This would be my second experience on the Stadium Course. My first happening about six years back. There weren’t a ton of memories from the first time I had played. A couple holes here and there stuck in my memory. Of course, the famous seventeenth was a staple of my association with the Stadium. The par-3 with the island green was a hole I had only seen on television. When playing it six years ago, I felt chills just standing on the tee box. The memory easily coming to mind. I stepped up to the forward tee box on that day six years ago and without fear, hit the golf ball onto the famous floating green. That moment took place inside the month of September. When the questions of having enough sunlight weren’t part of the equation. On this day in the middle of November, the amount of sunlight would be called into question. Like playing at the Norman Course a couple days prior, the sun was going to set early in the evening. The start time would be slightly earlier at the Stadium Course, closer to one o’clock in the afternoon. Having made it through the entire round two days prior. I felt like we would have a pretty good chance at the Stadium with the added twenty minutes of time. I didn’t take into consideration the different variables of course conditions and the number of golfers.
Not long after arriving in Palm Desert, I received an email from PGA West. This wasn’t the first instance of receiving an email from them. On most other occasions the email would automatically be sent into the delete folder. Because I was about to play golf at PGA West, I decided to open the email. The information inside told me about the recent opening of the Stadium Course and the Nicklaus Course. The email also told me about the plans to close the Norman Course in a few days. Which was my source of information for the reseeding of the Norman Course, not long after the trip ended. The information that the Stadium was recently reopened struck me as encouraging. They seemed to have just made some tweaks to improve the course and done the reseeding. Leaving me excited to play the golf course and anticipating it would be in good condition. I would find out within the first few holes that I wasn’t the only one excited about the opening of the Stadium Course. Another piece of information impacting play during the afternoon was the statis of the other courses at PGA West. Finding out the three private courses within the facility had been closed for their preseason work. Seeming to signal that most of the PGA West members were playing the courses open to the public. At least until their courses reopened for the golf season. It was beneficial on the Norman Course the previous day, when the members had played a morning shotgun tournament, and thus cleared the course for the afternoon. There was no such luck at the Stadium Course.
Looking down the first hole. The green of the grass sparkled in the afternoon sunshine. The day of golf would mark my first time playing on a recently reseeded surface. Standing on the first tee, I couldn’t wait to get out onto the fairway. The first hole was one of many I couldn’t remember from my first playing of the Stadium. The hole didn’t look like an easy beginning to the golf course. Not exactly the gentle opening handshake of a golf hole. The kind I always like welcoming me to the day of golf. On the other hand, the first wasn’t overly complicated. My tee shot from the forward red tee markers was straight out into an inviting fairway of green. From there, the hole showed some character that would follow the day. The undulation between my ball in the fairway and the green, caused some visual intimidation. Which has been a hallmark of a Pete Dye designed golf course. As I moved down the first hole, taking in my first impressions from the afternoon. Another variable to the day of golf was causing adjustments. Because the Stadium Course had recently been reopened, golf carts weren’t allowed off the cart paths. Meaning the cart would be driven along the path to about the spot of the golf ball. I would grab a club and walk out onto the course and hit my shot. Then, walk back to the golf cart and drive forward along the path. The method was one I have played within many times but does make it almost impossible to play quickly. When under normal situations, I would have the ability to drive the golf cart down the fairways.
When I walked out onto the first fairway, I understood the reasoning for the cart path rule. The fairways looked a stunning green. It was obvious there hadn’t been much traffic on the golf course. Instead of walking over hundreds of divots disturbing the smooth surface of the fairway. There might have been ten chucks taking out of the grass. The sight wasn’t something I have much experience with. Something special happens when I can count the about of divots taken, with my hands. The decreased number of blemishes in the fairways follows me throughout the afternoon. In addition to the novelty of divot less grass, there would be no tire tracks from cart traffic. The grass on the entire golf course was unblemished. Each lie of the golf ball was pristine. Taking away any excuse I could have employed for an errant golf shot. I took in each moment spent on the golf course that day. Understanding the rarity involved with getting to play a course in that kind of condition. An interesting aspect of the overseeding was it failed to encompass the entire course. The only areas with the overseeding were on the fairways. Once I moved from the fairway into the second cut. The sections were similar to those on the Norman Course. They were a little dried out, specs of dried grass here and there. The look it gave the fairways was appealing and made it easy to understand if my ball was in a favorable spot.
