INDIAN WELLS GOLF RESORT RECOGNIZED BY GOLF INDUSTRY’S TOP PUBLICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
May 21, 2009   

CONTACTS:    Nancy Samuelson, City of Indian Wells
(760) 346-2489
nsamuelson@indianwells.com

 Jeff Locke, Communication Links 
(480) 348-7540
jlocke@commlinks.com 

INDIAN WELLS GOLF RESORT RECOGNIZED BY

GOLF INDUSTRY’S TOP PUBLICATIONS

 

 

“Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play” in California, ‘08 - Players Course No. 20, Celebrity Course No. 15

Indian Wells Golf Resort

 

 

“Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play” in California, ‘09 - Players Course No. 10, Celebrity Course No. 14

“Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses You Can Play” in the Nation, ‘07-’08 - Players No. 3, Celebrity No. 7

“Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses You Can Play” in the Nation, ‘08-’09 - Players No. 7, Celebrity No. 6

“Golfweek’s Best Tour Courses You Can Play” - Celebrity Course No. 18

“Golfweek’s Best New Courses You Can Play” in the Nation, ‘07 - Players Course No. 30

Golf Magazine: California’s Top 30 Public-Access Golf Courses: Players No. 13, Celebrity No. 16

Golf Digest Golf Guide: Players Course earned 4 ½ stars out of 5 in “Best Places You Can Play”

 

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - Not resting on its laurels, Indian Wells Golf Resort continues to garner awards and accolades from the golf industry’s top golf publications. 

Golfweek magazine honored Indian Wells Golf Resort with several of its prestigious golf course awards.  Recently, both golf courses at Indian Wells Golf Resort were listed on Golfweek’s ranking of the “Best Courses You Can Play” in the state of California for 2009.  The Players Course came in at No. 10 and the Celebrity Course at No. 14 out of the 25 top courses in the Golden State.  Indian Wells Golf Resort was one of only two 36-hole facilities with both golf courses receiving the award.  This marks the second year in a row that both courses earned this award with the Celebrity moving up one spot from 2008 to 2009 and Players moving up a remarkable 10 spots from 2008 to 2009.  

In another recently released ranking, Golfweek honored Indian Wells Golf Resort on a larger stage by listing both golf courses for the second years in a row to its ranking of “Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses You Can Play” in the Nation.  In the 2008-2009 municipal course ranking, Golfweek featured the Players Course at No. 7 and the Celebrity Course at No. 6, among other notable golf clubs such as Bethpage Black (1), Chambers Bay GC (2), Torrey Pines South (3) and SilverRock (32), the only other golf club from the Coachella Valley that was honored.  In last year’s 2007-2008 ranking, Golfweek featured the Players Course at No. 3 and the Celebrity Course at No. 7, among other notable municipal clubs such as Bethpage Black (1), Chambers Bay GC (2) and Torrey Pines South (5), no other golf clubs from the Coachella Valley were honored that year.  

Indian Wells Golf Resort is no stranger to competitive golf at the highest level.  For its role as the host of the LG SKINS GAME, the Celebrity Course was honored by Golfweek as one of “Golfweek’s Best Tour Courses You Can Play.”  The ranking noted the top 45 course that held a tour event during the 2008-2009 season, and the Celebrity Course earned the 18^th spot on that ranking. Other distinguished California clubs to make the ranking include Spyglass Hill Golf Club (3), Classic Club (13), Torrey Pines: South (15) & North (32), SilverRock (41) and Poppy Hills Golf Course (44). 

Rounding out the list of Golfweek awards garnered by Indian Wells Golf Resort, the Players Course came in at No. 30 on “Golfweek’s Best New Courses You Can Play” rankings for the year the golf course opened, 2007. 

Other heavy-hitters in the golf world also weighed in on Indian Wells Golf Resort.  For example, Golf Magazine named both golf courses to its list of “California’s Top 30 Public-Access Golf Courses: Players Course No. 13; Celebrity Course No. 16.  And Players Course earned 4 ½ stars out of 5 in Golf Digest’s “Best Places You Can Play” golf guide.

