Back from the road....

I’ve been on the road for the past two weeks. My first stop was Palm Springs for the fall Golf Inc. Conference. I didn’t play but had the chance to visit PGA West’s Stadium Course (pictured above). It was designed and built by Pete Dye and his associates. Flying out of Palm Springs it is quite jarring seeing every housing development constrict a golf course. At least the stadium course is single loaded – each hole only has homes on one side. The site was flat and the golf holes were carved out of the desert. The homes are not as prominent as the aerial depicts as well – the holes play towards the center and the homes are set back and on a different elevation.

I didn’t take any pictures but I did get a great guided tour from someone who was involved with the project. The greenside bunker on 16 is very, very deep – 18 feet. It is surprising to see another Pete Dye island green, probably because it wasn’t his idea. Many of the features were quite creative -- and the wayward driver of the golf ball would have a very hard time.

I'm going to share a few of my stops on the road later this week.