With more than 100 championship golf courses spanning roughly 45 miles of desert, the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley region is one of the premier golf destinations in the world. Many of the valley's most prestigious residential communities are organized around championship courses, offering residents daily access to world-class play in spectacular desert settings.
A fairway estate home in one of the Coachella Valley's premier golf communities
PGA West — La Quinta's Premier Golf Community
PGA West in La Quinta is perhaps the most recognizable name in desert golf real estate. The community is home to six championship courses, including the legendary Stadium Course designed by Pete Dye (host of the American Express PGA Tour event), the Tom Weiskopf-designed Mountain Course, and the Greg Norman Course. Properties at PGA West range from attached casitas and villas to expansive custom estate homes with direct fairway access.
Golf membership at PGA West is tiered, with several options: access to the public-facing courses like The Citrus (Jack Nicklaus Private and Jack Nicklaus Tournament) is available separately from private equity membership in The Landmark Golf Club, which provides exclusive access to the Stadium, Mountain, and Dune courses. Understanding which membership level accompanies a given property is critical when evaluating PGA West real estate.
Indian Ridge Country Club — Palm Desert
Indian Ridge Country Club in Palm Desert is an Arnold Palmer-designed community featuring two 18-hole courses (Grove Course and Arroyo Course) within an architecturally cohesive, gated neighborhood. The club's equity membership model means homeowners are invested in the club itself — a different financial and social structure than non-equity communities.
Indian Ridge offers an active social calendar, fitness facilities, dining, and tennis in addition to golf, making it a popular choice for buyers seeking a full-service club environment. The housing stock ranges from attached two-bedroom casitas to larger detached homes with course views.
Palm Valley Country Club — Palm Desert
Palm Valley Country Club is one of Palm Desert's largest and most established golf communities. Its two championship courses — the Challenge Course and the Championship Course — serve a membership that mixes year-round residents with seasonal snowbirds. The community's extensive amenities, including multiple pools, fitness facilities, and a full-service clubhouse, make it a perennial favorite among buyers seeking resort-quality living at a more accessible price point than some of the valley's ultra-exclusive clubs.
Bighorn Golf Club — Palm Desert
Bighorn Golf Club occupies a dramatic hillside location in the mountains above Palm Desert, offering some of the most spectacular golf and residential views in the Coachella Valley. The club's two Tom Fazio-designed courses (Canyons and Mountains) are consistently ranked among the best in California. Bighorn is a private equity club with a highly selective membership process — properties here represent some of the valley's highest-end real estate.
Sun City Palm Desert — Active Adult Golf Living
Sun City Palm Desert is a Del Webb-developed active adult (55+) community centered on two championship golf courses. With thousands of homes, multiple recreation centers, pools, fitness facilities, and an extraordinarily active social calendar, Sun City is one of the largest and most vibrant active adult communities in California. It offers an exceptional option for buyers seeking age-restricted resort living at a wide range of price points.
Avondale Golf Club — Palm Desert
Avondale Golf Club is a smaller, more intimate private club community in Palm Desert offering a Ted Robinson-designed championship course. The scale of the community — roughly 600 homes — creates a particularly tight-knit social environment. Avondale attracts buyers who prefer the feel of a smaller, member-centric club over the larger resort-style communities.
Choosing the Right Golf Community
Selecting a golf course community involves much more than finding a house you love — it requires matching your golf membership expectations, social preferences, HOA budget, and lifestyle priorities to the right club culture. According to the National Golf Foundation, golf participation continues to grow among buyers in the 50+ demographic, making golf community real estate a sound long-term investment as well as a lifestyle choice.
We encourage prospective buyers to visit multiple communities, play as a guest when possible, speak with current residents, and carefully review HOA documents and club bylaws before making any purchasing decisions.