By Terry Ross

For much of the country, winter golf is something that simply doesn’t exist other than on television, in a fantasy league or with a video game.

With the majority of the golfing public looking out a window filled with ice, snow, rain or all of these elements that make hitting a little white ball over green grass pretty much like scaling the Himalayas, finding a refuge to play during the cold months is pretty much like waking up to a dream.

The PGA Tour figured out a long time ago that you have to play the early-season golf where you can find warmer weather in January, February and March, and after beginning the season in Hawaii and then playing in California and Arizona before heading to Florida pretty much tells you where you will find some nice golfing weather.

And taking time off to soak up some good golfing weather and watch professional golf in person while your friends sit huddled next to a fire and deciding who gets to shovel snow off the driveway—well, as they say—Priceless!

But really, there are few places in the world that are as good for a winter vacation to enjoy both playing and watching golf as the desert.  The PGA Tour makes two desert stops in Arizona during the first two months of the year and one in the Southern California region of Palm Springs.

The Palm Springs area, or Coachella Valley as the locals call it, is normally the first mainland stop for the Tour each year in January for the iconic Bob Hope Classic that is in its second half century of combining celebrities and touring pros in a unique format over four courses and five days that involved over 300 amateur players.  It is the only 90-hole event left on tour where celebrities and amateurs play for the first four rounds on a different course every day and the pros that make the cut play for a $5 million purse on Sunday.

Although this event still carries his name almost a decade after his passing, Bob Hope was the man who put his mark on this event in its infancy in the early 1960s by bringing his celebrity friends such as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Jackie Gleason and many others.

As far as a destination or a PGA Tour stop, this area is unique from the other desert locations that host the professionals every year in that the small town, resort feel is still prevalent throughout this valley even though it is only two hours away from the Los Angeles metropolis and there are literally more than 20 million people within a two and one half hour drive.

This isn’t where you have 170,000 on one course in one day as they have in Phoenix, which is actually a big-desert city.  This is the relaxing getaway that movie, stars, athletes and other celebrities come to hang, play golf and soak up the sun and forget about the rest of the world. This is where Elvis spent his honeymoon and former Presidents like Eisenhower and Ford spent their retirement and left their mark on not only the golf courses, but on the community.

These days the Hope is played in the eastern part of the valley in the city of La Quinta, with two of the four venues inside renowned PGA West at the Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer Private courses which back up against the stately Santa Rosa Mountains. If you want a change of pace from watching the pros and celebrities, there is the La Quinta Resort nearby where you can get your own 18 in during morning before venturing out to the tournament.

There is plenty to do after hours at some of the popular spots like Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant in La Quinta, the Jackalope Ranch in nearby Indio and the Nest in Indian Wells.

Taking a week—or even just a few days—to venture out on a winter getaway during the week of the Bob Hope Classic to the Palm Springs area in January gives you the recipe for a memorable golf trip.

With more than 100 courses of all varieties in the Valley, and winter weather that you can find in few places, it doesn’t get any better for winter golf.