I would recommend the Palms too. Great course, great challenge. Little Big Horn is another gem that is worth the trip.

Have fun and play well

I'll be out there in March again, as well!

I really enjoy the Greg Norman course at PGA West. Gorgeous layout.

Make sure you play the Firecliff course at Desert Willow Golf Resort. It's a fantastic course, a tough-but-fair test, and the service is impeccable.

I love playing the Faldo course at Shadow Ridge, too, and don't forget about the the Gary Player Signature course at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage.

Depends on your choice of degree of difficulty. There are several resort type courses that are fun. Most/some of the private courses allow guest tee times depending on the day of the week, unfortunately some times are so late you can't finish before dark. We used to have a place in PD at one of the private courses and that gave us some privileges at a few others. Desert Island, Indian Wells, Vintage all had guest tee times at one time. Been a few years since we lived there so things probably have changed. Enjoy yourself, it is a great place to play golf.

The Classic Club is nice. The Greg Norman course at PGA is traditional desert course and normally in great shape. Desert Willow courses are challenging. It has been a while since I played them but they should be in great shape in March.

Taquiz, in Palm Springs, is a public course that is well worth your time. There are two courses, a resort course and a legend course. Won't "break-the-bank" and both courses are better than you might expect. I believe one of the two courses used to be the old Palm Springs CC where Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra used to play. They're good "warm up" courses before you spring for the PGA West and LaQuinta "break-the-bank" level greens fees.

Classic Club and Silver Rock.

I enjoy playing Escena when I am down there and the Pete Dye course at Mission Hills was also great.

I am lucky to spend a lot of time in the valley over the winter and my personal favorites in order would be:

- Classic Club (a great layout and is usually in great shape, but stay away if it is windy because it is not protected by the mountains)
- Indian Wells Players Course
- Indian Wells Celebrity Course
- PGA Tournament Course
- Eagle Falls (a good Clive Clark course in Indio)
- PGA Stadium
- Silver Rock (play in the mornings otherwise it can be a long round)
- Desert Willow Firecliff

I am heading down in March with a very mixed group of golfers. Some serious, some casual, some lower handicaps (9-12) and some not so low (20-28).

I had Classic Club, Shadow Hills, Desert Willow on my list. I would like to try and play PGA West, but I am not sure if the 'group' will want to spend the cash.

Will these courses allow for the higher handicappers to enjoy their time or will they present a challenge?

I might check out Eagle Falls like RSparrow suggested.