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Indian Wells Celebrity Course, Trip Review

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:52:36 +0000

December 31, 2009 By Tinou Bao

Indian Wells Celebrity Course, Trip ReviewAfter a great round on Tuesday at PGA West (Stadium Course) I had a horrible day Wednesday at Terra Lago (North). Wasted the entire morning taking care of low pressure in the tires. By the time I got to Terra Lago it was too late to grab breakfast or warm-up at the range. I’ve heard good things about Terra Lago but driving up to the clubhouse nothing really impressed me. After checking in I noticed the course was packed. Felt like I was at the local muni on a Sunday, even more after seeing the condition of the fairways. Should have paid a little more and played a nicer course.

Started off with a par but the rest of the day was blah. Definitely did not break 100. Part of the problem was I was playing with this couple who were absolute beginners. They didn’t know golf etiquette like who’s away or not stepping in your putting line. Took so many mulligans. Made concentrating/focusing that much more difficult. The bigger problem was I just wasn’t hitting the ball that well.

I couldn’t end 2009 with a bad round so I decided to play Indian Wells Celebrity Course today. Golfweek rates Indian Wells very highly on their “Best Courses You Can Play“. The Players Course is #10 and the Celebrity Course is #14 (California rankings). Picked Celebrity because the discount was bigger. As soon as I drove into the resort I knew I would have a good round despite my lower back cramping up. The clubhouse was great, the locker room was first class, staff was very friendly. After checking in I headed to the driving range. If there was one thing I didn’t like about Indian Wells it was the driving range. Has this weird mound running across. But the practice putting greens was awesome.

Things started off pretty bad, triple bogey. But I bounced back with a bogey on the 2nd then GIR and 2-putted the 3rd for par. Made mental mistakes on the 4th and 5th holes for doubles. But then I went bogey, par, bogey, par. 46 out. Not on pace to break 90, but felt like I was playing really well, felt like I could par every hole.

Back nine started out great. GIR, 2-putted for par. Not sure what happened on the 10th, carded a triple. But the one thing I’ve learned over the past few rounds is you can’t let a bad hole ruin the rest of your round. Then I went on a good stretch: bogey, par, bogey, bogey, par, double, bogey for a 45 in. Had my only 3-putt of the day for that double.

Course was in good condition and I really like the layout. No houses line the fairways so you can really go for it without worrying about breaking windows. Undulating greens were fast but not too fast so very playable. Really like the greens, thought they were more interesting than the Stadium Course. Frankly, even though TPC Stadium is more famous and has more name appeal I prefer the Celebrity Course. If I were to play again I’d play Celebrity over Stadium.

Great end to 2009. Top priority for 2010 is to get my chips about 3-4 feet closer. Right now it’s chip, 2-putt. I need to get it about 3-4 feet closer on the chips so that I can have a better chance at 1-putting. That brings the bogeys down to pars, doubles to bogey, etc.

PACE OF PLAY

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:45:18 +0000

“Season” as we affectionately call it here in the Coachella Valley has arrived. Season brings beautiful weather to our area which in turn brings our winter residents back to their homes and fills our resorts with guests. It is a great time to be living in the desert.

At Indian Wells Golf Resort we are fortunate to offer 36-holes of golf for approximately ten months of the year. During the months of October and November we continue to have 18-holes available during the overseeding process where 18-hole facilities will be required to close the course entirely. This means that our facility becomes extremely busy with guests of all skill levels and backgrounds including country club members, resort guests, local residents, etc.

Due to this busy time of year “Pace-of-Play” becomes an important challenge to ensure an exceptional experience for all or our guests. Two ways to improve Pace are to choose the appropriate set of tees and to play “ready-golf.” At our facility a target time for a round of golf is 4 ½ hours. Finally, we ask our guests to be courteous and respectful to each other and if an issue occurs to contact a Course Ambassador for assistance.

If you would like more information on how to improve your Pace-of-Play visit the link here at http://golf.about.com/od/golfetiquette/ht/paceofplay.htm.

Enjoy the weather and good golfing!

Rolland Vaughn

PGA Head Golf Professional

Indian Wells Golf Resort

PRESIDENTIAL GOLF

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:07:40 +0000

Rumors were floating around about President Obama playing a round of golf with Tiger Woods during his trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Although the power 2-some never took place it did bring to mind a couple of questions. Who have been the best Presidential golfers and what if Tiger were to enter into politics?

Golf Digest compiled a Top 10 list of Presidential golfers in its January issue. John F. Kennedy is at the top of the list with Barack Obama placing a solid eight. Probably one of the desert’s favorite Presidential golfers would be Gerald Ford who was on the list at number three.

Tiger has already commented that he may be retired prior to golf becoming an Olympic Event. One couldn’t imagine a person with his presence simply slipping out of the public eye and into the shadows. If he were heading down the political path his first step would have to be finishing his college education since he left after 2 years at Stanford to turn Pro. However, he has gained a strong economics education since joining the PGA Tour in 1996.

I am sure there are some opinions about both of these topics and we would love to have them.

Rolland Vaughn

PGA Head Golf Professional

Indian Wells Golf Resort

Keep Your Stats

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:58:03 +0000

The best way to improve is by changing a weakness into a strength. By accurately keeping golf stats you are able to quickly identify areas of the game where you excel and areas that need improvement. I see a lot of amateur golfers spending their practice session hitting shots with their favorite club instead of focusing on areas of improvement. Practice time should be spent working on the shot that you continually struggle with. After you have gained confidence at the practice tee take the positive attitude to the golf course and your game will improve.

For all of you iPhone owners there is a great app called TeeShot. It can be used to track your strokes, putts, fairways, clubs, and distances. Also, it has a GPS that can be used to measure shot distance. For the rest of you like me a small notepad works great.

Good Luck!

Rolland Vaughn

PGA Head Golf Professional

Indian Wells Golf Resort