Rancho Las Palmas Country Club

Rancho Las Palmas is the easygoing desert round of the valley—Ted Robinson Sr.'s 1977 layout at the Omni resort in Rancho Mirage. It's a 27-hole complex of three nines (North, South and West) that rotate into three different 18-hole combinations, each laced with Robinson's trademark water: six lakes thread the palm-lined fairways.

It's short and friendly by desert standards—the North/South round measures 6,333 yards to a par of 71—which makes it the valley's most relaxed tee time rather than its stiffest test. The scorecard here is the North/South combination; ask the pro shop which two nines are in play the day you go.

The setting

Palms, water and the San Jacintos

Robinson laced six lakes through Rancho Las Palmas and lined it with towering palms; on a clear winter day the snow-capped San Jacinto range fills the horizon behind the greens. It's the most relaxed desert round in the valley—short enough to score, pretty enough to linger.