PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — During the last 100 years, golf and the Coachella Valley have become practically synonymous. From celebrities to professional golfers to part-time residents to visitors, golf has been and remains a large part of the fabric of desert life.
Here are the big firsts in the history of the sport in the Southern California desert:
First golf holes: Mashie Course, Desert Inn, Palm Springs
First important golf tournament: 1935, O’Donnell Classic (Walter Hagen and Horton Smith played in the event)
First 18-hole golf course: 1951, Thunderbird Country Club
First PGA Tour event: 1952, Thunderbird Invitational (not official until 1954)
First LPGA event: 1953, Tamarisk Country Club
First golfing president: 1954, Dwight Eisenhower
First Ryder Cup played: 1955, Thunderbird Country Club (the 1959 Ryder Cup was played at Eldorado Country Club)
First The American Express: 1960 (originally called the Palm Springs Golf Classic)
First LPGA major championship: Colgate Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle
First LPGA major championship winner: 1972, Jane Blalock won the inaugural Colgate Dinah Shore Winners Circle LPGA at Mission Hills Country Club
First Champions Leap: 1988, Amy Alcott won the Nabisco Dinah Shore and jumped into the lake on the 18th hole at Mission Hills Country Club that was later named Poppie’s Pond
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The key moments in the history of golf in the desert, from the first golf courses to the first tournaments
