BIGHORN GOLF CLUB
🇺🇸 Palm Desert, CA, USA
Designed by Tom Fazio

The Canyons at Bighorn Golf Club opened in 1998 as Tom Fazio's contribution to this private desert community in Palm Desert. The course occupies dramatic terrain in the Santa Rosa Mountains foothills, where Fazio routed holes through natural canyons and across elevation changes that provide views across the Coachella Valley. The design works with the existing topography rather than imposing upon it, incorporating rock outcroppings, desert washes, and native vegetation into the playing corridors.
Fazio's routing takes advantage of the property's natural movement, with holes that climb into the canyons and descend back toward the valley floor. The course features the architect's characteristic attention to playability across different skill levels, with multiple tee options that allow members to choose appropriate challenge. Bunkering and green complexes reflect Fazio's preference for strategic options rather than penal design, though the desert landscape itself provides natural consequences for wayward shots.
Bighorn Golf Club also includes a second course, The Mountains, designed by Arthur Hills. The club serves a membership drawn largely from seasonal residents and maintains a reputation for privacy and understated luxury typical of high-end desert golf communities in the Palm Springs area. The Canyons has hosted member tournaments and regional amateur events, though it has not been a venue for professional competition. The course benefits from the desert climate's playing conditions during the winter and spring months when most members are in residence.
Reviews
FAQ
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
The Canyons at Bighorn Golf Club has a Course Vaults score of 8.1 out of 10 based on 9 explicit golfer ratings.
The Canyons was designed by Tom Fazio.
The Canyons at Bighorn Golf Club is listed as private on Course Vaults; guest access is typically restricted.
Par at The Canyons is 72.
The Canyons plays 7,000 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at The Canyons is 141.