Courtesy of the club
Courtesy of the club
Courtesy of the club
Courtesy of the club
Courtesy of the club
Overview
The Vintage Club proved to be the last collaboration between former tour golfer-turned-architect George Fazio and his young nephew, Tom. But while George was heavily involved in promoting this exclusive Palm Springs area club to prospective members, Tom was sweating the details out on the construction site. The opulent course was built for $6 million, considered an outrageous amount at that time, but Tom explained that sum was necessary in order to “create an environment where none existed,” a phrase he would repeat later in the decade when constructing No. 27 Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Tom spent $1.5-million building just The Vintage’s 16th and 17th holes, including three cascading waterfalls at $175,000 apiece. It was money well spent.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
100 Greatest: Ranked for six years from 1987-'92. Highest ranking: No. 89, 1991-'92.
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked 190th, 2019-'20. Ranked 196th, 2021-'22.
Best in State: Ranked inside the top 10, 1987-'89. Ranked inside the top 15, 1991-2001. Ranked inside the top 20, 2003-'05. Ranked 24th, 2017-'22.
2023-'24 ranking: 22nd.
Previous ranking: 24th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Excellent framing of tee shots and greens, and the landscaping is some of the best I have seen. High marks for conditioning and aesthetics. A very good balance of accuracy and length and the green complexes require a deft short game to score but allows alternative approaches to attack the various pin positions. It's unique as the greens are bent grass with rye fairways."
Read More2020
Review
“Every year something is added to make this course more beautiful and challenging. Fazio is brought in on a regular basis to evaluate and improve it. New water features have added to the beauty and difficulty of the course. New greens and bunkers also make it in nearly perfect condition."
Read More2020
Review
“The Vintage Club's Mountain course is a well-designed and well maintained course in the California desert. The short par 4s were very good with a small creek bordering them give many options and risks off the tees."
Read More2020
Review
“There were many locations of the course where the mountains were framed by an expanse of flowers. Very pleasing and amazing. The risks and rewards were not as abundant off the tee, but were very good on approach shots. If a player does avoid some of the apparent hazards by playing to a different side of the green, there were many deep chipping areas with tight lies."
Read More2020
Review
“Interesting golf course if you can get on. It certainly gets more interesting on the back nine. Some really great finishing holes."
Read More2018
Review
“Always in immaculate condition, and one of the most beautiful links in the desert. The course is fun and fair but not overly challenging."
Read More2018
Review
“A classic Tom Fazio course in the desert. The course is only opened for a limited time in the year, but I have not played many courses as well conditioned as the Vintage Club. The attention to detail at this course is amazing. The landscaping is tremendous with flowers everywhere. The course is framed beautifully by the mountains and a wonderful creek runs through many of the holes. This place is tremendous and if you can get a tee time at this course, you are in for a great experience."
Read More2018
Readers
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