California
Palm Springs Golf Courses & Tee Times
The Coachella Valley has more than 100 courses by the tourism bureau's count. Its tour history goes back to 1960, when the Palm Springs Golf Classic began; it became the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1965 and is now The American Express, played each winter on PGA West's Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament courses and La Quinta Country Club. Pete Dye's Stadium Course was so hard in its 1987 debut that the pros petitioned it out of the rotation. It didn't come back until 2016. Several of the valley's public courses belong to cities: Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta each own one.
Good weekend tee times in Palm Springs go fast, and the ones that come back later (cancellations, groups that shrink) aren't announced. Yoink watches the tee sheets at 48 public courses here, from Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indio, Rancho Mirage and Cathedral City, and tells you the moment a time you want opens up.
The longest layout here is Classic Club at 7,322 yards; there are 3 nine-hole courses; there are 2 executive or par-3 courses for a quicker round.
Who runs public golf in Palm Springs
Desert Willow in Palm Desert is managed by KemperSports for the City of Palm Desert, which commissioned Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and John Cook to build Firecliff and Mountain View. A $52 Palm Desert Resident Golf Card gets a $52 green fee inside a 3-day window, and $40 in summer 2026. Indian Wells residents book with a Resident Benefit Card. SilverRock in La Quinta is owned by the city and managed by Landmark Golf. In Palm Springs, Tahquitz Creek has two courses, William F. Bell's Legend and Ted Robinson's Resort, plus a Coachella Valley local resident rate.
Public courses worth knowing in Palm Springs
- PGA West - Pete Dye Stadium Course: Pete Dye's follow-up to TPC Sawgrass. Pros petitioned it out of the Bob Hope after 1987; it has been back in The American Express rotation since 2016. Also hosted the Skins Game 1986-1991 and six Q-School finals.
- PGA West - Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course: One of the three current courses used for The American Express each January.
- Desert Willow Golf Resort - Firecliff: The tougher of Desert Willow's two city-owned courses. Hurdzan, Fry and John Cook designed the resort, which made the cover of Smithsonian in April 1997 for its desert planting.
- Indian Wells Golf Resort - Celebrity Course: Clive Clark design that opened in November 2006, with streams and stacked lakes.
- SilverRock Resort: City of La Quinta course, the Arnold Palmer Classic at 7,239 yards, and a host course of the Bob Hope/American Express from 2008 to 2011.
- Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort - Legend Course: A William F. Bell design, the same Bell family behind Torrey Pines, in a traditional country club style with mountain views across the wash.
Booking tee times in Palm Springs: the local rules
Desert Willow takes public bookings up to 60 days out with a card guarantee. Palm Desert residents get a separate 3-day window that opens at 7:00 PM, and the resident rate only counts on times booked inside it. Indian Wells residents book online only, prepaid, up to 14 1/2 days out. Your name can appear on the tee sheet only once every six hours, and you must cancel 72 hours ahead to get a refund. SilverRock requires prepayment online. Don't plan on a fivesome; Tahquitz says most valley public courses don't allow them. Watch fall overseeding: in 2026 Desert Willow's Mountain View is closed Sept. 21 to Oct. 22 and Firecliff Nov. 9 to Dec. 25, with each course also closed about 10 days for summer aerification.
Yoink
Book on release day, then let Yoink watch the rest
Booking windows decide who gets first pick. After that, times come back one at a time as plans change. Yoink watches all 48 courses in Palm Springs and tells you when a time that fits comes back, so you're not refreshing the page all week.
48 courses in Palm Springs
Borrego Springs
Cathedral City
Cimarron Golf Resort - Boulder Course
Cimarron Golf Resort - Boulder Course is an 18-hole regulation course in Cathedral City, California, playing to par 71 across 6,782 yards.
Date Palm Country Club
Date Palm Country Club, an 18-hole executive course in Cathedral City, California. Water is in play on 10 of the 18 holes, so bring a few extra balls.
Desert Princess Country Club & Resort
Par 72 and 6,800 yards from the back tees: Desert Princess Country Club & Resort is a 27-hole golf facility in Cathedral City, California.
Desert Hot Springs
Indio
Big Rock Golf Course at Indian Springs
Big Rock Golf Course at Indian Springs is an 18-hole regulation course in Indio, California, playing to par 72 across 6,671 yards.
Heritage Palms Golf Club
Par 72 and 6,698 yards from the back tees: Heritage Palms Golf Club is an 18-hole regulation course in Indio, California.
Indian Palms Country Club
Indian Palms Country Club in Indio — 18 holes.
The Golf Club at Terra Lago North
The Golf Club at Terra Lago North is a championship-length 18 in Indio, California, playing to par 72 across 7,123 yards.
The Golf Club at Terra Lago South
The Golf Club at Terra Lago South is a championship-length 18 in Indio, California, playing to par 72 across 7,229 yards.
La Quinta
Mountain & Dunes Resort
PGA West - Dunes Course
Water borders nine of the eighteen. The back nine plays 292 yards longer than the front.
PGA West - Greg Norman Golf Course
Water borders twelve of the eighteen. 85 bunkers are in play.
PGA West - Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course
Jack Nicklaus's desert course with two island greens and raised greens; it shares The American Express with the Stadium Course every January.
PGA WEST - Pete Dye Mountain Course
The back nine plays 292 yards longer than the front, and water borders nine of the eighteen.
PGA West - Pete Dye Stadium Course
Pete Dye's Sawgrass sequel, so hard the pros petitioned it off the Bob Hope after 1987. The island 17th is Alcatraz, site of Trevino's Skins Game ace.
