The best golf courses in Palm Springs you can book, ranked

The best golf courses in Palm Springs that a visitor can book are the PGA WEST Stadium Course, Desert Willow's Firecliff, the PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament and the redesigned Indian Wells Players Course. All four are in the middle or east of the valley, 23 to 39 minutes from downtown Palm Springs, and none of the four publishes a fixed rate card.

This list of the best golf courses in Palm Springs ranks public and resort courses only. Private clubs are covered in our private golf clubs in Palm Springs guide. Fees were seen between June and early November 2026 and change by season and hour.

Quick facts

• Hardest you can book: PGA WEST Stadium, 75.8/148 from 7,300 yards.
• Best city-owned pair: Desert Willow (Palm Desert) and Indian Wells Golf Resort.
• Closest good round to downtown: Indian Canyons North, 7 minutes; Escena, 10.
• Biggest change: Indian Wells Players reopened in December 2025 after a John Fought redesign.
• Fall catch: overseed closures run from mid-September to late December, course by course.

The ranked list

The ranking weighs design, difficulty, condition reports and access. "Tracker" figures are user-contributed estimates seen in April 2026. Weekend peak bands are Greenskeeper's average ranges, undated. Drive times are free-flow from downtown Palm Springs.

1. PGA WEST Stadium Course

The Stadium is Pete and Alice Dye's 1986 target course: railroad ties, pot bunkers, a greenside bunker on 16 about 19 feet deep and water on 16 to 18. The 17th, "Alcatraz", is a short par 3 to an island green. All 18 greens were rebuilt in a restoration that finished with a November 2024 reopening.

Trade-offs: it is the hardest and dearest round you can book, it closes for American Express week each January, and in 2026 it reopens from overseed on November 9 with cart path only to November 29. Summer drops to about $95 on the same tracker. See the Stadium course guide and PGA WEST Stadium Course rates and access.

2. Desert Willow Firecliff

Firecliff is the harder of Palm Desert's two city-owned courses, a Hurdzan-Fry-Cook design with elevated greens and more than 100 bunkers, freshly renovated with Mini Verde bermuda greens. The club's own estimates run $50 to $95 prime in June to September.

Trade-offs: it is closed for overseed from November 9 to December 25, 2026. For a late-fall trip, its sister Mountain View is open and more forgiving. Compare them in our Desert Willow Golf Resort guide.

3. PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament

The Nicklaus Tournament shares the Stadium's clubhouse and its American Express hosting duty. It is big-scale desert golf with water, deep bunkers and large greens, fairer than the Stadium and usually cheaper, with a summer estimate of about $80. It was the first PGA WEST tournament-side course back from overseed, on November 2, 2026.

Trade-offs: at 75.3/143 from the Black tees it is still a long day for high handicappers. Pair it with the Stadium for a 36-hole day.

4. Indian Wells Golf Resort Players

The Players Course is the city of Indian Wells' Troon-managed course, rebuilt by John Fought and reopened in December 2025 as a par 71, with new 17th and 18th holes north of the Whitewater Wash. The resort cites a Golf Magazine California ranking of 16th (year not stated) and the Epson Tour Championship was scheduled on it in 2026.

Trade-offs: no rate card is published. A GolfLink estimate says $299 and a 2025 reviewer paid $227 before the renovation. Four resort hotels sit within walking distance. See the Players course guide.

5. Escena

Escena is the best daily-fee round in Palm Springs itself: a wide, modern Nicklaus Design course near the airport with big mountain views and plenty of sand. Anyone can book online up to 30 days out, and times booked 0 to 3 days ahead carry the lowest dynamic rates. The grill runs late Wednesday to Saturday.

Trade-offs: afternoon wind, and it is long from the 7,173-yard Tournament tees. See the Escena course guide.

6. Classic Club

Classic Club is Arnold Palmer's big course north of I-10, 7,322 yards from the Black tees, with full Troon service and a stated pace of 4:20. Most bookings include a $25 food and drink voucher.

Trade-offs: carts are mandatory, two per foursome, it reopens from overseed around November 11, 2026, and the land is being marketed for development, so its long-term future is uncertain.

7 to 12: the rest of the short list

• Indian Wells Celebrity: the "Beauty" to the Players' "Beast", with lakes, waterfalls and flower beds. A better pick than the Players for couples and mixed groups.
• Pete Dye Mountain: early Dye from 1981 at the foot of the Santa Rosas, with rock outcrops and small greens. Walkable from La Quinta Resort rooms. Closed for overseed until November 16, 2026.
• Greg Norman: native desert scrub and waste areas, usually the cheapest of the three PGA WEST tournament-side courses. Closed November 9 to December 7, 2026.
• Terra Lago North: elevation, blind shots and an island-green par-3 15th in Indio. It hosted the PGA Tour Skins Game from 1999 to 2002, and a La Quinta Golf Tour listing showed $55 in June 2026.
• Indian Canyons North: a palm-lined 1961 course under the San Jacinto Mountains, owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Reopened October 30, 2026.
• Westin Rancho Mirage Pete Dye: a central par 70 with brand-new greens from a 2026 rebuild, reopening November 3, 2026. Judge it on post-November reports, as earlier reviews were mixed on conditioning.

Best value among the good courses

Not every round on a list of the best golf courses in Palm Springs needs to cost $200. Cimarron Boulder showed $56.49 after 3 PM for November 3, 2026. Tahquitz Creek Resort, a Ted Robinson course 8 minutes from downtown, had hot deals of $63.99 and $65.99 for November 7 and 8, 2026. Heritage Palms, an Arthur Hills course in Indio, showed $45.99 with cart in September 2026. See cheap golf in Palm Springs.

One worth the drive

One of the best golf courses in Palm Springs' wider orbit is not in the valley at all. Rams Hill in Borrego Springs, 125 minutes from downtown, ranked 93rd on GOLF's Top 100 Courses You Can Play for 2024-25. Its published rates for October and November 2026 start at $170 Monday to Thursday and $225 Friday to Sunday. It converted to TifTuf bermuda in 2024 and no longer closes for fall overseed.

How to pick from the best golf courses in Palm Springs

• One splurge: the Stadium, booked as a La Quinta Resort guest if you want a specific January date a year out.
• Two big days at one address: Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament from the same clubhouse, or Players and Celebrity at Indian Wells.
• Based in Palm Springs: Escena, Indian Canyons North and Tahquitz Creek Resort, all within 10 minutes.
• November trip: check overseed first. Desert Willow Mountain View, Pete Dye Dunes and the Nicklaus Tournament are open in early November 2026; Firecliff and the Norman are not.

Our Palm Springs golf courses list has every bookable course, Palm Springs golf rates the season-by-season fees and where to stay in Palm Springs for golf the bases. If you are weighing desert winter towns, compare the best golf courses in Tucson.

Plan it on the map

Open the Palm Springs golf map to see the best golf courses in Palm Springs with their tees, overseed dates and the hotels nearest each one. The $30 plan puts each round on a day it is open and in the right order for your base.