Above: John Fought (far right) got the chance to return to Indian Wells to redesign several holes on the players course, which will enhance walkability and provide players with a more contiguous routing.

Renovation Underway at Indian Wells Golf Resort

One of SoCal’s most palpable and popular public plays is enjoying a thorough facelift.

In the spring of 2024, city-owned Indian Wells Golf Resort (IWGR) received council approvals for a $13.5 million makeover of its John Fought-designed Players Course, which debuted in 2007; the renovations got underway in earnest in March of this year. Situated in a prime location in Coachella Valley, IWGR’s 36-hole “super-muni” facility is also home to Clive Clark’s Celebrity Course.

In concert with a full redesign of the course’s final seven holes, a main focus of the work was rerouting holes 17 and 18; the pair of formerly resort-adjacent finishing plays were long considered inconsistent with the preceding holes.

“I think it’s going to be better, greatly improved,” said Fought at the reno’s groundbreaking. “You’ll be able to walk it, and you won’t have the two (finishing) holes that will be disjointed from everything. I never [initially] wanted to do those two holes, but I was told I had to by the people in power at that time.”

Along with the redesign, the project includes:

• Rehab of all tee boxes and bunkers
• Replacement of irrigation
• Re-grassing of all greens with TifEagle Bermudagrass

Tweaks on the Player’s astute and beautiful bunkering will aim to make the traps less labor-intensive for maintenance crews and more friendly for high-handicappers.

“We’ll redo all of them, but with the same style,” Fought said of the well-reputed sand. “Maybe a little simpler; maybe not quite as many noses and things.”

The quick turnaround game plan aims for a reopen after overseed in early November; the work will also result in this year’s IWGR-hosted Epson Tour Championship (October) being played on the Celebrity Course.

“I wanted to have returning nines, like we’ll have now; to have everything be on this side of the (Whitewater) wash,” Fought continued. “But [originally] they just wouldn’t let me do it. When they ask me about it now, I tell them, ‘That’s what I always wanted to do!’”

The reroute will create a more cohesive product, and one that will now see rounds concluding with views of the San Jacinto Mountains, the clubhouse resort backdrop and the property’s centralized pavilion space.

“The really cool part about this project is the finish,” detailed Fought. “The former No. 16 will be the 15th hole, and then we’re building a great par-3 for the 17th; I’ve always loved The Riviera CC, so that’s kind of my inspiration for this hole. It’ll be a big green with just one bunker, and you’ll be able to bank it in a bit, so if you play to the right a little, you’ll be able to get a bounce and kick onto the green. And the par-5 18th will be very, very fun. The green on 18 will hang over the wash, so there’ll be some risk-reward if you go for it, but you’ll be truly challenged.”

Among the region’s preferred public-access plays, the new Players will still maintain its status as a test equal parts swing and cerebral.

“It’ll be similar in challenge to what it was; I don’t think it’ll be harder, but I believe it will have teeth,” added Fought. “I like golf courses that challenge you; not penalize, but challenge. So, there’s a need to think your way around the course a bit. That’s a big thing for me. Having a player’s background, I like courses where you need to think.”

Both Fought and city officials haven’t been demure about luring the LPGA back to the desert. While IWGR readies for its sophomore season of hosting the Epson Tour Championship, the thought of bringing the game’s top women back after 51 years at nearby Mission Hills (1972-2022) would give the desert a triple-header of PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions and LPGA play.

“They had [LPGA reps] out here,” smiled Fought. “They’ve talked with them about what we’re doing out here, and the reps were going, like, ‘Yeah, this could work.’”

A rendering of the redesigned players course.