If your ball lands in the Indian burial ground, it's a free drop!

“Hi! Welcome to Indian Wells!  Is it your first time here?” The starter says with a big grin. He rattles off a couple of reminders before he sends us on our way to hole number 1 of its Celebrity course.  “Don’t forget to hydrate.  It can get pretty hot out there.  There are no cart path restrictions.  One more thing, if your ball lands in the Indian burial grounds, it’s a free drop……”
As soon as I heard that, I knew I was going to enjoy playing the course. The good news was that the temperature had gone down some.  So 109 degrees was a little cooler from 113 F earlier that morning. It was the first time for me and “the men in my golf life” to play Indian Wells and we were quite excited to see if we could conquer her.

Indian Wells is located in the center of Coachella Valley and just 20 minutes east of Palm Springs. The two-hour drive from Los Angeles was so worth it. The mountain views were scenic. The fairways were lush and the greens immaculate.

It was hard for me to concentrate between taking pictures and playing the course. The landscaping was just gorgeous. Every hole looked like a postcard. Because there were no houses surrounding the golf resort, there were no distractions. The course had a tranquil look and feel.  Like you had entered a “golf” sanctuary. The best part was the playability of the course. The orientation of its multiple tee boxes was challenging enough for the single handicapper and manageable for the novice golfer as well. Indian Wells was recently ranked the only 36-hole public golf facility in Golfweek’s  2010 “Top 20 Best Places You Can Play” in California. And I so totally agree!