The Golf Club
The Golfing Life at Desert Springs
The aim of the Desert Springs Golf Club is to offer golf in its very best traditions within a relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie and good fun, to provide the best possible golfing experience to all golfers, members, guests and visitors alike and to ensure that the Indiana Course can be enjoyed by players of all abilities.
The Club and the Course are managed to achieve just this, with respect for the etiquette and courtesies of the game being a particular feature.
Our commitment is to do what we can to exceed your expectations, with a truly warm and friendly welcome and an uncompromising level of service that you would not expect this side of the great pond. Desert Springs is different and the quality in depth of that difference becomes apparent from the moment you arrive.
The Indiana Golf Course
Course designer Peter McEvoy
"We have created a course which really can be enjoyed by players of all different standards, we have kept the fairways generous and ensured that the less expert player can enjoy and improve his game whilst absorbing the awesome landscape and views that encompass The Indiana.
On the other hand, every hole has features which can be brought into play; the springs, watercourses, dry river beds, rock and cactus areas and bunkers are strategically located to examine the skills of golf's leading players when playing off the championship tees."
The Beauty of Golf
The beauty of golf, the aspect, which separates it from other sports, lies in the variety of terrain over which it is played. While golfers enjoy golf of many types, from links to parkland, surely the world's most spectacular courses are those laid out over rugged desert landscapes. The contrast, between the beautifully prepared and manicured playing areas and the arid yet vividly coloured desert, captures the very essence of why golf stands apart from other sports.
Inspired by the famous desert courses of Arizona & California, The Indiana course is the first desert course in Europe and has been built to the full USGA specifications and quality standards of these desert courses, now famous for the quality of golf that they offer. It presents unforgettable views, and golf of such a dramatic nature that it can be said to have taken not only desert golf, but also golf in general in this part of Spain to a new level of excellence.
Its immaculate fairways are set amongst massive rocky outcrops, arroyos and dry rivers. The vivid contrast of the “desert springs” and the emerald green fairways with the arid landscape of cactus, rock and flowering desert, is stunning at all times of year. The whole golfing vision is framed within a panorama of landmark mountain ranges.
Over 600,000 cacti and other desert plants grow progressively more dense and troubling, the further your shot is off the fairway, culminating in the dreaded “spiked lies”, so the course is both demanding and exhilarating. It offers a variety of shot making challenges to test the skill level of every player, from the beginner to professional.
The quality of the course was confirmed by its selection by the English Golf Union and currently by the Welsh Ladies Golf Union, as their “Spanish Home” and also by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, for whom Desert Springs hosted the 2004 Spanish Amateur Open and will be hosting the 2007 Open. Its Academy of Golf provides practice facilities, second to none, for National squad and County Union members.
2016 Golf Green Fees & Buggy Hire
Beside the Standard Green Fee and Buggy Hire rates, please see the PDF below for our special offers available such as the "Early Bird" as well as the "Cactus Combo" rounds.
The Golfers Opinion
Hole by Hole Video Analysis
Ryder Cup player's opinions of the Indiana Course at Desert Springs
Ian Woosnam OBE
Ryder Cup 1983-1997, Winning Captain 2006, US PGA Masters Winner 1991, No 1 in World Golf Rankings 1991, World Match Play Winner 1987, 1990, 2001, World Cup, 1989, PGA Grand Slam of Golf, 1991, 29 European Tour Wins
"Having last been here in 2004, the first thing I noticed was how mature the landscaping had become. It's a course that provides you with a test for every shot you have in your bag. The course is in immaculate condition with greens of equal quality to those we play our own tour events on. If you want to hone your game, immaterial of what standard of golfer you are, then this is the place to come!"
Steve Richardson
Ryder Cup 1991, Alfred Dunhill Cup 1991 & Winner 1992, World Cup 1991 & 1992, Four Tours World Championship Winner 1991 & 1992
“Desert Springs is a very stimulating test of golf. It is a thinking mans course, not easy to overpower but one that requires excellent course management skills. I really enjoyed it and felt it tested my skills fully”.
Paul Way
Ryder Cup 1983 & Winner 1985, Dutch Open Champion 1982, British PGA Champion 1985, and European Open Champion 1987
“I actually found myself hitting my driver a lot at Desert Springs. It is a course that demands accuracy and thought but it does allow you to attack and make birdies. I found it a superb looking course and in top class international condition. It is a genuine test”.
Peter Baker
Ryder Cup 1993, Ryder Cup Vice Captain 2006, Alfred Dunhill Cup 1993 & 1998, World Cup 1998, Benson & Hedges International Open Champion 1988, Dunhill British Masters 1993
" Loved the course; a proper shot making course. I made loads of birdies, which was great, but I got penalised for bad shots. That’s the way the best courses treat you. One of the most refreshing courses I’ve played in along time and one I look forward to re-visiting, I don’t think it would ever be boring”.
The Environment at Desert Springs
Desert Springs was awarded the Spanish 'Madera Verde' 2005 Prize for Environmental Responsibility, by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment’s Association for the Promotion of
Socio-Cultural Activities and The Royal Spanish Golf Federation, out of no less than 60 entries for the award.
The objective of the award is to both recognise and to publicise the many positive aspects of environmental conservation that can be achieved by the voluntary efforts and work of those involved in promoting, running and managing golf courses, providing they act with all due regard, respect and care for environmental issues.
The Awards Committee highlighted the tremendous response to the awards received from Spanish golf courses; some 60 courses entering the competition for the award, demonstrating in itself a high degree of environmental awareness and concern in the golfing industry. Following assessment of all sixty by the Technical Committee, seven were selected for the short list, being Desert Springs, La Herrería, Montanya, El Saler, Los Arqueros, Buenavista & RSHEECC.
The Awards Committee considered three main criteria in making their final decision: -
- The method of construction of the golf course
- The management and maintenance programmes introduced for the golf course
- The awareness and protection of the environmental issues brought to the attention of golfers and non-golfers by the Club’s management
According to the Citation for the final award, Desert Springs represented a clear example of an institution with a high degree of environmental observance and respect. Within their Citation, it was exceptionally gratifying to read that: -
"In Desert Springs case, the scrupulous work that was carried out during the construction of the course in a desert environment was evident, an extraordinary and exceptional case of respect for the natural environment. Special mention is to be made in respect of the careful use of water in a closed circuit system of irrigation, allowing for the correct minimum necessary consumption, based on systems typical of those used in Arizona USA. It should also be mentioned that Desert Springs do not irrigate the 'rough' area of the course, only the tees, fairways and greens, and this encourages the growth and well being of the local flora and fauna."
Director of Golf, Simon Coaker commented - “The world of golf has a responsibility to both respect and enhance the environment in which it resides and it is wonderful to have the efforts of all involved, in particular those of our Golf Course Superintendent, Anthony Brooks, and Chief Naturalist, Joel Lodè, recognised. Furthermore, I believe that this award can only be positive for the future of golf course development in our area”.
