Road journeys don’t come more quintessential than the 450-mile (724km) trip (give or take a few) from Los Angeles to Las Vegas via Death Valley.From lone roadside diners and highways stretching to infinity, to buzzards circling cloudless skies and distinctive Joshua trees dotting the desert landscape – all the classic imagery is here in abundance. And for serious golfers, this is a true place of pilgrimage. With the world’s lowest elevation golf course and some of the best desert layouts on the planet — the sheer quantity and variety of golf courses in California and Nevada is astonishing.
After loading our clubs into our spacious Alamo SUV at LAX, my brother Paul and I cruise north along palm-fringed Pacific Highway 1, passing through Santa Monica, Malibu and Ventura towards the picturesque beachside town of Santa Barbara, dubbed the American Riviera thanks to its low-slung red-tiled roofs, white stucco buildings and gorgeous sunsets.
Santa Barbara makes a good base for our first round at Sandpiper Golf Club, sometimes known as the "Poor Man’s Pebble Beach".
Nestled against the scalloped coastline, it’s an inspiring combination of challenge and beauty with a links-style layout.
Mountainside Glen Annie Golf Club in Goleta, and the fun Alisal River Course — where the golf scene in the wine movie Sideways was shot are other good choices.
Zen golf
From Santa Barbara we backtrack to Ventura and follow Highway 33 into the golden hills of the Los Padres National Forest, and the renowned Ojai Valley immortalised as the mythical Shangri-La in the movie Lost Horizon, filmed here in 1937. We have an appointment at the Ojai Valley Inn's historic 1923 course designed by master golf architect George C. Thomas. Standing outside the Spanish colonial-style clubhouse wearing a Zen-golf baseball cap is Dr Joseph Parent, the author of best-selling golf book Zen Golf. With a PhD in psychology, a background in stress management, Buddhism and meditation, he’s amply qualified to instruct mastering the mental side of the golf game.
“My book Zen Golf is the expression of insights I’ve developed through my teachings combined with the Buddhist state of mind", Dr Joe says, as we stroll the course’s eucalyptus-lined fairways. Old wooden bridges lead over gurgling brooks, ancient oaks and sprawling pepper trees stand sentinel along fairways and greens as Dr Joe continues.
“I basically teach golfers how to get the most out of their golf game they have developed so far. During golf, the mind tends to wander into the past and future, it’s all about staying in the present,” he says.
“Plus, the closer you get to the hole, the more the mental game kicks in."
Desert drive
Leaving the Ojai Valley behind, we head north-east on Highway 14 to Mojave along roads flanked by distinctive Joshua trees. When we reach the desolate outpost of Randsburg, low on gas, it’s like entering a wild west movie set, with tumbleweed blowing down the main street. By late afternoon the sun still beats down like a hammer on Highway 178, as heat waves peel off the sweeping line of asphalt that stretches towards distant snow-capped mountains and Death Valley — one of the lowest and hottest places on earth.
As we near Death Valley, the names on our crumpled road map take on an ominous tone: Furnace Creek, Desolation Canyon, Starvation Point, Hell’s Gate and Stovepipe Wells.
Death Valley National Park’s headquarters are situated within the welcoming oasis of Furnace Creek where a plantation of 1800 date palms were planted in the 1920s, creating a scene that wouldn't look out of place in the African Sahara.
We base ourselves at The Ranch, comfortable accommodation in Furnace Creek situated close to the 18-hole golf course nestled among the date palms, with magnificent views of the surrounding desert mountain ranges. On Masters Sunday, we watch the final round drama unfold in the comfort of our air-conditioned room. Then we slip out for a late afternoon round — on the lowest golf course on earth.
Night scene, Los Angeles. PHOTO: LOS ANGELES CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
The road to Vegas
It’s twilight the following evening along Highway 160 when the pulsating neon signs and surreal skyline of the infamous Las Vegas Strip loom into view. Love it, loathe it, or both, Vegas may be cheesy, artificial and completely over the top, but it’s also one of the world’s best golfing destinations.
