CALIFORNIA FEATURE

Weekend in
Palm Springs: Give
yourself a Q-School
challenge at PGA West

By David R. Holland,
Senior Writer

La QUINTA, Calif. (Dec. 7, 2002) -- So you watched The Golf Channel's coverage of Q-School and you are itching to try out the courses of PGA West.

You're in good company -- even though the PGA West Stadium Course was designed by Pete Dye to be the toughest golf course of all-time, the tee-time sheets are booked heavily when the temperatures lower in the California desert.

Talk about a challenging weekend. You can tee it up at the Stadium Course and the other venue of the 2002 Tour Qualifying School -- the PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. Only the top 35 and ties get promoted to the PGA Tour from this nerve-wracking week at PGA West. At least you won't have that kind of pressure.

And while you are in town, for variety sake, travel over to the 36-hole Cimarrón Golf Resort for a more affordable round with excellent service and one of the USA's best short courses.

PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course and Stadium Course

If there was ever a motto for playing the challenging golf courses of PGA West it would be: "pay attention."

In the 2000 Q-School Cliff Kresge gained instant recognition. During the final round he was toiling over a menacing long par putt, backed up just a little too far and tumbled backwards over railroad ties into a lake. Kresge climbed out, missed the putt and made bogey. He trotted briskly to the clubhouse, put on his rain pants and finished the 108 holes of competition at 18-under par, good for his tour card.

Others have suggested "blowing it up," bulldozing it and "it just makes me feel uncomfortable."

This year's tour school included three rounds on both the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course and the Stadium Course. These layouts are stern tests of golf but the Stadium Course played about two strokes tougher.

Try a par-3 with a 200-yard carry and a bunker 20 feet deep. Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neal, former Speaker of the House, will never forgot that cavernous bunker at the Stadium Course. He took 10 shots to get out of the deep, deep bunker on No. 16.

Q-School stories are legendary -- Rolaids, white knuckles strangling shaky putters, club-tossing, angry looks and frustrated dreams are realized here. Stories read like scenes from the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. One golfer called it the Bermuda Triangle of golf.

• Reader forums • PGA West TPC Stadium Course • LaQuinta Resort Mountain Course • PGA West Greg Norman Course • California course reviews

It has been home for the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in 1995-1996, the Skins Game in 1986 through 1991, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic 1987 and has been a PGA Grand Slam of Golf site. The tour players squealed bloody murder after the 1987 Hope -- ending that short run.

The Stadium Course is one challenge after the other. But No. 17, Alcatraz, is stunning. It plays 168 from the back or 83 yards from the front and is much like Sawgrass' No. 17 island green. During Q-School the pros say it is just as brutal as is its sibling at Sawgrass, especially with the high tension and pressure. Some say the green at PGA West may even be tougher and a fraction smaller. On days when the green is firm you will see many balls in the water.

But Alcatraz has produced one legendary televised shot. Remember Lee Trevino with an ace in the 1987 Skins Game? He hit a 6-iron 166 yards, turned and hugged his caddy. A plaque beside the tee box commemorates the achievement.

"Tiger Woods shot 74 from the tips at the Stadium Course," said Greg Raleigh, head pro. "The Stadium Course is one of the strongest tests of golf on the planet. The Nicklaus Tournament Course is fair and straight up. If you hit a good shot you will be rewarded, but if you miss a green you could be looking a bogey or worse."

The Nicklaus Tournament Course presents plateaus or table-top fairways. Not all features are visible from the tee boxes, but just simply hit it down the middle to avoid the drop-offs, where you will find challenging second shots to greens that are now elevated.

The grass is also shaved around the greenside sand traps, so if you mis-hit one short of the putting surface most likely it will roll back into the steep traps.

"Nicklaus presents angled tee boxes on this course so you have to pay attention," Raleigh said. "I think the Nicklaus Tournament Course is one of the best resort layouts ever built. Pace of play is super. It may appear to be narrow with the plateaued fairways, but there's plenty of room to get up and down."