In order to keep the unique look of the golf course going, there had to be sacrifices. For someone like me, with challenges in movement, it meant a longer day. Walking from the cart, which couldn’t leave the pavement of the cart path. Walking from the cart path to wherever my golf ball might have come to rest, hitting my shot, and walking back to the cart was challenging. However, there were some positive elements to playing golf in this method. With the instructions of keeping the carts on the paths, I got to see more of the golf course. Walking in places I wouldn’t normally walk. Part of the enjoyment was moving around more area of a course where the PGA Tour plays each year. The first time I played the Stadium Course, I didn’t have the opportunity to recognize the hilly nature of the course. There were many situations of walking down a steep incline to get from the cart out to my golf ball. Then, the challenge persisted with climbing back up the incline to reach the cart. Many of the cart paths were elevated from the fairways and greens. The design feature would be great for crowds of fans watching the professional golfers play in January. For me, the cart rule made the design feature challenging to navigate. I recall hitting my golf ball into one of the green side bunkers. It happened somewhere in the early portion of the second nine. After striking my shot, I proceeded to walk up the face of the bunker. I managed to make it safely but had a wobbly sensation about halfway up the hill, and hurriedly leaned forward to put my hand on the hill for support. Using an abbreviated bear crawl to free myself from the touchy situation.
The challenges from the cart path rule didn’t ruin the day of golf. There wasn’t anything that could have stolen from the experience. It was a sunny day in the middle of November, playing a PGA Tournament course in shorts and a short-sleeve polo shirt. The quarter zip would appear from my golf bag when the sun disappeared, and the wind kicked up. The Stadium Course was more memorable during my second experience. I didn’t remember all the water sprinkled throughout the holes. Some of the ponds were massive in size, having impact on multiple golf holes. The most vivid image of the day was moving from the ninth to the tenth hole. I had no recollection of the tenth from my previous playing of the course. Some of the holes had stuck in my brain, but not the tenth. Pulling the golf cart around the corner and looking down the tenth hole, caught my breath. The instant picture left me in awe for whatever reason. The par-4 was bordered with a pond running the entire length of the right side. With bunkering and a mound on the right. The sun was descending behind the mountain range to my left. Something about the moment was magic. I got to sit in the moment, looking down on the hole, from a section of path elevated from the tee boxes. As we waited for the group in front to hit their shots and move along the hole. The moment in time will hang on the wall of my mind.
There were more pictures for my minds eye following my second round of golf on the Stadium Course. I was able to recognize the gem the golf course is to a larger extent. A course I would be excited to play on a daily basis. The intricacies that made it confusing on my first go around, left me wanting to experience the challenge, again. The Stadium Course would teach me something new about itself every time, even if I played it daily. I would never get bored with the challenge or the beauty. This time, I didn’t get to finish the entire golf course. Reaching the tenth hole, as the sun began hiding behind the mountains. The round of golf would last just three more holes. The wind had become full throated, plummeting the temperature with each moment of twilight. When my golf ball got up into a favorable wind off the fourteenth tee, it rode the wave to my longest drive of the day. As darkness was closing in and stealing the hope of making it through eighteen holes. I noticed the fiftieth hole running parallel in the opposite direction. Continuing to play would send us back into the teeth of the wind that had just carried my golf ball. Without the possibility of finishing. Attention was quickly turned to hunger and a chilling wind. We drove back to the clubhouse before the light fully disappeared. Greeted by a bustling club house restaurant and what turned out to be a pretty darn good pizza to finish off a good day.
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