Over the past couple of decades, the number of immaculately conditioned golf courses within a two-hour drive of the city has increased to more than 70 and many are top-flight tracks designed by some of the biggest names in golf including Nicklaus, Palmer, Dye and Fazio. The desert landscape has offered them an amazing canvas from which to create their works of art — swathes of emerald green fairways in a sea of red rock, such as Primm Valley, Angel Park, Paiute Golf Resort, Bali Hai, Shadow Creek, Cascata and Desert Pines.
Our base in Las Vegas is the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa — one of the most luxurious golf resorts in the Vegas area. With sparkling blue waters, white-sand beaches and gently swaying palm trees, it’s a desert oasis away from the razzle and dazzle of the Strip.
From our room’s patio we have fantastic views of the par-3 eighth hole of Reflection Bay Golf Club. When it opened in 1998, it was the first public resort course in Nevada to be designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. Sculpted from the desert’s natural contours and surrounded by stunning lake and mountain vistas, highlights include five eye-candy holes that run along a mile and a-half of shoreline. We couldn't wait to tee-off in the afternoon and check out the course for ourselves.
Vintage golf
The following morning, we find ourselves inside the office of Vegas Vintage Classic Car Rentals, surveying the list of exotic vehicles for hire. We want to add a little "vintage" to our LA to Las Vegas golf trip and before long, our classic 1961 Cadillac Series 62 is cruising down Highway 15 towards the border town of Mesquite (77 miles (124km) north of Vegas), and the promise of 18 glorious holes at one of the planet’s most amazing courses — Wolf Creek Golf Club.
I strap myself in, twiddle the chunky knobs on the radio to tune-in a local station and rumble the Cadillac on to the main drag. Even in “anything goes” Vegas, our classic vintage car still manages to attract a fair bit of attention from pedestrians. Ah, this is the life — two high-handicap golfers in Cadillac convertible driving down the Strip in search of the great American golfing dream.
While the golf clubs stand proudly against the leather back seats, the inside of the trunk looks like a mobile golf store, containing all the essentials for another day of desert golf; a crumpled map of Nevada, four-dozen Pro V1 golf balls, four bags of tees, a six-pack of Powerade, four protein bars and a well-thumbed copy of personally signed by Dr Joe Parent himself.
There are some overused words when it comes to describing a golf course — spectacular, dramatic and golf on a grand scale — which makes it difficult to describe Wolf Creek in an original way as it is all of those things and more. Set high above the desert floor among red-rock canyons, teeming waterfalls and glistening creeks, it looks as though strips of green velvet have been laid out on a lunar landscape. There are precious few courses that can generate a genuine sense of awe for several holes at a stretch. Exceedingly rare is the layout that can sustain the feeling for an entire round — Wolf Creek Golf Club is such a place.
Developer Doug Clemetson was determined to leave the distinctive natural landscape in place, accepting that a number of non-traditional golf holes would be the result. On the second tee box, for example, 90 granite steps lead up to the driving area, which is located some 11 storeys high. The 215-yard (197m) par-3 third hole plays uphill to one of the highest points on the course with 70-mile views and the fifth is a short par-5 that makes a rather abrupt turn left through the rocks before heading to the green.
Another classic is the par-3 11th, an island in a sea of red rock and typical of Wolf Creek’s dazzling visual appeal. As we prepare to hit our drives from the elevated tee on the 17th hole, the sun casts long shadows across canyon walls, gullies and surreal dried-earth formations, which glow red, pink, and gold in the late afternoon light. Leaning on our drivers we take in this classic desert scene — one that provides a fitting finale to our LA to Las Vegas golf journey.
Where to play
Sandpiper Golf Club: www.sandpipergolf.com
Ojai Country Club: www.ojaivalleyinn.com
Furnace Creek Golf Course: www.oasisatdeathvalley.com
Reflection Bay Golf Club: www.reflectionbaygolf.com
Wolf Creek Golf Club: www.golfwolfcreek.com