SilverRock Resort
The Arnold Palmer Classic Course: 7,239 yards of big native bunkers and water under the Santa Rosa Mountains, a Bob Hope Classic host from 2008 to 2011.
The Citrus Club
Trilogy Golf Club at La Quinta
Trilogy Golf Club at La Quinta, an 18-hole regulation course in La Quinta, California. It's a sand-heavy layout, with about 84 bunkers.
Palm Desert
Classic Club
An Arnold Palmer-designed daily-fee desert course in Palm Desert that co-hosted the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic from 2006 to 2008. Par 72, 7,322 yards.
Desert Falls Country Club
The front nine plays 256 yards longer than the back, and water borders twelve of the eighteen.
Desert Willow Golf Resort - Firecliff
The harder of Palm Desert's two city courses: Hurdzan and Fry's desert layout with over 100 bunkers, and new Mini Verde greens since December 2024.
Desert Willow Golf Resort - Mountain View
Water borders eight of the eighteen, and the long par three plays 207 yards.
JW Marriott Desert Springs - Palm Course
JW Marriott Desert Springs - Palm Course is an 18-hole regulation course in Palm Desert, California, playing to par 72 across 6,761 yards.
JW Marriott Desert Springs - Valley Course
Water borders eight of the eighteen. The long par three plays 207 yards.
Mountain Vista Golf Club - San Gorgonio
Mountain Vista Golf Club - San Gorgonio is an 18-hole regulation course in Palm Desert, California, playing to par 72 across 6,669 yards.
Mountain Vista Golf Club - Santa Rosa
Par 72 and 6,669 yards from the back tees: Mountain Vista Golf Club - Santa Rosa is an 18-hole regulation course in Palm Desert, California.
Palm Desert Country Club
One hole moves 50 feet from tee to green — water borders thirteen of the eighteen.
Palm Desert Resort Country Club
Par 72 and 6,585 yards from the back tees: Palm Desert Resort Country Club is an 18-hole regulation course in Palm Desert, California.
Shadow Mountain Golf Club
Shadow Mountain Golf Club is a shorter 18-hole course in Palm Desert, California, playing to par 70 across 5,375 yards.
Shadow Ridge Golf Club
Par 71 and 7,006 yards from the back tees: Shadow Ridge Golf Club is a championship-length 18 in Palm Desert, California.
Suncrest Country Club
Suncrest Country Club in Palm Desert — a nine-hole course, par 33 at 2,473 yards.
Woodhaven Country Club
Woodhaven Country Club, a shorter 18-hole course in Palm Desert, California. Water comes into play on 16 of 18 holes, and you carry it on 8 of them. Keep the ball in front of you.
Rancho Mirage
Desert Island Country Club
The greens average only 20 yards deep, and the back nine plays 251 yards longer than the front.
Mission Hills - Gary Player
66 bunkers are in play, and water borders twelve of the eighteen.
Rancho Las Palmas Country Club
Water borders eleven of the eighteen, and the back nine plays 337 yards longer than the front.
The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa - Pete Dye Course
Thousand Palms
Twentynine Palms
Yucca Valley
Other
Indian Canyons Golf Resort - South Course
The back nine plays 290 yards longer than the front. Twelve of the eighteen bend.
Oasis Country Club
Oasis Country Club, an 18-hole executive course near Palm Desert, California. Water is in play on 16 of the 18 holes, and you carry it on 8 of them, so bring a few extra balls.
Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort - Legend Course
The old Palm Springs Municipal, a William F. Bell design from 1957, with 40 bunkers Arnold Palmer's group added in 1996 and four holes across the wash.
Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort - Resort Course
Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort - Resort Course is an 18-hole regulation course near Cathedral City, California, playing to par 72 across 6,705 yards.
Why tee times in Palm Springs are hard to get
Golf in Palm Springs peaks in winter, when seasonal residents and visitors arrive. From roughly November through April, weekend mornings are the hardest times on the sheet to get, and even weekdays fill up.
Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.
When tee time cancellations happen
Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.
How to get a tee time in Palm Springs
Yoink
All 48 courses in Palm Springs, watched for you around the clock
Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 48 courses in Palm Springs. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
- Keep a quicker course in your back pocket. Nine-hole and executive courses are easier to get on and play faster. Around here that includes Date Palm Country Club, Ivey Ranch Country Club and Oasis Country Club.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times in Palm Springs: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Palm Springs?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time in Palm Springs?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest in Palm Springs?
Demand is highest from roughly November through April. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Which courses in Palm Springs are quickest to play?
Nine-hole and executive courses such as Date Palm Country Club, Ivey Ranch Country Club and Oasis Country Club take less time and are usually easier to book.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in California
- Los Angeles & Orange County · 135 courses
- San Francisco Bay Area · 71 courses
- San Diego · 49 courses
- Sacramento · 38 courses
- Central Coast · 33 courses
- Central Valley · 26 courses
- Redding & Far Northern California · 18 courses
- Reno & Tahoe · 17 courses
- Wine Country & North Coast · 12 courses
- More California · 13 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- visitgreaterpalmsprings.com · official
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- desertwillow.com · official
- desertwillow.com · official
- desertwillow.com · official
- desertwillow.com · official
- desertwillow.com · official
- indianwellsgolfresort.com · official
- indianwellsgolfresort.com · official
- indianwellsgolfresort.com · official
- indianwellsgolfresort.com · official
- indianwellsgolfresort.com · official
- tahquitzgolfresort.com · official
- tahquitzgolfresort.com · official
- tahquitzgolfresort.com · official
- tahquitzgolfresort.com · official
- tahquitzgolfresort.com · official
- silverrock.org · official
Tee times in Palm Springs, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.