From the Black Tees the Stadium Course measures 7,261 yards, a rating of 75.9 and slope of 150. The Nicklaus Tournament Course is 7,204 yards from the back at par 72 and a rating of 74.7 and slope of 139.

For more information or reservations, visit palmspringsgolfcentral.com or call 866-351-1688, 760-469-4405.

Cimarrón Golf Resort

Opened in 2000, Cimarrón Golf Resort features 36 holes designed by John Fought. Named for the Cimarrón, a purple flower found here, this is a welcome escape in the desert.

"Golfers like the fact we stand alone out here," said Jason Setterlund, Cimarrón's marketing chief. "You won't be hitting in the back yard of someone's house. You get curb-to-curb service and we have the best greens in the desert."

Cimarrón utilizes European-style characteristics such as sod-wall bunkers filled with white crushed marble in its par-71, 6,858-yard Long Course.

And folks around here think the par-56, 3,156-yard short course ranks among the best short layouts in the nation, including those at Hilton Head and Mountain Shadows in Scottsdale. It features 16 nifty par-3's and two equally classic par-4's and is ideal for players looking for a quick round, for family gatherings or for beginners.

For $95 in the fall and $105 in the winter, Cimarrón is offering Unlimited Golf (some restrictions apply), practice balls, a sleeve of premium golf balls complete with the Cimarrón logo, breakfast or lunch in Leapin' Lizards Bistro and a percentage off of merchandise in the golf shop.

Cimarrón is also teaming with La Mancha Resort and Spa and the Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs for its 2003 season golf packages. For more information or reservations, visit palmspringsgolfcentral.com or call 866-351-1688, 760-469-4405.

Where to play

PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course
PGA West Stadium Course
56-150 PGA Boulevard
La Quinta, CA 92253
For more information or reservations,
visit palmspringsgolfcentral.com or
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
Green Fees: $150 to $235, rates reduced in summer

Cimarrón Golf Resort
67-603 30th Avenue
Cathedral City, CA 92234
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
Green Fees: $95 to $105, rates reduced in summer
palmspringsgolfcentral.com

Where to stay

The La Quinta Resort provides the type of desert getaway fantasized about in old movies. Palm Springs represents the "Golden Era" of Hollywood, and La Quinta models the luxurious surroundings the stars used to inhabit.

Stars such as Greta Garbo, Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, William Powell, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable, and Errol Flynn have paid Palm Springs a visit.

The resort was built in 1926 for recreation and relaxation amid an atmosphere of exclusivity and privacy, and years later became Frank Capra's inspiration for "It Happened One Night".

La Quinta Resort & Club
49-499 Eisenhower Drive
La Quinta, CA 92253
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
palmspringsgolfcentral.com

Lake La Quinta Inn is just minutes from La Quinta Dunes and Mountain Courses and the PGA West courses. This is luxury in a B&B format.

This Inn will spoil you with great breakfasts and themed rooms. One is the St. Andrews Room decorated in Scottish plaids, golf books and wall hangings.

Lake La Quinta Inn
78-120 Caleo Bay
La Quinta, CA 92253
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
palmspringsgolfcentral.com

Where to dine

The Beer Hunter - sports bar
78-483 Hwy. 111,
564-7442, La Quinta.
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
palmspringsgolfcentral.com

Cliffhouse Restaurant,
78-250 Hwy. 111,
360-5991, La Quinta.
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
palmspringsgolfcentral.com

Shangri-La,
78-790 Hwy. 111,
777-0203, La Quinta.
866-351-1688, 760-469-4405
palmspringsgolfcentral.com

Directions to PGA West

From I-10 take Washington south. Go past Highway 111. Turn right on Eisenhower Drive and proceed south. Go past the entrance to La Quinta Resort one block and turn right on Calle Mazaltlan and proceed through the security gate. Turn left at Avenida Vista Bonita. The golf courses are a short drive on the left.

Directions to Cimarrón Golf Resort

It is located only a few minutes from downtown Palm Springs and Palm Springs International Airport. Exit the 10 Freeway on Date Palm and travel South toward downtown Palm Springs. At 30th Ave. turn right and continue through the traffic signal at Landau until it dead ends into the clubhouse.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.