And so our desert leg begins. From LA to New Orleans apparently there??s nothing much but sand, and a few rocks. Vast, vast countryside ?? the next few days are certainly gonna be an eye opener. And hot.
Last night we zipped down the 10 from LA to Palm Springs, which was more of a climb than I??d expected. By some fortunate coincidence a chap called Gary ?? from the Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa ?? contacted me in the afternoon, before we set sail, offering his help. (He??d run into a mate of ours down in Florida last week, and heard about what we were doing). With no accom arranged for last night, the plan was to spend it in Dodgy ?? no worries. Gary had a better idea though, and instead put us up in a plush pad overlooking one of the 26908 golf courses in this area. What a treat. Trading the back seat of Dodgy for a bed the size of a small nation was like trading muskets and salt for large tracts of land ?? a sweet deal!
This morning we boosted 17 miles or so down the road to PGA West, a phenomenal golf facility. There are 7 courses or so here, and a whole bunch of condos lining each. Almost entirely a golf town (La Quinta). Because we don??t yet have a GPS for the car, before we left I scribbled some directions on my forearm taken from the ever mercurial Google Maps. Not for the first time, we were misled. It was a happy coincidence, therefore, that the chief staff writer for the USPGA Tour called Mike for a yarn while we were en route ?? she was able to give us (proper) directions in between questions! Dodgy rolled into the carpark 5 minutes late for our tee time, but thankfully there was a pretty open tee this morning, so all was not lost.
The Americans really do golf well. As soon as my left foot hit the tarmac a gentleman rolled up in a cart to take our sticks, and usher us to the pro shop. The pro told us there was no rush, and that we could hit some balls if we??d like (which we did). Given the Stadium Course at PGA West had been built up as a monster, we thought we better sharpen up and be ready. The starter then cautioned us against playing the tips (circa 7000 yards), which turned out to be a shame. We accepted his counsel and played blues ?? too short at 6500. The ball flies further up here too, with the heat and altitude.
Neither of us got off to a flier, but after a few holes birdies began to trickle onto our scorecards. With receptive greens and generous fairways, you can really score here. That??s if you stay away from the water (something we each failed to do on several occasions). Dye has built a balanced course, with water running along left and right; with long par 5s and short par 4s; and tough par 3s. He??s renowned for designing tough tracks ?? but going solely on PGA West, you??d be far more worried by Greg Norman or even Nicklaus. I??ll reserve judgment until we??ve played a few more of his designs.
One of the nicest things about this morning was that there was hardly anyone out there. A sign of the times perhaps? Maybe just a reflection that there are a ton of courses around here, so competition is hot. The offshoot for us was that we got round in 3 hours, including a couple of ??comfort stops? (I love American euphemisms). You can drive carts on the fairways, which means you don??t have 55 walks to and from the cart as you do when it??s ??cart paths only?. Nice.
The scenery was pretty dramatic, too. Real Lone Ranger stuff. On the horizon all around you are scraggy peaks, creating a (hot, dry) cauldron effect ?? framed by piercing blue sky, of course. Might have to pick myself up a pair of sunglasses, David Duval styles...or not. They must use a boatload of water out here for irrigation, ??cos there ain??t much rain. We did see snow on a couple of peaks though; snow that looks really enticing when you??re being toasted alive by the California sun. (Note to self: avoid playing in the middle of the day in the desert).
Mick and me played a best ball today, in the hope of having a combined under par score. I weighed in with 4 birdies, but Mike??s putts weren??t dropping. And after a careless bogey on the last for each of us, 1 under disappeared from reach ?? giving us a disappointing 72. Rubbish. Today was one of those few days that I should??ve shot under par, but instead bottled it and shot 76 (thanks to a 3 putt par on 16 and some sloppy chips coming down the final stretch). Life goes on.
On the way ??round we bumped into a 6 strong crew of lads ?? probably a couple of years older than us ?? up here on a golf vacation. We got chatting as they let us through. Their warmth and positivity was indicative of the enthusiastic reception we??ve been lucky to receive here in the US. Everyone seems to ??get?? puregolf2010, which helps keep us ??up?? 24/7. I can see why people love this place.
Mike??s going to put up a video blog showcasing the golf course and the surrounding scenery. And our swish LoudMouth pants! Enjoy.
JP
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It was a pleasure speaking to you guys on the Stadium course at PGA West. Good luck with remainder of the trip!
Posted by Tyson Blackner, 29/05/2010 10:48pm (3 years ago)
Chisholm Park
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