosted the LPGA Tour first major of the year now called the ANA Inspiration and formerly known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship .
The tournament course is a traditional design with rolling , tree lined fairways . The tight alleyways down the fairways that bend both right-to-left and left-toright demand straight driving from every tee box . For those who stray off the fairways , they will find themselves hitting punch shots underneath tree limbs to get back into play .
For those who do find the fairway , the challenge isn ’ t over . The undulating green complexes are framed by large , deep faced bunkers . Most greens are relatively small with even tighter green levels for demanding hole locations .
At this time of year , the course is over seeded wall to wall with poa trivialis mixed with bent grass . The green surfaces are smooth with stimpmeter readings of 10 . Fairway lies are nice and tight while the rough is cut to 1 ” in length to allow all ranges of ability to handle .
The signature hole is the par five 18th . The dogleg left has two bunkers in the landing area on the right side . From tee box to the green is a water hazard waiting for those greedy players trying to bite off too much of the dog leg . by Jake Narro
Dinah Hills Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club
Should the risky play off the tee pay off , there ’ s more decision making waiting . The famous Poppie ’ s Pond frames the island green and tempts the player to take on the risk / reward shot . A statue of Dinah Shore awaits you as you cross the bridge to get to the green . Also along the way to the green , past champions , name plaques in a beautifully designed wall gives you a bit of LPGA history .
The famed Stadium Course at PGA West is one of Pete Dye ’ s most famous designs and has hosted numerous big time events since its opening in 1986 . Currently , the Stadium Course is in the rotation for the PGA Tour ’ s CareerBuilder Challenge , formerly know as the Bob Hope Desert Classic .
Unlike the Dinah Shore Tournament Course , the Stadium Course uses fairway bunkering and numerous water hazards to challenge golfers off the tee . If one is not sure of his or her ability to hit the drive straight , a trip to the fully stocked golf shop and the purchase of an extra dozen golf balls may be in order .
Other great events the Stadium has hosted would be the PGA Tour qualifying school six times off and on starting in 1986 and ending in 2008 . Another great made for TV event the Stadium hosted was the original Skins Game from 1986-1991 . You may remember Lee Trevino ’ s hole-in-one on the famed 17th hole known as Alcatraz . Speaking of the famous par three , it gets its well deserved name from the island green design
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