“We are thrilled to receive so many awards from these industry-leading publications,” said Greg Johnson, city manager for the City of Indian Wells.  “It’s truly gratifying to see our vision of Indian Wells Golf Resort come to life.  Although we knew all along that its future was bright, being recognized by several of the most prominent publications in golf is certainly special.  Congratulations to everyone who poured their efforts into boosting Indian Wells Golf Resort into a category occupied by the finest golf facilities in the country, if not the world.” 

Players Course

Conceived in the spirit of a classic American design style, The Players Course features wide playing corridors, traditional rectangular tee boxes and sculpted bunkers.  Most of the holes are oriented to take full advantage of jaw-dropping views of the surrounding mountain ranges and majestic Eisenhower Mountain to the south.  As a “core golf” layout, no roads or homes intrude into the golf course, and each hole is designed to be somewhat sheltered from the others to elicit a feeling of solitude. Uniquely, Fought was able to utilize many of the mature trees found on the original East Course property to impart the feel of a venerable facility while at the same time delivering a modern approach to golf course design.  But to be clear, the mature tree cover and geographical location are about the only two things that the original East Course (opened in 1986) and the new Players Course have in common.  By design, the Players Course is completely different than the original golf course. 

Celebrity Course

Clive Clark’s much anticipated new Celebrity Course opened November 1, 2006 to rave reviews.  In addition to spectacular mountain views, the new Par-72 Celebrity Course features undulating fairways, and flowing water in the form of streams, brooks, and split-level lakes connected by striking waterfalls, with vibrant floral detail.

From start to finish, the Celebrity Course offers an unmatched golf experience ideal for golfers of all levels of play. In fact, the Celebrity Course was on full display, as it played host to the 2007 and 2008 LG SKINS GAME.  In 2007, Stephen Ames took top honors and KJ Choi bested his fellow competitors in the 2008 event.  The Celebrity Course’s many risk/reward challenges and fine conditioning provided the ideal arena for the world’s best to display their abilities. 

Indian Wells Golf Resort

The Indian Wells Golf Resort has been a popular golf travel destination for nearly 20 years with its two golf courses, four adjacent hotel/resorts and great winter climate leading the way.  The City of Indian Wells, owner of the golf resort, decided to further elevate the Indian Wells golf experience by embarking on an ambitious facility-wide project that yielded two new golf courses - Celebrity Course opened November of 2006 and Players Course followed November of 2007.  In addition, the spectacular IW Club (clubhouse) opened to the public in 2008.  Soon after opening, it won 1^st Place in the 2008 Golf Inc. magazine Clubhouse Competition.  The richly appointed IW Club houses an impressive array of amenities including the Callaway Performance Center, fine and casual dining, jaw-dropping golf shop, sprawling patios, nine-hole lighted putting course, complete practice facility and a host of other amenities.    

 Awards and Accolades, at a glance   

• “Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play” in California, ‘08 - Players Course No. 20, Celebrity Course No. 15
• “Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play” in California, ‘09 - Players Course No. 10, Celebrity Course No. 14
• “Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses You Can Play” in the Nation, ‘07-’08 - Players No. 3, Celebrity No. 7
• “Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses You Can Play” in the Nation, ‘08 -’09 - Players No. 7, Celebrity No. 6
• “Golfweek’s Best Tour Courses You Can Play” - Celebrity Course No. 18
• “Golfweek’s Best New Courses You Can Play” in the Nation, ‘07 - Players Course No. 30
• Golf Magazine: California’s Top 30 Public-Access Golf Courses: Players No. 13, Celebrity No. 16
• Golf Digest Golf Guide: Players Course earned 4 ½ stars out of 5 in “Best Places You Can Play”
• 2009 Golfweek’s Best Resort Courses of Distinction
• IW Club placed 1^st in the 2008 Golf Inc. magazine Clubhouse Competition
• IW Club, 1 of the “13 Best New Restaurants” - Palm Springs Life

Indian Wells Golf Resort

To book this great facility, please call 760-471-6023 or visit http://www.showtimegolf.com/palmsprings/courses/courses_indianwells.php

Posted in General Golf |