FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
19th HoleSummer 2021
Home›19th Hole›Desert Delight at Desert Willow

Desert Delight at Desert Willow

By Ken Van Vechten
July 22, 2021
3173
0
Share:

At Desert Willow, the Terrace Draws a Crowd for all the Right Reasons

The City of Palm Desert’s Desert Willow Golf Resort dishes 36 killer holes, practice facilities that could easily accommodate the needs of a PGA Tour or USGA event, and, at the far western end of the range, the Palm Desert Golf Academy, with its many teaching, diagnostic, fitting and fitness offerings.

But the complex also draws non-golfers — a LOT of non-golfers — who come to chill and take in one of the Coachella Valley’s best eateries and drinkeries. Plates and pints come courtesy of the Terrace.

A welcoming, tiered indoor/ outdoor space overlooking what is best described as a desert arboretum wrapped into and around Desert Willow’s Firecliff Course, the fare is familiar on the surface, but rendered oh-so-interesting by touches such as the brine of the Atlantic salmon salad, the creme brulee-ing of the French toast or the hand-trimming of the strip loin that becomes the steak sandwich.

“We cater to golfers, non-golfers and the community,” explains Derek White, Desert Willow’s general manager. “When we design menu items, we want them to be broadly appealing but with flair. It needs to be something a guest remembers.”

“When I work up the menu I listen to our guests, and I work with my meat and fish providers to best use seasonal items when market price and quality make sense,” adds Executive Chef Francois Gaertner. “We have a big portion of regular customers who come for the same dish all the time: Lobster Louie, Asian salmon salad, Monte Cristo and Reuben sandwiches. I have the opportunity to bring in the fun with the weekly specials, too, and to be creative with special menus.”

Navigating the menus is a pleasure, and there aren’t any wrong turns. On one visit, the chipotle-and-jalapeno bacon burger might be in order; the next, it’s crab-cake sliders with pineapple relish. At breakfast, consider the aforementioned French toast-with-a twist or the house-made hash. Egg-time service runs 7 – 11 a.m. daily; lunch starts in right after and goes to 4 p.m. (6 p.m. Friday and Saturday).

“We love it when people ask, ‘Is this private, can I be here?’ ‘Of course, you can,’ we happily reply,” says White. “We make it that type of experience, make it their country club. We have Olympic Club members who come here, and there are those for whom this is the best golf property they’ve seen. And because we’re city-owned, we also want our residents to utilize and enjoy the golf, the restaurant, the bar and the clubhouse. We cater to all.”

The formula seems to be working, as 70 percent of business at the Terrace comes from non-golfers. Beer support runs strongly to local and regional, as should be the case in our craft-mad world: La Quinta Brewing and Coachella Valley Brewing, 21st Amendment and Pizza Port. The limited but representative wine list draws from California’s best appellations — Paso Robles, Napa, Russian River — and accessorizes those by going past the borders to pick up, say, a crisp grassy/herbal New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

As Food and Beverage Director Gabe Griswold says, “We want golfers and  guests to come here saying, ‘I know I can get that here,’ whether that’s a favored pilsner, IPA or spirit. We strive for uniqueness. We want to offer items that people might not be able to get just anywhere. That’s part of Desert Willow’s role as a destination.”

“The setting is amazing,” White says, perhaps understating the case. “One of our primary tasks is to just stay out of the way of that view. Golfers or not, we want them to enjoy their day, not rush them through their day or their vacation time.”

Sit a spell with a bite and a drink, whether you played 18, all 36, or have never snap-hooked a driver in your life. The northeastern orientation of the Terrace, indoors and out, provides a panoramic view of lake, greens and fairways, a riot of flora — bougainvillea, palm, mesquite, palo verde, willow —and the Little San Bernardino Mountains and Indio Hills on the horizon. It’s an oasis that offers far more than just dates and an upwelling spring for sustenance.

This ain’t granddad’s muni.

Previous Article

Golfing with Whales: Marina Choi

Next Article

20 Things You Didn’t Know About Golf ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Ken Van Vechten

Related articles More from author

  • Summer 2021Travel

    Big Sky, Big Fun

    July 22, 2021
    By Judd Spicer
  • Summer 2021The Podium

    See It to Be It: Women’s Golf Participation Is Surging

    July 15, 2021
    By John Strege
  • Summer 2021Travel

    Grip It & Sip It: Tahoe Golf & Beer

    July 29, 2021
    By Robert Kaufman
  • 19th HoleSpring 2019

    Ernie’s at PGA WEST: In With The In Crowd

    April 26, 2019
    By Matt McKay
  • Public AffairsSummer 2021

    Out of COVID’s Frying Pan And Into Drought’s Fire

    July 16, 2021
    By Craig Kessler
  • 19th HoleFall 2016

    Tri-Tip Terrific: Grab a Meal at the Sandpiper Grill, Where Steak and Views Highlight the Experience

    October 24, 2016
    By Julia Pine

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • FeaturedSpring 2022Sustainability

    Jewel in the Middle of Nowhere: Death Valley’s Furnace Creek GC Ramps Up Sustainability Efforts

  • FeaturedNewsSpring 2022

    Not Your Father’s Game: With Two Facilities Newly Open and Callaway at the Helm, the Topgolf Explosion Comes to the Southland

  • FeaturedSpring 2022Travel

    Scotland Must-Plays & Hidden Gems: 10 Terrific Tracks that Prove the Old Course Isn’t the Only Game Around

  • Classic CourseFeaturedSpring 2022

    Western Home of Golf: Legends, Legacy and Looking Forward at PGA WEST

  • FeaturedPublic AffairsSpring 2022

    Golf’s Wakeup Call: Facts Matter… Perceptions Matter More

FeaturedSpring 2022Travel

The Pubs of St Andrews

The challenge seemed daunting at first. On an eight-day trip to St Andrews, my job was to rate the pubs in this lively college town where golf began six centuries ...
  • Scotland Must-Plays & Hidden Gems: 10 Terrific Tracks that Prove the Old Course Isn’t the Only Game Around

    By Joe Passov
    April 21, 2022
  • Bob Does Hollywood: The Hardest Working Man on Instagram Finds Gold in Golf

    By Adam Hawk
    April 21, 2022
  • Not Your Father’s Game: With Two Facilities Newly Open and Callaway at the Helm, the Topgolf Explosion Comes to the Southland

    By Scott Kauffman
    April 21, 2022
  • The Provisional Ball: What? How? When?

    By Jimmy Becker
    April 21, 2022
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise