The best courses you can play in Palm Desert, California
Course Vaults is a golf course logging app where members have logged 16,956 rounds in California and rate what they played. These are the 19 highest-rated public courses within about 25 miles of Palm Desert, California, ranked by those community scores.

Stadium
PGA West
La Quinta, CA, USAPublic
- 3.9Conditions
- 4.4Layout
- 3.7Value
- 4.2Scenery
- 3.9Facilities
after playing it several times, the novelty has worn off. its in nice condition, but not worth the price they charge. its ok if uou get it for the replay rate of 100.00, but the nicklaus course is nicer with more challenging holes.
Written by
@ESP
- Challenging
- Driving range
- Putting area

Celebrity
Indian Wells Golf Resort
Indian Wells, CA, USAPublicClive Clark
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 3.7Value
- 4.8Scenery
- 4.0Facilities
Lands right in the middle of the “beautiful but bank breaking” and “underwhelming but budget friendly” tracks in the Palm Springs area. Was lucky enough to get perfect weather conditions, Palm Springs golf is at its best later winter/early spring.
Written by
@GIR
- Views
- Pristine

Mountain
La Quinta
La Quinta, CA, USAPublicPete Dye
- 3.3Conditions
- 3.7Layout
- 3.3Value
- 4.1Scenery
- 3.4Facilities
This felt like a really lazy design out of Pete Dye. Overall a fun play and the holes through the mountain are really gorgeous but I left a bit disappointed as I had higher expectations
Written by
@Dawgattheturn
- Driving range
- Views
- Hidden gem

Firecliff
Desert Willow Golf Resort
Palm Desert, CA, USAPublicDana Fry & Dr. Michael Hurdzan
- 4.5Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.1Value
- 4.5Scenery
- 2.9Facilities
A very manufactured space and typical desert golf. I would say for the price go play any of the PGA West courses over this though.
Written by
@Dawgattheturn
- Pristine
- Driving range
- Views

Marriott's Shadow Ridge Golf Club
Palm Desert, CA, USAPublicNick Faldo
- 4.5Conditions
- 3.7Layout
- 3.3Value
- 4.3Scenery
- 3.8Facilities
Layout is interesting vs other desert courses out in Palm Desert. It’s a Faldo design with so many bunkers that some just felt unnecessary but made it challenging around the green nonetheless
Written by
@Jolfer
- Driving range
- Pristine
- Grass range

South
Indian Canyons Golf Resort
Palm Springs, CA, USAPublicCasey O'Callaghan
- 5.0Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 4.5Value
- 4.5Scenery
- 2.4Facilities
- Must play
- Pristine
- Underrated

Classic Club
Palm Desert, CA, USAPublicArnold Palmer
- 5.0Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 3.0Value
- 3.0Scenery
- 3.0Facilities
- Driving range
- Must play
- Pristine

Nicklaus Tournament
PGA West
La Quinta, CA, USAPublicJack Nicklaus
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.1Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 3.5Facilities
First and foremost, fantastic golfer experience. From the moment you pull up to the front door, staff is there ready to greet you. Pro shop guys were positively excited for you, followed by the man on the first tee. Course was challenging and great fun.
Written by
@Cary
- Walkable
- Challenging
- Driving range

SilverRock Resort
La Quinta, CA, USAPublic
- 3.8Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 3.0Value
- 4.6Scenery
- 2.7Facilities
- Desert
- Views
- Driving range

Mountain View
Desert Willow Golf Resort
Palm Desert, CA, USAPublicDana Fry & Dr. Michael Hurdzan
- 4.5Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 4.0Value
- 5.0Scenery
- 4.2Facilities

Palms
Marriott's Desert Springs Resort
Palm Desert, CA, USAPublicTed Robinson Sr.
- 3.8Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.7Value
- 4.2Scenery
- 4.1Facilities
- Driving range
- Resort
- Pristine

Players
Indian Wells Golf Resort
Indian Wells, CA, USAPublicJohn Fought
- 3.5Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 2.5Value
- 3.3Scenery
- 3.4Facilities

Valley
Marriott's Desert Springs Resort
Palm Desert, CA, USAPublicTed Robinson Sr.
- 3.0Conditions
- 3.2Layout
- 3.2Value
- 3.7Scenery
- 3.6Facilities
- Driving range
- Resort
- Views

North
Golf Club at Terra Lago
Indio, CA, USAPublicLandmark Golf Company
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 4.0Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 4.0Facilities
Probably in better condition than the South but I don’t think it’s quite as fun. Decent value but they will kick you off the course at 5 PM even if sunset is at 5:30
Written by
@Kirkeide1
- Driving range
- Hidden gem

Dunes
La Quinta
La Quinta, CA, USAPublicPete Dye
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 3.0Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 3.0Facilities
- Driving range
- Pristine

Escena Golf Club
Palm Springs, CA, USAPublicJack Nicklaus
- Scoreable
- Desert
- Great value

Greg Norman
PGA West
La Quinta, CA, USAPublicGreg Norman
- 3.7Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.5Value
- 4.1Scenery
- 3.3Facilities
- Driving range
- Pristine
- Walkable

Legend
Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort
Palm Springs, CA, USAPublicWilliam Francis Bell
- 3.5Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 3.3Value
- 2.0Scenery
- 2.8Facilities

Gary Player
Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa
Rancho Mirage, CA, USAPublicGary Player
- 3.5Conditions
- NRLayout
- NRValue
- NRScenery
- NRFacilities
How we rank
Course Vaults ranks public golf courses by Course Vaults Score (CV score), a community rating from golfers who have played and rated each course. Only open courses with at least 5 explicit ratings qualify, and this list is limited to public or guest-friendly courses. City pages include public golf courses within about 25 miles of Palm Desert, so nearby suburbs can appear on the same list. Rankings refresh about hourly as new ratings come in; each page shows when it was last generated.
FAQ
Common questions about public course rankings in Palm Desert, California.
The top public golf courses in Palm Desert, California on Course Vaults are led by PGA West with a Course Vaults score of 8.4. This page ranks 19 courses, including PGA West, Indian Wells Golf Resort, La Quinta.
Course Vaults ranks public golf courses by Course Vaults Score (CV score), a community rating from golfers who have played and rated each course. Only open courses with at least 5 explicit ratings qualify, and this list is limited to public or guest-friendly courses. City pages include public golf courses within about 25 miles of Palm Desert, so nearby suburbs can appear on the same list. Rankings refresh about hourly as new ratings come in; each page shows when it was last generated.
Yes. The Palm Desert, California list includes public golf courses within about 25 miles of Palm Desert, not only courses whose city field is an exact match. Nearby suburbs can appear when they fall inside that metro radius.
PGA West is currently #1 among public courses in and around Palm Desert, California on Course Vaults at 8.4 out of 10.
This ranking was last refreshed Nov 12, 2026, 4:01 AM EST. The page revalidates about every hour as golfers add new explicit ratings that meet the 5-rating minimum.
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