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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Over the past 100 years, golf and the Coachella Valley have become virtually synonymous. From celebrities to professional golfers to part-time residents and visitors, golf has been and remains a big part of life in the desert.
Many people have been instrumental in the history of golf in the Coachella Valley.
This is a top 10 list, followed by 10 other names that make up the honorable mention.
Thomas O’Donnell
One of California’s richest oilmen, O’Donnell decided to create his own golf course in Palm Springs. This course was the premier golf venue in the Coachella Valley for two decades and still exists today in downtown Palm Springs as the oldest course in the desert.
Johnny Dawson
A talented and accomplished amateur golfer, Dawson was the developer of Thunderbird Country Club in 1951. Dawson would go on to develop other courses in the desert, including Marrakech and Seven Lakes Country Clubs, during the golden age of course development .
Dwight Eisenhower
The popular Eisenhower became the first president to play golf in the desert in 1954 and later lived in a house on the 11th fairway of the Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells.
Eisenhower’s love of the game – he was a member of Augusta National in Georgia – and his friendship with two other golfers – amateur Bob Hope and professional Arnold Palmer – helped popularize the game in the 1950s .
Bob hope
A resident of the desert since the 1940s, Hope carried the message of his love of the game around the world. In 1965, the actor and comedian agreed to put his name on the Palm Springs Golf Classic, transforming that event into the Bob Hope Desert Classic, one of the most popular events on the PGA Tour. Hope died in 2003 at the age of 100.
Arnold Palmer
By 1959, when Palmer won the last Thunderbird Invitational, he was already the most popular figure in professional golf. Palmer went on to win five Bob Hope Desert Classics from 1960 to 1973, cementing his place as an icon in the sport and in one of his adopted homes. Palmer would later design numerous courses in the Coachella Valley, including a course that for years hosted the Hope Tournament at PGA West in La Quinta.
Dinah Rivage
Shore knew little about golf in 1972, when she became host of an LPGA tournament at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. She quickly embraced the game and LPGA players, becoming a huge advocate for women’s soccer in general. She lived near the ninth green of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Mission Hills, and a statue of Shore stands next to the course’s 18th hole.
Ernie Dunlevie
One of the original developers of the Bermuda Dunes Country Club and one of the founding fathers of the Palm Springs Golf Classic in 1960, Dunlevie remained a force in the desert PGA Tour event until his death in 2013. He helped guide the tournament to charitable success. donations to the Eisenhower Medical Center and other desert charities, and he was a friend and mentor to young Arnold Palmer.
Ernie Vossler, Joe Walser
In partnership, these two Oklahoma golf professionals reshaped golf in the desert in the 1980s, first bringing two renowned golf courses to La Quinta Resort and then developing PGA West. They used renowned designers, solid residential housing and the understanding that televising their golf courses through professional events was great marketing for the desert and their developments.
Bill Os
A residential housing developer, Bone decided to begin locating his homes around golf courses in 1972, beginning at Sunrise Country Club in Rancho Mirage. His concept opened up the idea of second homes and winter living around desert golf courses.
David Foster
A forgotten figure, Foster was head of Colgate/Palmolive and decided to use women’s golf as a way to market his products. The result was the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage in 1972, a tournament that reshaped the LPGA and became a historic tournament in the Coachella Valley.
Honorable mention
Amy Alcott: Her decision to jump into the lake after winning the 1988 Nabisco Dinah Shore gave the desert and the KPA a defining moment. She did it again in 1991, joined by tournament host Dinah Shore.
Bill Clinton: A sitting president who played with two other presidents in the 1995 Bob Hope Tournament, Clinton would later return to the event in 2012 and host it for five years, although he sometimes hosted it remotely. Clinton’s presence was part of a revival of the event.
Pete Dye: Dye’s innovative golf course designs, including PGA West’s famous Stadium Course, irritated players but delighted viewers of the Bob Hope Desert Classic and Skins Game. Golfers flocked to the desert to be brought to their knees by Dye’s courses.
Gerald Ford: After leaving the White House in 1977, the former president moved to the desert and became a fixture on the desert golf scene, competing in the Bob Hope tournament with Hope as well as the defending champion in the first round each year .
John Foster: For more than two decades, Foster helped guide the Bob Hope Classic through course changes and the evolving landscape of the PGA Tour. As president of West Coast Turf, Foster and his company literally helped shape many desert golf courses.
Milt Hicks: The son of one of Palm Springs’ influential early families, Hicks was involved in the development of several golf courses in the 1950s, including Thunderbird and the Indian Wells Country Club. He was chairman of the 1955 Ryder Cup and the first chairman of the Palm Springs Golf Classic (PGA Tour event).
Jack Nicklaus: Winner of the Palm Springs Invitational in 1963, Nicklaus became a renowned golf architect, and his courses are among the most important in the desert.
Ted Robinson: During the desert golf boom of the 1970s and 1980s, Robinson was the most prolific designer of golf courses that gave the desert the feel of friendly, playable golf for club members. Robinson designed or renovated 22 desert courses, about one in four desert courses at the time.
Frank Sinatra: One of the most popular entertainers in the world, Sinatra was a long-time resident of the desert and was unapologetic in his love of the game. He hosted a PGA Tour event in the desert in 1963 and later served as host of the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational.
Annika Sorenstam: One of three players to win the LPGA major three times in the desert, Sorenstam was at the height of her prowess in the early 2000s. She also won two Samsung World Championships at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, giving him five official LPGA titles in the Desert, second only to Arnold Palmer for official wins in the Coachella Valley.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Arnold Palmer, Dinah Shore and Bob Hope among 10 people who were instrumental in Coachella Valley golf history.
