The Palms Golf Club
La Quinta, California · 18 holes · par 70 · Private. Designed by Brian Curley/Fred Couples, opened 1999.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about -40 ft the ball carries about 0% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 150. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 14, where the green sits 8 ft above the tee and plays about 3 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 7, where the green sits 15 ft below the tee and plays about 5 yards shorter.
- 14 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Black | Blue | White | Gold | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | 429 | 412 | 377 | 351 | 339 |
| 2 | 3 | 15 | 178 | 166 | 146 | 124 | 82 |
| 3 | 4 | 11 | 401 | 384 | 370 | 313 | 307 |
| 4 | 4 | 7 | 383 | 363 | 305 | 257 | 244 |
| 5 | 3 | 9 | 226 | 208 | 188 | 134 | 134 |
| 6 | 5 | 17 | 505 | 505 | 495 | 429 | 429 |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | 413 | 392 | 365 | 317 | 309 |
| 8 | 3 | 13 | 203 | 193 | 169 | 141 | 131 |
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 456 | 432 | 385 | 348 | 348 |
| 10 | 4 | 14 | 475 | 415 | 378 | 333 | 318 |
| 11 | 4 | 4 | 478 | 459 | 425 | 400 | 400 |
| 12 | 4 | 8 | 462 | 438 | 407 | 371 | 358 |
| 13 | 4 | 12 | 412 | 403 | 391 | 365 | 356 |
| 14 | 5 | 6 | 631 | 611 | 579 | 518 | 518 |
| 15 | 3 | 18 | 170 | 150 | 130 | 114 | 102 |
| 16 | 3 | 10 | 237 | 212 | 185 | 162 | 145 |
| 17 | 4 | 2 | 477 | 457 | 438 | 420 | 390 |
| 18 | 5 | 16 | 545 | 522 | 511 | 463 | 451 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Male | 7081 | 74.6 | 140 |
| Blue | Female | 6722 | 78.9 | 144 |
| Blue | Male | 6722 | 72.5 | 134 |
| Moose | Male | 6336 | 70.7 | 129 |
| Moose | Female | 6336 | 76.8 | 139 |
| White | Male | 6244 | 70.2 | 128 |
| White | Female | 6244 | 76.3 | 138 |
| Gold | Male | 5560 | 67.4 | 120 |
| Gold | Female | 5560 | 72.8 | 130 |
| Red | Female | 5361 | 71.5 | 127 |
| Red | Male | 5361 | 66.5 | 116 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 427-7 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 416 · 429 · 441front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 24yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 40 ydswide at 227
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front-left
In play
- Bunker right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 2 yards shorter: the green sits 7 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 260 yards.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 40 yards wide at 227 and narrows to 28 at 277.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from back-right to front-left, about 2.5%. Finish on the front-left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 177-2 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 166 · 178 · 189front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 25yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front
In play
- 2 bunkers across the hole in front of the green: 139 to carry
- Bunker left of the green
- Bunker right of the green
Playing notes
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 403+6 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 385 · 401 · 413front · middle · back
- Green size
- 32 × 26yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 37 ydswide at 262
- Green slope
- 3.5%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker left: 202 to reach, 245 to carry
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 2 yards longer: the green sits 6 ft above the tee.
- Fairway bunkers on the left: 202 to reach, 245 to carry. Drives that finish short of 202 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 37 yards wide at 262 and narrows to 24 at 304.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from back to front, about 3.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 36 · Par 57 · Par 48 · Par 39 · Par 410 · Par 411 · Par 412 · Par 413 · Par 414 · Par 515 · Par 316 · Par 317 · Par 418 · Par 5
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 47 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
- 2 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].