Get ready for an annual birdie “charge.” The PGA Tour returns to the Coachella Valley for the American Express (AmEx) Golf Tournament from Jan. 16 to 19, 2025. The event will be held in La Quinta for the 64th consecutive year.
Nick Dunlap, last season’s winner, became the first amateur to win a tour event since 1991 while authoring an AmEx-record 29-under par. Look for the annual array of red numbers to again denote the leaderboard across the event’s tri-rota of courses.
Golfers will play across the Pete Dye Stadium and Jack Nicklaus Tournament courses at host site PGA West, along with the historic La Quinta Country Club (marking its 53rd year in the tournament rotation). Birdies will no doubt be in abundance for a playing field which looks to have the world’s top two players – Americans Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele – back in the fold.
Neither all players nor all holes are created equal, of course. While circles will dot myriad scorecards, players need to conquer a host of game plays across the trio of courses for an earnest run at the AmEx crown.
Here are nine “Holes of Consequence” that will determine the eventual champion. Original images shot by renowned golf photographer John Henebry are combined with insider details from those who know these tests best.
La Quinta Country Club
Par-4 2nd – 434 yards
This narrow, lengthy second hole features a tight O.B. to the right and large eucalyptus trees that line the left side. Most players lay-up to the trouble, gladly take a “4,” and subsequently run to the hole.
John Henebry
“The second always ranks as one of the two toughest holes during the AmEx, and it always charts as the toughest hole for the membership,” says Chris Gilley, a long-time former head pro who is now general manager at La Quinta Country Club. “There’s a target bunker out there on the right side of the fairway that, even for a tour player, is borderline carryable. With a slight mis-hit, they might not carry it, and that bunker has a high lip, so it’s no good from there, and it’s an uncomfortable place to be, needing a 7- or 8-iron coming into a well-protected green which slopes pretty severely back-to-front.”
Par-4 8th – 389 yards
John Henebry
This hole is an aesthetic, albeit nervy test that features lake water along the left side and squeezes the landing area; this is coupled with massive fairway bunkers on the right. Some players lay-up to the trouble, while others grab the big stick (hold their breath) and simply try to rip over the hazards.
“It needs to be the perfect yardage – at least 235 yards, but no more than 270,” Gilley says. “For being a short tee shot, I think it’s the trickiest on the golf course. You have the option to either carry the water and the deep fairway bunker and leave about 70 yards into the green, and then it becomes a birdie hole. However, those players are trying to carry the lake, carry that bunker, and not hit it out-of-bounds. And from that bunker, you can’t reach that green in two, because there’s a lip and it’s around 180 yards to the green.”
Par-4 18th – 412 yards
John Henebry
Canadian Adam Hadwin parred the picturesque home hole in 2017 to close off his historic 59, with the Santa Rosa Mountains backdrop as witness. He required a studied up-and-down chip to do so. This grind to 59 defined what annually demands two high-quality shots to reach a putting surface that sees its entire left-third guarded by lake water.
“Standing on that tee – it’s one of the best golf views in the entire desert,” Gilley says. “That said, the tee shot, despite the width of the fairway, is still slightly uneasy – can’t miss left because of the lake and can’t miss right because of the dense tree-lining. Players need to pull the correct club to ensure something short of the water left and away from the deep fairway bunker right, and leave a shorter iron – maybe an 8- or 9-iron.”
PGA West – Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course
Par-3 8th, “Lilly Pad” – 172 yards
John Henebry
The semi-island green is surrounded by sand, with significant sloping from front to back. It presents some mid-round pause for most players.
“Anytime you get a green which is so visually intimidating like No. 8 – surrounded by water with no bailout – it’ll prove a test,” says Chris Caballero, director of golf at the PGA West Tournament Clubhouse. “[It’s] definitely not a birdie hole, and most of these guys are just aiming at the middle of the green, regardless of pin position, looking to two-putt and move on. Over the course of the tournament, you’ll see more water balls here than birdies.”
Par-5 15th, “Long Island” – 572 yards
John Henebry
A short par-5 by pro standards, the aptly-named play (which presents fits for amateurs) proves long on character. It’s a three-shot hole for many – an awkward wedge into a testy, water-laden, and bunkered semi-surface that can see birdie quickly turn to bogey.
“[It’s] an appropriate name for this hole,” Caballero says. “If guys are a couple back of the lead or a few outside of the cutline come Saturday, they might try some risk-reward and go for it in two. But, most players opt for the traditional route of making it a three-shot hole. [It’s] a solid drive (while avoiding the long fairway bunker left), and they’re still around 225 yards out, hitting over water to an island green.”
Par-4 18th, “Bear Trap” – 453 yards
John Henebry
The Nick’s final challenge has been the site of many crushed dreams over the years. It gets skinnier the longer one plays into the fairways; this is no easy task, considering the tree-lined left side and a lengthy bunker and lake water on the right. A further sense of discomfort can come via the gallery near the clubhouse, in concert with players generally putting upon or approaching the double-green (shared with the par-4 9th hole).
“It’s an uncomfortable shot hitting driver for the pros, and those who choose less club will, of course, find themselves with a longer iron into the green,” Caballero says. “And then that green is well-bunkered with sand on both sides, and even from the fairway, you can tell how severely sloped the surface is, moving hard from both back to front and also left to right.”
PGA West – Pete Dye Stadium Course
Par-5 16th, “San Andreas Fault” – 600 yards
John Henebry
No player walks away with AmEx hardware on championship Sunday unless they survive “Pete’s Great Escape” – the dramatic, if not infamous, three-hole closing stretch that demands continuous accuracy and commitment.
“The 16th starts by looking at the long, deep bunker alongside the lefthand side of the fairway,” Caballero says. “If you’re in there, you’re most likely just wedging out and then hitting a long iron or even a fairway wood for the third shot. Miss that approach left and you’re down in a 20-foot bunker. And as we’ve all seen over the years, that bunker is no easy feat to walk down into, let alone get out of. Most players aren’t aiming at the pin from down there; the main objective is just to get out and anywhere on the green.”
Par-3 17th, “Alcatraz” – 168 yards
John Henebry
Those who need proof of how the desert’s most famed hole gets inside the caps of players of all levels need to look no further than last year. Sam Burns, who co-leads the event on Sunday, found the drink and went on to make double bogey before ultimately finishing in a tie for sixth place.
The elevated tee shot to true island green has undergone recent changes, which might make jail time an even greater possibility.
“[It’s] one of the most renowned holes in Southern California, if not the country, with all of its great history,” Cabellero says. “[It’s] so visually intimidating and [there’s] zero bail-out anywhere. And with our recent restoration, the green now goes all the way to the rocks so [there’s] no fringe. And that’ll make it a bit of a different hole.”
Par-4 18th, “Coliseum” – 439 yards
John Henebry
Finishing the AmEx with a crown demands precision, if not some patience for the event’s final hole. Cringey, comical, and heroic shots have determined both kings and jesters across the years.
“The guys who take on the water left and get it to within wedge distance for the approach – good for them,” Caballero concludes. “But, I’d say that most tour players are hitting 3-wood off the tee and then maybe a 7-iron into the green. This year, for the overseeding areas, we’re trying to make that first cut a little bit longer, which will narrow in the fairway a bit. And that will make the bailout area on the right, with all of its bunkering, not quite as convenient for the guys this time around.”
