Palm Desert, California
Bighorn's Canyons Course delivers quintessential Fazio with broad fairways, sculpted water features, and mountain vistas that dazzle from the first tee. While the design is less punishing than its neighbor, the private club luxury and championship conditioning make every round a VIP experience.
Step onto the ultra-modern clubhouse patio at sunset for panoramic mountain-and-valley views that few guests ever forget.
Tom Fazio’s Canyons course at Bighorn blends wide, visually arresting landing areas and bold desert shaping with a routing that carves through canyons and along the mountain base. The design offers a playable but visually daunting experience: fairways are generous but bunker placements, water features, and desert margins keep every tee shot honest. Greens tend toward the large and receptive, encouraging aggressive approaches but placing a premium on distance control. Water comes into play on several holes, adding drama and strategic weight to the back nine. Fazio’s attention to visual theater is constant—mountain vistas, desert sky, and artful shaping make the course feel both grand and welcoming, even as the wind and firm conditions demand respect.
Tom Fazio’s work here merges trademark visual drama with a resort level of forgiveness off the tee, especially at altitude—a showcase for his approach to playable yet memorable desert golf.
The third hole is a reachable par five sweeping along a ridge, with wide landing zones and a green framed by bunkers and desert margin. With the mountains as a backdrop, it tempts longer hitters to carry trouble for a look at eagle or birdie.
Find the fairway, assess risk on the uphill second, and choose between a bold go at the green or a safe layup for a precise wedge approach.
Stray left brings desert and bunkers into play, while an aggressive approach can find sand or tough chipping lies beyond the green.
Fast, manicured bentgrass greens and lush fairways, with desert transition areas always in play.
Private-club standards ensure a controlled, unhurried pace—expect efficient rounds.
Ultra-upscale, service-driven, and quietly exclusive; no pretense, just pure luxury.
Standard private-club golf attire; collared shirts and proper golf slacks required.
Desert air and elevation change can affect ball flight significantly—get dialed in on your mid- and long-irons.
With lightning-fast private-club greens, two-putts are precious—work on lag putting and reads.
Review satellite or course guide images to pick safe lines around Fazio's desert transitions.
Pack sharp golf attire and shoes suitable for an ultra-upscale clubhouse setting.
Mountains course opens, designed by Arthur Hills
Hosted inaugural Senior Match Play Challenge
Canyons course opens, designed by Tom Fazio
Hosts The Skins Game (unofficial PGA Tour)
Canyons hosts LPGA Samsung World Championship
The Canyons course welcomed The Skins Game in 1998, bringing prime-time PGA Tour drama to the desert and showcasing Fazio’s routing on national TV. The tournament put Bighorn on the wider golf map with its dramatic closing stretch.
In 2018–2019, Bighorn replaced its existing clubhouse with a striking 80,000-square-foot modern facility, instantly redefining the visual identity of the club and delivering luxury views over the course and valley floor.
From the LPGA’s Samsung World Championship to high-profile charity and corporate events, Bighorn’s Canyons course has been a stage for top-level competition, demanding precision and rewarding bold play.
Every round at Bighorn is shaped by the stark beauty of the Santa Rosa Mountains—desert light, shifting shadows, and elevation lines that catch your eye from almost every fairway and green.
The Canyons course hosted an LPGA Tour event in 2006.
Bighorn’s 2019 clubhouse is one of golf’s most visually striking modern clubhouses.
The course regularly offers birdies on its par fives, tempting players into risk-reward second shots.
Most holes have dramatic backdrops of the Santa Rosa Mountains.
The Skins Game made Bighorn nationally famous in its 1998 debut.
Pete Dye’s notorious tournament stage; drama and difficulty for all skill levels.
Incredible scenery, bold bunkering, and a more accessible booking experience near Bighorn.
Slick greens, top-notch conditioning, and classic desert-resort vibe just minutes away.
Arnold Palmer-designed former Tour stop; big fairways and detailed water features.
Palm Desert or Indian Wells for central access to the area’s best public and private options.
Courses with the most similar DNA profile — matched by deviation shape across all eight playing characteristics.
Why it matches: The Vintage Club — Desert Course is a natural next stop after Bighorn Golf Club: Canyons Course: it shares a memorable sense of place and offers similarly polished playing surfaces.
Why it matches: If Bighorn Golf Club: Canyons Course is your kind of course, Mauna Kea Golf Course is worth a look because it makes the landscape part of the experience and puts the same premium on presentation.
Why it matches: Baywood Greens is a natural next stop after Bighorn Golf Club: Canyons Course: it shares a memorable sense of place and offers similarly polished playing surfaces.
Championship pedigree and Ross magic, restored
America’s classic canyon championship, reborn for the century
Tom Fazio drama in scenic San Diego canyon
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Fazio’s pristine, water-laced Florida sanctuary
Strategic marshland drama meets Myrtle Beach resort fun
Community Sentiment
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