Nicklaus Design helps create Escena

Palm Springs, Calif. – After months of speculation, it was announced that Nicklaus Design directed the design of the new 18-hole golf course at Escena Palm Springs, in Palm Springs, Calif.

This view represents the fourth and ninth holes at The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs, scheduled to open this spring.

 As the first golf course community to be developed within the Palm Springs city limits in nearly 20 years, Escena Palm Springs is being master planned and developed in partnership between Lennar Communities and Empire Companies. Centerpiece of the gated residential enclave will be The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs encompassing a championship Nicklaus Design public golf course with adjacent clubhouse. 

“We are very pleased that Nicklaus Design was the creative vision behind The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs,” says Tom Banks, president of Lennar Communities. “Under the leadership of Designer Bill O’Leary, the Nicklaus Design team has applied its vast knowledge and expertise to ensure that The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs becomes one of the finest landmark courses in the region … within an exceptional landmark community.”

Escena Palm Springs encompasses approximately 355 acres and is planned to offer a wide range of up to 1,450 residences designed in the classic Spanish and mid-century modern architecture of historic Palm Springs.

An artist's rendering of the club house shows classic Palm Springs design.

Construction on the golf course commenced in April 2004 and the course is slated to open for public play this spring. While green fees have yet to be set, the course will be open seven-days a week. On-site course management will be provided by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Troon Golf, the leader in upscale golf course management. In addition, Pinnacle Design Company and RGA Landscape Architects both, of Palm Desert, Calif., are responsible for landscape design in and around the course, clubhouse and residential common areas for Escena Palm Springs. 

 “The level of creativity and care that the Nicklaus Design team brought to The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs has been matched only by the exceptional clubhouse design by Douglas Fredrikson Architects, the Golf Club management of Troon Golf, and the local expertise of Pinnacle Design Company and RGA Landscape Architects,” says James Previti, chairman and chief executive officer of Empire Companies. “This is a world-class team that is once again bringing world-class championship play to the city of Palm Springs.” 

According to those involved, the course will benefit residents and visitors.
“The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs is a winning proposition,” says Hud Hinton, Troon Golf president and COO. “The Club will be a shining example of the new Palm Springs and offer residents and guests alike an incredible golf experience.” 

Incorporating a traditional plant palette with a contemporary feel, The Golf Club’s landscaping also pays homage to the past. Designed to reflect the look of the lush desert gardens found in and around Palm Springs more than 50 years ago, the course and the community will feature a complementary mix of trees, palms, shrubs, cacti, vines and groundcover to help provide color all year long.

“The desert courses of the 1930s to the early 1960s all had something very important in common,” says Ken Alperstein, president of Pinnacle Design Company. “They were designed to blend into the natural terrain so that the course, its trees and plants as well as the clubhouse and other facilities all looked like they had been there forever. It was the perfect balance of nature … and man-made landscapes. The return to this design at The Golf Club at Escena Palm Springs is rooted in the city’s regeneration now under way. The Club and its surrounding homes will reflect the sophisticated, urbane, vibrant and eclectic architectural styling that made Palm Springs a cosmopolitan desert retreat … and serves as the design cornerstone for Escena Palm Springs.”

To learn more about Escena Palm Springs, visit www.EscenaPalmSprings.com.