La Quinta: PGA West: Norman Golf Course
“I want to develop a golf course with generous fairways and non-punitive rough” said Greg Norman (never!). If you are not familiar with Greg Norman, this golf course is as good as any he has designed to teach you what the big Aussie feels about golf, and shot making. This joins other Norman courses such as Wente and Mayakoba Chameleon that showcase his talent for making skinny fairways look positively wide and inviting, lulling you into making very poor choices.
The thing that makes this golf course stand out among PGA West courses, and among Greg Norman golf courses: it’s beautiful, shockingly beautiful, and that’s what you will remember about this golf course. It’s desert chic. Unlike the Nicklaus course which doesn’t even feel like Palm Springs, Norman has done a wonderful job incorporating desert features into his golf course, showcasing the native flora and fauna. It even makes you think you’ll be able to find an errant shot hit into the desert wash… but inevitably some scrub brush or tumble weed will have been the thing that stops your ball as it scoots like a bat out of hell across the hard pan. If you want to score well, pick the straightest clubs you can out of your bag. If you manage to hit it straight enough all day that you are not in a bunker, be sure to wander over to one and check out the size of the bunker rake. A unique feature that crowns the PGA West Norman Course “Home of the largest bunker rakes”… I think it’s a sideways homage to the “big” Australian.
The Norman course is a 5 minute drive from the main PGA West Clubhouse and has its own clubhouse and restaurant. The clubhouse is everything you would want it to be, but the restaurant “Wallaby’s” is somewhat barren with a poor choice of food and even worse service. (Although what does finally come out is quite tasty). The clubhouse sits directly in front of a very nice grass driving range where you can get warmed up. They have a practice bunker and chipping green. Over by the first tee they have a large practice putting green where I recommend you spend some time. These greens are nothing like anything else we played, they had been rolled that morning and were hard and very fast. This coupled with the unorthodox slope of a number of greens will really screw with your head and leave you with PTSD… in a good way.
RANKING
- Bucket list rank (from 1to 5 buckets): 3 Buckets
- Location: 6/7
- Spectacle/ visual: 8/9
- History: 6
- New/ancient: Modern
- Playability : 7
- Memorability : 8
- Buddy-a-bility : 7
- Service/etc: 3
- Value: That’s not why you are here 🙂
- Shopping: 7 The pro shop is large and comprehensive. Not as big as the main clubhouse, but 90% of the size, and is filled with great merchandise if that’s what you are looking for.
- Warm up facilities/Range: 8 Very good, a real showcase.
- Food & Drink: 7 Cart girls are friendly and make a mean Bloody Mary. The restaurant should be used for a light lunch only and if you are having breakfast leave extra time to account for the terrible service times.
