Indian Wells Golf Resort — Players Course

The Players Course at Indian Wells is John Fought's 2007 attempt to translate classic American architecture into a modern desert setting, with Riviera and Winged Foot as his stated reference points. Whether the translation works is a matter of taste; what isn't in dispute is that the Players is more intellectually ambitious than most resort courses in the Coachella Valley.

At 7,376 yards, the Players is the longest public layout in the valley. Length matters off the tee, but Fought's fairways are wide enough that you can sacrifice distance for position without giving up the hole. The interest comes after the drive: approaches play differently depending on which side of the fairway you find, and the green complexes reward the player who thought about angle from the tee rather than just hitting toward the pin.

The bunkering pulls from classic models. They're deep-faced, set at the corners of doglegs and at the green edges where the common miss arrives. They aren't decorative. A ball in a Fought bunker here needs a real recovery, not a routine explosion to safety.

Greens are where the course shows its character. They're large enough to accept approach shots but contoured enough that a front-right pin and a back-left pin on the same surface can demand entirely different clubs. That level of internal variety is unusual in the valley, where many resort courses default to flat, moderately sized putting surfaces.

The course sits next to the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells (formerly Hyatt Regency) and the Renaissance Esmeralda; both offer guests discounted green fees. Practice facilities are well kept.

The Players is the thinking golfer's round at Indian Wells. Bring patience for the green complexes and the willingness to plan a hole from the tee, and the course gives you back something the Coachella Valley doesn't offer in many other places.