Rich in history and tradition, Eldorado Country Club is a premier member-owned club in Indian Wells, California. The dramatic setting, a picturesque cove at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains, serves as the ideal backdrop to all club activities. Membership at Eldorado Country Club is highly sought and much treasured. Eldorado's transcendent qualities forge unique relationships through generations of families, drawing Members back time and time again.
Despite his name, Farmer Page was not a grower but a gambler who owned the Pioneer Club in Las Vegas. In a poker game, had won the deed to a 792-acre fruit-growing ranch in a sheltered cove in Indian Wells, which would become Eldorado Country Club.
Bob McCulloch (right) used his putter to point out the future clubhouse to Eldorado's first manager Bill Daugherty. The clubhouse would be designed by William F. Cody a popular designer of homes in the Coachella Valley.
For the Ryder Cup Matches, Eldorado's ninth and eighteenth holes were switched. Eight days of fun could be had for only $100, including playing in the pro-member event. The American Team captained by Sam Snead won against the British Team, 8.5 to 3.5.
When Eisenhower left the White House after his two terms, he accepted an invitation to spend winters at Eldorado and become an honorary member of the Club but requested to be called "General" and not Mr. President" in his retirement.
Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at the 1963 Classic at Eldorado. Palmer won the (Desert) Classic a record five times. Around that same time, tournament organizers had become interested in raising money to build an emergency medical facility.
Ike and California Governor Ronald Reagan at the groundbreaking for Eisenhower Medical Center, a beneficiary of generous donations and efforts by Eldorado members and notable others including Bob Hope.
Reagan, who was the 6th American president to visit Eldorado, was the third to become an honorary member of the Club. On their regular visits to the Club, the Reagan's often greeted the staff as well as the members.
By the mid-1990s, the attendance and enthusiasm for the Club's tennis events reached "the highest level in years." The new $4-million fitness center, pool and tennis facility provided newly popular workouts including a cardiovascular room, a weight room, yoga classes and more.
Tom Fazio demolished the course in order to rebuild it completely. He changed the configuration of the holes at Eldorado, widened the tee areas, improved the greens (their sizes, bunker designs, and locations), and added extensive water features and landscaping.
Around the Club's 60th Anniversary, a new casual dining venue opened. It was appropriately named IKE'S, after President Dwight D. Eisenhower's casual nickname. The venue was 100% paid for by anonymous member donations, highlighting the true spirit of it's Eldorado members.
Membership is by invitation only and is not tied to real estate in any way whatsoever. Initially, people gain access to the grounds because they know a member and are invited as a guest. Several visits later, there's a good chance they too will fall under Eldorado's spell.
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