La Quinta Resort: Mountain Course

Pete Dye designed the Mountain Course at La Quinta in 1980, one of his earliest big-name commissions and his first major desert design. The course is nestled at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains with holes that climb into the foothills before returning to the desert floor. Pot bunkers, natural rock formations, elevated tees, and well-bunkered greens set it apart from the manicured target-golf typical of Coachella Valley resorts. The par-3 16th is one of the most photographed one-shots in the Coachella Valley, a dramatic downhill hole to a green ringed by massive boulders. The course has been listed among America's best 100 on multiple national rankings and named one of GOLF Magazine's Top 100 You Can Play. For Palm Springs visitors who want a true desert-mountain setting and early Pete Dye design DNA, the Mountain is the pick.