GDf ,p CONTINEN'E BEGINNING EXPERIENCE £:SPERANZA A • u• •s Ranked as om: of the top r~orts in Mexico by 1rm'l'l + Ldsure and Corult Nast 1raveler Call (855) 985-2369 to book or vUlt www.esp•I'2JIUI't'Son.com f , l!:!j 8 Summer2016 Departments Contents Lydia Ko Photo by Nikko Milkovic ON PAR PLAY WORTHY PUBLISHER’S NOTES THE ENDURING LEGACY OF THE CLASSIC CLUB ...............................................................9 The course has a pedigree and history that make golfers of all calibers want to play it ..................................20 ON COVER BOB PARSONS IS HERE FOR A GOOD TIME SPOTLIGHT Along the way, he’s given us GoDaddy NICK RAFFAELE HAS BIG PLANS FOR THE and PXG golf clubs ...............................................................12 CAREERBUILDER CHALLENGE The new executive director is all about making ON COURT the tournament great again............................................24 THE BNP PARIBAS OPEN PREPARES TO ACCOMMODATE A GROWING AUDIENCE HOT GEAR As the popularity of the BNP Paribas Open continues MUST-HAVE GADGETS, EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES .......30 to rise, Indian Wells Tennis Garden is making significant improvements to Stadium 1 .............................16 GOLF FITNESS STOKE PLAY BIKRAM YOGA IS A TEAM SPORT How can that be? Read on!............................................31 QUALIFYING FOR THE LPGA TOUR ISN’T FOR SISSIES “Challenging” is an understatement when it comes to the LPGA’s qualifying process........................................18 GOLF INSTRUCTION GOLFER’S PLAYBOOK CAREERBUILDER CHALLENGE SAYS FAREWELL TO Facing Challenging Tee Shots With the Driver ................32 THE CLINTON FOUNDATION Change comes yet again to the venerable tournament ...........................................................................26 MAPS, DIRECTORIES AND PRIVATE CLUBS CAN AMERICA KEEP THE CLARET JUG? TENNIS CLUBS ....................................................................56 Last year’s Open Champion, Zach Johnson, certainly GOLF CLUBS .....................................................................64 hopes so ............................................................................28 DeSertGolf&tenniS • Summer2016 5 Summer2016 Lifestyle Contents SUMMER FUN: Palm Springs Aerial Tramway DESERT GOLF & TENNIS REALTY LUXURY TRAVEL PARADISE FOUND Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Cabo San Lucas isn’t just a THE GOOD LIFE window to paradise it is paradise.......................................46 BUYER’S MARKET HITS THE COACHELLA VALLEY There are good deals so buy while the market LUXURY AUTOS and weather are hot ............................................................34 THE MERCEDES-BENZ F 015 LUXURY IN MOTION The future is (almost) here....................................................50 DESERT GOLF & TENNIS LIFESTYLE STYLE REPORT CHANGE COURSE, GOLFERS! FINE DINING Put fresh focus on the body for the long, hot summer...52 DINING IN THE DESERT Refreshing options for eating out during the FINE JEWELRY Coachella Valley’s warm season .......................................36 KWIAT AND LJ CROSS: DIAMONDS AND DEEP-ROOTED TRADITION SUMMER FUN Designers give contemporary elegance to ancient symbols and vintage style....................................................54 HOW TO STAY COOL IN THE DESERT THIS SUMMER Temps can reach triple digits, but cool fun abounds across desert communities ..................................................42 DeSertGolf&tenniS • Summer2016 7 Summer2016 Publisher’snotes By timothy J. Pade • [email protected] his summer we are pleased to feature Timberlake, to name a few of the past celebrities that GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons on our cover. drew thousands of people to the event. Raffaele is An entrepreneur with multiple interests and determined to once again make this tournament the talents, Parsons has embraced golf in a big standout event in the desert we all know it can and Tway since stepping down as CEO of GoDaddy. In should be, and we look forward to working with him addition to purchasing Scottsdale Golf Club, newly and supporting that effort. named Scottsdale National, he began manufacturing Although the Clinton Foundation will no longer be a high-end golf clubs under the Parsons Extreme Golf sponsor, it will continue its important work here in the brand (PXG). His golf clubs are already among the Coachella Valley along with the Clinton Health Matters hottest “must have” clubs on the market, with fans Initiative. In addition to naming Raffaele, the tournament including touring pros and top amateurs. Driven to announced that none other than Phil Mickelson would succeed, Parsons is intent on turning Scottsdale begin serving as official ambassador of the event starting National into one of the premier golf facilities in the in 2017. Read more about Raffaele and the tournament nation, and we have no doubt he will do exactly that. in our two articles, one starting on pg. 24 and the other You can read more about him starting on pg. 12. on pg. 26. Although summer has traditionally been With the rest of the country “booming” considered the “off season” in the desert, the fact is that economically, we hope