Desert Dunes Golf Course

Overview: Desert Dunes Golf Course in Desert Hot Springs is an 18-hole public desert layout designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. The published back-tee record gives a par of 72 and 6,876 yards, with wide desert views and strategic hazards shaping the round. Its identity comes from using the natural Coachella Valley environment as part of the challenge rather than hiding it behind a fully manicured parkland setting.

History: Desert Dunes opened in 1989 and is consistently described as the first desert course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Some scorecard records also list Donald Knott and Gary Linn in the design credits, but the course's own regional profile centers Jones as the principal architect. No later reconstruction is added without a source tied to this exact course.

Did You Know? The par-3 fifth is singled out in the regional course description for playing over desert ground with a mesquite backdrop. It is a compact example of the larger design idea: the surrounding desert is not just scenery, but part of the visual frame and strategic context of the hole.