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