The first place that comes to mind for golf in January is Palm Springs. So when Eric from Fun Golf Vacations invited The RGV Tour to participate in the prestigious Palm Springs Amateur (PSA), the Recreational Golf Vehicle (RGV) warmed up its engine. For the past 20 years, Eric Haskinson and his family have put together one of the most fun competitions in Palm Springs. Year after year, the contestants come back for more and the result is a glorious few days in the desert with a magnificent little golf community. I immediately put the RGV into drive and peeled out.
The fun factor is just starting to ramp up as the RGV warms up for a year long journey across America. It is still hard to believe that I am going to be playing this much golf with almost zero breaks. Fortunately, the parking lot at PGA West provided me with a cozy little respite from the task ahead of me as the PSA got underway.
The American Express was heading into town and the RGV Tour in conjunction with the Palm Springs Amateur was unofficially in charge of warming up PGA West’s Stadium Course for tournament play. It was course #11 en route to a world record setting 450 golf courses in 365 days.
I managed a pretty solid little 79 with official tournament conditions in play. More importantly I managed to not loose a golf ball on the treacherously water packed Stadium course.
You can follow along with all of the action by downloading the Golf Gamebook app.
Next up on the PSA RGV party was the Nicklaus Tournament course. As the name suggests, the Tournament course did indeed provide tournament conditions and we golfed it hard. Even with a scorecard wrecking 8, I still managed to put together a nice little 77. I was only 4 shots off of the tournament lead and the final day was another trip around the Stadium Course.
Palm Springs Amateur CEO, Eric Haskinson, dons the RGV Tour hoodie and pounds one down the middle.
However, the world record is all about different 18 hole golf courses and I needed un-golfed grass to further my progress towards 450. I reluctantly turned down the chance at a "‘come from behind W” and set my sights away from the official competition. My selection for golf was at the often overlooked duo of PGA West’s Mountain and Dunes courses.
The Dunes course is laid out in classic Pete Dye fashion and provides many of his trademark features in an understated way, the result is a fun and very playable round of golf.
The Mountain course at PGA West provides a more dramatic feel as the course works towards a crescendo in the nearby mountains. The task of playing 450 golf courses feels almost monumental as I close the book on course #13.
In addition to setting a world record, The RGV Tour has also placed a premium importance on raising money for First Tee and the Palm Springs Amateur was happy to join in and help out. I gave a little speech at the official awards dinner and people happily dedicated their winnings and extra cash to help us reach our goal of $100k. It was a humbling and rewarding experience to witness the fine folks of the Palm Springs Amateur donate so freely.
My girlfriend, Rachel, even came into town to help me celebrate. She wisely found one of the finest Palm Spings pools on Airbnb and I jumped into the pool with my golf clothes on with a giant check.
In addition to the $3k raised at the Palm Springs Amateur, The RGV Tour has already raised over $5k for First Tee and other youth based local golf charities. To be a part of the story, you can donate here. 100% of all donations go directly to charity. To help support the mission further, you can support our RGV Tour sponsors below.
Stewart Golf - The absolute finest motorized push cart in the world.
Ecco Shoes - The walk towards 450 isn’t easy, but ECCO makes it easier.
After the awards dinner, I had a chance to sit down for the first official podcast of The RGV Tour and talk with the Wonderful Walks in Golf Podcast. Have a listen below.
