The Clive Clark-designed Celebrity Course opened for public play on Nov. 1. The par-72, 18-hole, championship golf course is the first of two new golf courses to be built at the Indian Wells Golf Resort.
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The City of Indian Wells, Calif. supplied Clark with the original West Course property plus an additional 30 acres, but the Celebrity Course is far from a renovation, as all of the golf holes are completely new with only a couple that could be considered vaguely familiar. Clark did, however, utilize many mature trees found on the original property to impart the feel of a venerable facility while at the same time delivering a modern approach to golf course design.
“I appreciate the opportunity to design this golf course, and I’m pleased with the finished product,” Clark says. “From the onset, I was given the liberty to be creative. Each hole has its own unique personality and with the stunning mountain backdrops, I sincerely hope the new Celebrity Course will give a lot of pleasure to golfers of all standards.”
Most of the holes are oriented east/west to take advantage of views of the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and San Bernardino mountain ranges, and an Indian Wells icon, Eisenhower Mountain, stands sentinel to the south. Wildflowers that cover the out-of-play areas as well as the areas encircling the green complexes create a colorful backdrop. As a “core golf” layout, roads and homes do not intrude, and each hole is designed to be somewhat sheltered from the others to elicit a feeling of solitude. The golf course’s seven water features – which include waterfalls, creeks and ponds – come into play, and are designed to have both aesthetic and strategic appeal.
Clark moved nearly 320,000 cubic yards of earth in the process of building the Celebrity. Large mounds that flank many of the golf holes effectively increase the landing areas. Shots slightly off-line tend to kick back into play, while shots well off-line bounce off the backside of the mounds away from the fairway and generally into trouble.
Clark’s use of bunkers places a unique stamp on the golf course. Many of the bunkers form the high point of a larger sweeping contour, and they are located in-play for tactical consideration and out-of-play for visual appeal. In many cases the bunkers are pitched towards the golfer exposing the green fingers of grass that jut into them.
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“We’re very pleased to be opening the new Celebrity Course,” says Roger Behling, golf resort director for the City of Indian Wells. “The golf course turned out exceptionally well, and we’re excited to put it on display.”
The Golf Resort at Indian Wells is managed by OB Sports Golf Management which currently manages 29 premier golf facilities throughout the United States and Mexico.
“I’ve been in the golf business long enough to know that the Celebrity Course is going to be something special,” said Orrin Vincent, C.E.O. of OB Sports Golf Management, the management company for the Indian Wells Golf Resort. “We are excited to be a part of the transition to the new golf facilities, and personally I’m chomping at the bit to play the golf course.”
For more information about OB Sports, call 480-948-1300, or visit www.obsports.com.
For more information about Indian Wells Golf Resort call 760-346-4653 or visit www.golfresortatindianwells.com.