Classic Club At Northstar Opens

With the completion of the PGA Tour's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on Sunday, the Classic Club at NorthStar in Palm Desert, Calif., has opened for public play. The new 7,305-yard track was crafted by Palmer Course Design.

"We designed The Classic Club to have a unique look for the desert," said Palmer Course Design’s Victoria Martz. "It features a variety of playable hazards that are both beautiful and intimidating. It is a wonderful combination of challenge and fun for Tour professionals and amateurs alike."

The Classic Club at NorthStar was crafted to allow spectators clear vistas of the course, with plateaus allowing fans to see from one hole to the next. The course also features elevation changes, waterfalls, rock streams, numerous stone bridges, and more than 4,800 pine and California pepper trees.

According to Martz, the trees were planted to create a forested feel in a desert surrounded by mountain ranges. With 30 acres of lakes, water enters play on 13 holes. The shortest hole on the course, the par-3 12th, contains one of those watery graves. The 162-yard hole requires players to display accuracy, as a large lake, waterfalls and a wrap-around bunker define the green. On this hole, Palmer Course Design’s chairman, Arnold Palmer, personally provided the design criteria and on-site review from concept to completion.

The Classic Club at NorthStar is a public course that was donated to the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic by the H. N. & Francis C. Berger Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to "helping people help themselves."