the golf business in the southwest these days it’s every bit the busy season, with much going will see the same upswing soon. Member numbers at on to know, see and do. To start, the BNP Paribas Open many clubs continue to be less than what’s necessary to has named a new tournament director, Tommy Haas. meet critical expenses. Several facilities are in jeopardy of Haas is an accomplished tennis star who will make a closing again this year unless they can get the huge and positive impact on the future of this major membership support they need. The California drought desert event. Read all about it starting on pg. 16. also continues to be a problem for all communities but Next, after a multiyear search, the CareerBuilder especially golf-course communities throughout the west Challenge has also named its new leader, Nick Raffaele. and southwest. Water shortages have changed the Raffaele will have his hands full helping to revive this landscape of our once lush and beautiful courses as well once popular Tour event, which lost much of its luster as the thriving desert we have loved for so long. We all with the Tour’s decision to eliminate celebrities from need to help with water rationing and hopefully the the field. A change in title sponsors every few years has weather gods will help too! confused patrons and gallery numbers have dropped. As always, we thank you for your continued support No longer do people schedule their parties and visits to of Desert Golf &Tennis. Our goal is to continue to the Coachella Valley to be entertained by the likes of produce the very finest publication possible. Joe Pesci, Alice Cooper, Bill Murray and Justin DeSertGolf&tenniS • Summer2016 9 Summer2016 19th Annual Vol.XiX, no.V Editor/Publisher: TIMOTHY J. PADE Marketing/Promotion: TIMOTHY J. PADE Deputy Articles Editor: CHRISTINE LOOMIS P.O. Box 1158, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 Writers: AARON ATWOOD (760) 969-2392 • (800) 858-9677 [email protected] CLIVE CLARK DIANE MARLIN-DIRKX DONNA AVA-MARIE ALISON ELSNER Account Executive SUSANNE KEMPER (760) 707-4231 CHRIS LEWIS [email protected] CHRISTINE LOOMIS MICHELLE REES MATT MCKAY Sales Executive KIMBERLY NICHOLS (408) 398-8831 ANN MARIE PALMA [email protected] FRANÇOISE RHODES JENNIE ROBINSON INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL EDITOR SUSANNE KEMPER ROB STANGER P.O. Box 2537, CH1211 SAM VARNER Geneva #2, Switzerland VICE PRESIDENT SALES & MARKETING, Art Director: MICHAEL UNGER HAWAII DIVISION KATHRYN HELLER 469 Ena Road #3507, Photography: LUIGI SERRA Honolulu, HI 96815 DANE ANDREW Marketing Pacific Northwest Region: NIKKO MILKOVIC MARY CONDY BILLIE WEISS (541) 390-9504 KEN E. MAY Bend, OR 97702 JOHN HENEBRY [email protected] GREGG FELSEN Desert Golf & Tennis is published under ISSN No. 1522-9777 five times a year by Pade Publishing L.L.C., P.O. Box 1158, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. All contents of this magazine are copyrighted 2016 by Pade Publishing L.L.C., all rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the editorial or graphic content of this magazine, without permis sion, in any manner, is prohibited.© To subscribe: 1yr. at $24.75, 2 yrs at $49.50 and 3 yrs. at $74.25. Send check to: P.O. Box 1158, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 TO SUBSCRIBE call: 760-969-2392 or visit dgnt.com Desert Golf & Tennis, LLC President, Timothy J. Pade In Memoriam, Executive Vice President, Ellen Meyer Secretary, Sherwood Steele Legal Counsel, Michael Henson Follow us on facebook at: facebook.com/golfmagazines Search “Desert Golf” on facebook and become a fan for updates and golf promos Desert Golf & Tennis is a division of Pade Publishing, L.L.C. Follow us on twitter at: S ASS’N R O E F T twitter.com/desertgolfguy I A R M W E R F I L C O A G National Photography Award 1st Place International Network of Golf Awards 2004, 2005 & 2008 onCover By Françoise Rhodes hat’s in a name?” some may ask. For Bob Parsons, a lot! In May 2016, Parsons was “ ranked 906th on the world ranking of billionaires. As a lifelong entrepreneur, it was the Wsuccess of the GoDaddy group of a web-hosting companies he founded in 1997 that stratosphered his wealth. Ask Parsons how he decided on the name GoDaddy and there’s a moment of silence before he replies, “What’s that got to do with PXG?” Obviously eager to talk about his obsession with golf and his luxury line of PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) golf clubs, Parsons eventually answers. “GoDaddy is a name we just pulled out of the sky because we wanted something catchy. There was Fat Daddy, Sugar Daddy, Big Daddy, but we settled on GoDaddy.” Parsons was born in inner city Baltimore, Maryland, in 1950. After almost flunking out of high school, he joined the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. In recognition of his service, he received the Purple Heart Medal, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and a Combat Action Ribbon. Upon returning home, he attended the University of Baltimore on the G.I. Bill and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in accounting. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2008 and later named him a Distinguished Entrepreneur.