Short at Tradition Golf Club

The Short Course at Tradition Golf Club in La Quinta was designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay as part of a larger residential golf community in the Coachella Valley. Palmer, who maintained a longtime residence in nearby Rancho Mirage, designed several courses in the Palm Springs area during his architectural career, often in collaboration with Seay. This short course serves as a complementary facility to the club's regulation-length layout, offering members and guests a quicker playing option in the desert landscape.

The course occupies terrain typical of the La Quinta area, where the valley floor meets the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Desert vegetation, including mesquite, palo verde, and various cacti, frames the holes, while mountain views provide a backdrop characteristic of Coachella Valley golf. The routing takes advantage of the natural contours and washes common to this part of the Colorado Desert, with elevation changes that add variety to what is otherwise a compact layout.

Short courses in desert resort communities typically feature par-3 holes of varying lengths, allowing players to work through their bag while experiencing design elements found on full-length courses—bunkers, water features, and strategic green complexes—in a condensed format. The Palmer-Seay design philosophy generally emphasized playability for a range of skill levels while incorporating the natural desert setting into the golf experience. The course functions as both a practice facility and a standalone playing option within the Tradition Golf Club community.