Rancho La Quinta Country Club

Rancho La Quinta has two private 18-hole courses. The Jones Course, by Robert Trent Jones Jr., opened in 1993 and plays with the Santa Rosa Mountains as its backdrop. The Pate Course, by 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate, was added in 2000 and blends water features with the desert landscape, making it the more visually dramatic of the two. Having both gives members real variety through the season, and golf membership covers play on both courses. Practice facilities include a full range and short game areas, and the club runs a full calendar of member events and tournaments.

The clubhouse, styled after early 1900s architecture, covers about 23,000 square feet and looks out to the Santa Rosa Mountains. Dining ranges from the Clubhouse Dining Room to the Club Bar, the Cantina and the Turn, and the club can host events for several hundred guests. A separate Sports and Fitness Center of about 9,000 square feet anchors nine tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, bocce, a lap pool and fitness programs. Across the community there are nine pools and a dog park. The clubhouse and fitness center have recently been renovated, and interest groups called RLQ Circles cover bridge, hiking, biking and books.

Rancho La Quinta changed hands in August 2021, when the homeowners' master association bought the club from T.D. Desert Development, a Drummond Company subsidiary, after a vote with 98 percent support. The club became association common area, with no outside owner. Every homeowner now receives a Sports and Fitness Membership covering the clubhouse, fitness center, racquet sports and social dining, paid through association dues. Golf is optional and covers both courses. Local real estate guides list differing golf initiation and dues figures, so treat any number you see online as a guide only. The club sets current fees and shares them during the membership process.

Inside the gates are 802 single-family homes in the master association, plus 95 detached courtyard homes called the Ventanas and 88 condominiums called the Casitas, each with its own association. Homes were built from 1993 through the late 2000s, from compact condos to large fairway estates. Neighborhoods range from the Casitas around the racquet club and the Ventanas courtyard homes to the Encantos along the Jones Course's 14th and 15th fairways and the larger Montanas, some over 4,000 square feet. Fairway estates face long mountain views. A local real estate guide reports recent home values from the $800,000s to about $4 million.

Because owners run the club, Rancho La Quinta has a settled, community-minded feel. Dues cover landscaping, 24-hour security and utilities, which makes lock and leave ownership simple for part-time residents. With two courses, busy courts and a large clubhouse, there is plenty to do without leaving the gates, and Old Town La Quinta and Highway 111 shopping are a short drive. It suits golfers who want 36 holes, racquet players, and buyers who prefer a club whose future is decided by the people who live there.