Master Planning Success Brings Desert Horizons Back to Life

The Desert Horizons Country Club and community was created in Indian Wells, Calif. in 1979, after its developers secured a prime site in the center of the fast-growing Coachella Valley that featured panoramic views of the surrounding San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains and easy access to the attractions offered in nearby places like Palm Springs to the west and La Quinta to the east. 

Not surprisingly, this favorable positioning quickly put Desert Horizons on the map and established both the community and club as thriving attractions of their own. But while “location, location, location” remains a proven component of real-estate success, it can only go so far in helping clubs sustain their appeal and relevance. As Desert Horizons CC turned 40 and entered the 2020 decade, it had become clear that to recapture the excitement that had first drawn members to the club, its facilities needed a new injection of energy.

“It wasn’t the same club as when it was started,” says Al Castro, CCM, who came to the club as its Chief Executive & General Manager in February 2020, bringing experience from several other high-profile clubs in the Valley. “We were struggling to keep our golf memberships over 100, and the club was in serious trouble.”

 

Efficiency and Excitement

Desert Horizons engaged McMahon Group to help it take the pulse of its existing membership’s needs and desires through focus groups and surveys. The opinions that were gathered helped to identify the best options for reinvigorating the club and creating a sustainable model for its long-term success that included an ambitious Master Plan for modernizing the clubhouse and other facilities. 

Before any of that could happen, however, Desert Horizons also worked with McMahon to bring about a merger of the community HOA and the club that created a mandatory membership requirement (requiring at least a social membership) while stipulating that updates would be made to the clubhouse, fitness center and sports-court complex. The merger instantly bolstered the club’s numbers while also bringing about financial and operating efficiencies that made it much more feasible to successfully complete the facility projects defined by the Master Plan.

“Getting the merger approved helped to create a new model for both governance and financing that would not involve two Boards or require a large assessment of the membership,” says Castro. “That’s exactly what was needed to get the project over the finish line.”

 

Well Worth the Wait

Reaching that finish line did take some time; the club operated with temporary facilities for over two years as McMahon then worked with Desert Horizons to help refine the renovation concepts and steer a $36 million project to approval and completion. When the grand opening for that project took place at the start of 2024, there was no doubt that it was all well worth the wait, as members instantly embraced the enhanced experiences made possible by facility improvements that included:

A renovated 40,000- sq. ft. clubhouse that could literally be seen in a new light, as what Castro describes as a “heavy, dark interior, with low ceilings and heavy block walls and columns” was almost entirely gutted and transformed to maximize the abundance of natural light and enhance the 270-degree views of the golf course, property and surrounding mountains through glass nanowalls. New options for both casual and fine dining were created, along with a new four-sided Terrace Bar with soft seating and a patio deck that has quickly become the club’s social focal point, according to Castro.

A new state-of-the-art Fitness and Wellness Center, added as a second story to the clubhouse and more than four times the size of the club’s previous fitness space. Showcasing beautiful landscape views of the Coachella Valley, adequate space is now dedicated to a full range of cardio and weight training, group classes and wellness services.

A new pro shop, new locker rooms and more flexible event spaces, which Castro says has already led to increased interest in member-sponsored engagements, including several more weddings that are now being booked for 2025’s shoulder seasons.

A new Desert Horizons Courts Pavilion with 11 dedicated pickleball courts, two tennis courts, a viewing deck, new bathrooms and a small bar serving beverages and grab-and-go food items.

Behind the scenes, upgrades were made for all aspects of the clubhouse infrastructure, including adding satellite pantries and other improvements to the footprint and layout to eliminate wasted space and introduce greater service efficiencies and comfort for both members and staff. The kitchen, Castro notes, had been operating for the club’s first 43 years without any HVAC.

 

Instant Success

In just a few months after the grand opening and even before a full new season was in swing, plenty of evidence could be found for how the Desert Horizons project has injected new life into both the club and community. Entering a new fiscal year at the beginning of October, full golf memberships were fast approaching 200 and the club was anticipating either starting a wait list or expanding capacity, Castro reports. The membership had also become significantly younger, he adds, and real estate values for the community were up 27% from prior to the project’s approval.  Within the club, Castro adds, food-and-beverage usage had already shown an increase from two years prior, and fitness/wellness activity had ramped up across the board. TRX and spin programs “have really taken off,” he says, along with a Pilates program that has “caught fire.” High demand for massages, facials and physical therapy has also emerged.

Activities such as a twice-weekly outdoor water aerobics class, Wednesday-night volleyball, and trivia nights have also been filled to capacity as soon as they’ve been introduced, and pickleball has seen a resurgence that has included ample enjoyment of the Pavilion’s F&B offerings. The revitalized clubhouse, which sits at the halfway point of Desert Horizons’ 18-hole golf course, has also seen more golfers stop to enjoy its dining and bar options before completing their rounds.

 

We’re thrilled with how this renovation has brought the club and community back to being the gem that Indian Wells has always cherished.

  — Al Castro, CCM – Chief Executive & General Manager

 

Perhaps the best measure of the project’s success, though, is what Castro keeps hearing from Desert Horizons members. “The comment I’ve heard the most is that ‘I knew it would be nice, but it’s even above what I expected,’” he says.

“[The project] was a labor of love and passion to bring the club and community back into relevance,” Castro adds. “We’re thrilled with how this renovation has brought us back to being the gem that Indian Wells has always cherished.”