Desert Course Teeing Up Costly Fun

Add another golf course to the list of high-quality, well-maintained, fun places to play . . . a course the average golfer will probably never play.

Not that the Greg Norman Course at PGA West resort in La Quinta is a private course. It isn’t, though memberships are available.

But for most, the cost for public play makes it one of those places that’s nice to hear about but nicer to avoid, if you’re trying to save money.

Green fees are a robust $235 per player. Of course, resort guests, paying anywhere from $325-$3,500 a night, get a discount. They pay only $205.

The twilight rate, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the winter months, is $125. But even playing a fast four-hour round, golfers starting after 1 p.m. are not likely to finish 18 holes.

What a deal.

“Our prices are right on par with the other top courses here in the desert,” said Dave Doerr, head professional at the Norman Course.

Doerr added that there are deals available through several outside agencies, but those are still above the average golfer’s budget.

And that’s too bad, because the ninth course at the PGA West/La Quinta resort is a fun and challenging experience, one that features the natural landscape rather than artificial elements.

Five sets of tees make the course length anywhere from 5,381 yards (women’s tees) to 7,156 yards (championship tees). Intermediate tees are 6,671, 6,227 and 5,737 yards.

After the cash-register shock wears off, golfers will notice the two most distinctive features of the course: the decomposed granite lining every fairway and the bright white crushed marble sand traps.

Decomposed granite, dubbed “DG” at the Norman course, is a light brown, crunchy, sand-like material that is popular on Arizona courses.

The substance is similar to hard infield dirt on a baseball field. Balls landing in DG will keep rolling and foot slippage and mis-hits are the norm when trying to get out.

Norman and his design team shipped in approximately 65,000 tons of DG to line the fairways in lieu of rough.

Unlike rough, it is easy to spot wayward shots in DG but hitting clean shots out of it is difficult, especially since few golfers have experienced it and even fewer carry a decomposed granite wedge in their bag.

One player, after struggling with several shots off of the decomposed granite in a recent round, hit another shot into the DG. The ball rolled through it and came to rest on a concrete cart path, prompting this reaction:

“Good. At least I have a shot for the cart path.”

Doerr acknowledged the difficulty in the playability of the DG, but he said it has helped the pace of play.

“Right now we’re right at about four hours,” Doerr said. “People aren’t looking for their ball. If your ball isn’t in a bunker or in the water, you’re going to have an open shot. You’ll be able to find it quickly and play it quickly.”

The trick to playing from the DG, Doerr said, is to cleanly pick the ball as if in a fairway bunker.

And there are 122 sand traps on the course.

“Significantly more than most courses in the desert, except the [PGA West] Stadium Course,” Doerr said.

The brilliant white crushed marble sand, which is soft and very playable, is aesthetically pleasing in its contrast with the brown DG and green fairways.

But that’s the only pleasing feature of these round, deep bunkers that, by design, have wild grass growing in them.

“You can’t go after the greens from the fairway bunkers,” Doerr said. “You have to put yourself back in play. Greg [Norman]’s philosophy is that recovery means you have to waste a shot. A bunker should be penal.”

Accurate yardage markers are plentiful on sprinkler heads, but the yardage card (included in the green fee) does not seem as accurate.

The 15th hole is a prime example. There are 16 fairway bunkers, including eight in the middle of the fairway. But the yardage card indicates only 12 fairway bunkers and none in the fairway.

Officials said the cards were printed before the final redesign of the course was complete.

Impressively, the course has achieved its goal of looking like it has been around for 100 years on the day it opened.

The well-groomed fairways have unique shapes and seem to cater to higher handicap players. From 180-220 yards off the tee, they offer generous landing areas. But longer hitters will have a tough time staying out of the DG as many fairways narrow in the 250-280 range.

The greens (Bermuda grass) are generally long and narrow. Five are more than 40 yards in length. Holding the greens is difficult with long approach shots, but they are also very puttable with average speed and not-so-severe undulations.

Nine lakes decorate the course, but water comes into play on only five holes, including the par-5 16th, where water runs down the right side and comes into play off the tee, on the layup and on the approach.

Players have the option to walk the Norman course, although they will be required to use a club caddie for an additional $50.

An 11,600 square-foot clubhouse with all the amenities is scheduled to open April 1. It will feature a 2,000 square-foot patio looking out into the desert mountains.

Aside from the DG, it’s difficult to find fault with the course design. It’s fun and certainly has a lot of character for a course just a month old. And Doerr says that the more you play the more you’ll like it.

“It’s a learning process playing here,” he said. “You play it once, you love it. You play it again, you love it more.”

But the question remains: Who can afford to play it even once?