With more golf courses than any other region in California, Coachella Valley is the most popular golf vacation destination in California.
Early golf courses in Palm Springs were the O'Donnell Golf Club (built by oil magnate Thomas A. O'Donnell) and the El Mirador Hotel course, both of which opened in the 1920s.
After the Cochran-Odlum (Indio) and Shadow Mountain pitch and putt courses were built after World II, the first 18-hole golf course in the area was the Thunderbird Country Club, established 1951 in Rancho Mirage.
Thunderbird was designed by golf course architects Lawrence Hughes and Johnny Dawson and in 1955 it hosted the 11th Ryder Cup championship.

In the 1970s the area had over 40 courses and in 2001 the 100th course was opened.
The area is also home to the PGA Tour's Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (formerly the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic), the LPGA's ANA Inspiration and the Canadian Tour's Desert Dunes Classic.
With more golf courses than any other region in California, Coachella Valley is the most popular golf vacation destination in California. Early golf courses in Palm Springs were the O'Donnell Golf Club (built by oil magnate Thomas A. O'Donnell) and the El Mirador Hotel course, both of which opened in the 1920s. After the Cochran-Odlum (Indio) and Shadow Mountain pitch and putt courses were built after World II, the first 18-hole golf course in the area was the Thunderbird Country Club, established 1951 in Rancho Mirage. Thunderbird was designed by golf course architects Lawrence Hughes and Johnny Dawson and in 1955 it hosted the 11th Ryder Cup championship.
In the 1970s the area had over 40 courses and in 2001 the 100th course was opened. The area is also home to the PGA Tour's Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (formerly the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic), the LPGA's ANA Inspiration and the Canadian Tour's Desert Dunes Classic.
Palm Springs, California