Desert

Primm Valley sits at the edge of the Mojave Desert, straddling the California-Nevada state line along I-15, and the golf out here is as dramatic as the setting. The Desert Course at Primm Valley Golf Club is a Tom Fazio design that opened in 1997, carved through the raw, boulder-strewn terrain of that wide-open valley floor with the Spring Mountains rising to the east. Fazio used the natural landscape rather than fighting it — arroyos, desert washes, and native scrub define the character of the routing, while the mountains provide a constant, stunning backdrop that almost distracts from the shot at hand.

The course earned early recognition as one of the better resort layouts in the Southwest, and it has hosted LPGA Tour events, which speaks to both its conditioning and its test at the highest level of the game. At par 72 it plays as a full, demanding examination.

Golfers making the drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas often treat Primm as a worthy detour rather than just a gas-station stop — and the Desert Course is the main reason why.