HOST COURSE, PALMER PRIVATE AT PGA WEST
Credit: Evan SchillerThe Palmer Private Course, designed by the master himself, was the second of six courses to be added to the magnificent 2,200-acre PGA WEST resort development, otherwise known as the “Western Home of Golf in America®”. As the second PGA WEST course to be added to the Humana Challenge in 1988, the Palmer Private was the 61st course in California and the 810th in the world to receive the honor of being named as a Certified Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary.
With five finishing holes artfully sculpted along the rugged Santa Rosa Mountains, Hall of Famer, Arnold Palmer has designed a truly tournament-worthy course, incorporating five lakes and a formidable, in-play canal. Host of the Humana Challenge for over two decades this scenic 6,950-yard, par 72 course will once again serve as the host course for the 2011 tournament.
NICKLAUS PRIVATE AT PGA WEST
The Nicklaus Private Course, designed by Jack Nicklaus is the second course at PGA WEST to host the Humana Challenge and has been a part of the tournament’s history since 2009. Also a Certified Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary, at 6,951 yards long, the Nicklaus Private Course has the highest stroke (74.3) and slope (146) ratings of the three private courses at PGA WEST.
LA QUINTA COUNTRY CLUB
La Quinta Country Club was established in 1959 and for fifty years has been known to the world’s golfing community as the “Jewel of the Desert.” It was on their rolling tree-lined fairways where the late President Dwight Eisenhower first became devoted to golf in the desert. Even today, professionals and amateurs alike consider this course, designed by Frank and Lawrence Hughes, one of the finest; its greens among “the best on tour.”
La Quinta Country Club Lily pads float on the shimmering lakes that come into play on eight of the holes along the 7060 yards of emerald fairways. The grounds are abundant with rose bushes and mature trees adding to the beauty of the course. Features added to the course recently are the attractive water fountain that separates the 9th and 18th greens, the rambling waterfall at the 7th green, and another along the 8th fairway.
