Surf’s Up!

Bodies of water in the desert? Unnatural. Waves in the desert? Call ’em supernatural. Following a pandemic-delayed debut and technically complex 2024 unveiling, waves at the Palm Springs Surf Club (PSSC) are now barreling in full. The resulting surf is a palpable addition to the desert’s burgeoning sports scene.

Following a lengthy $80-million makeover of a former Wet ’n Wild water park, PSSC opened at the onset of ’24 with much anticipated aplomb. Then, the venue treaded across much of last year with a revolving turnstile of Open and Closed signs for people seeking to experience the property’s pool centerpiece.

Olga Trehub

“We have a lot of new technologies that we’re working with, so we’re finding things, learning things as we progress through day-to-day operational use,” says Teddy Navarro, pro surfer and the club’s surf operations manager. “So, it’s been more of a learning curve than anything, which is a great positive. We overcame some challenges; we’ve got into the swing of things, and now sessions are booked.”

The fickle calendar wasn’t lost on those manning the would-be waves. “As far as surfers go, we have a pretty tight circle when it comes to the coastal community; we really rely on word of mouth,” Navarro continues. “So, if one of the guys comes out here to the club and experiences a good time or experiences waves that aren’t up to expectations, the surfers on the coast are gonna talk about it, and word will travel like brushfire.”

Rumors spread like low-tide shoals across local news and national surf outlets regarding the “whys” surrounding the inconsistent access. But, an opaque, albeit understandable, response from pool officials points to the genuine challenges of implementing and retrofitting new, state-of-the-art tech in the confines of older infrastructure. Of course, more satisfying answers are found in the water. And since late 2024, the waves at PSSC have been cresting in full.

Creating Perfect Waves

The proprietary engineering behind PSSC’s waves transitions the sanguine surfer from a natural environment of ocean chaos into an environment which is decidedly controlled – and awesome. The brainchild of San Diego-based Surf Loch remains unicorn, pneumatic technology. It’s currently found at only one other (private-access) facility in the country, and another Surf Loch artificial wave pool debuted in the Netherlands last year.

Creating perfect waves in Palm Springs amid three million gallons of freshwater set across a 60,000-square-foot pool both is, and isn’t, a matter of suck and blow, depending on one’s lexicon. From a computerized command center and control tower above the pool, wave operators signal motors behind the pool’s V-shaped reef sections to power valves and blowers (running at 3,700 RPMs). This creates a combination of pressure and vacuum that fills the club’s 16 caissons. These chambers create energy that propagates outward as swell and forms wave pulses. In concert and complement, the pool bottom is specially crafted to mimic the bottom of the ocean.

“We’re basically moving air,” Navarro says about the technology. “If you just listen to the pool, you can hear it happening. If you look back where the waves come out, those 16 caissons are basically compressing air and then pushing it out. We build up the pressure, we harness it, [and] the valves move and press out the waves.”

The coolest part of the technology is the operator’s ability to manipulate the different caissons independently. This provides the groundwork for creating various wave formations and profiles. Working with the tech’s Delay, Length, and Height controls, the operator is, in a sense, digitizing the perfect waves.

Such engineering has transitioned guesswork into guarantee. “Instead of going to the beach and having that doubt about whether you’re gonna catch a few waves, here, you know you’re getting a session of 15 perfect waves,” Navarro says with a smile. “There are 15 great waves with your name on ’em. Guaranteed.”

Pool Party

While pool officials faced a learning curve regarding the technology, they shored up the club’s trimming and its allure. PSSC is well-dressed with a lazy river, 17 poolside cabanas, a restaurant, cocktails, hot tubs, and an in-process member’s-only area to drink, dine, and chill in. The venue quickly became a prime Palm Springs perch.

The club caters to swimmers of all levels – both expert and nascent wave-seekers, both young and experienced. It does so with a balanced mindset of tubes and prudence. PSSC earned a California Surf Lifesaving certification. It runs its waves with three operators who always have eyes on different aspects of the water (and those in it).

“People here, our team, has that ocean experience, not just pool experience. The surf language, if you don’t know it … it’s a pretty hard language to get going,” Navarro says about the club’s veteran surfer element and commitment to safety. “If you’ve only seen surfing from far away, it looks beautiful, and the pros can make it look pretty easy. But, once you get out there, there are a lot of elements at play.”

Olga Trehub

Logistically, the club allows 12 surfers maximum per session. Public sessions include runs of six surfers per directional right and left waves, with queued-up guests going one at a time. A-frame style waves welcome two surfers per each run. Structural nuance takes hold for private sessions, and the four-foot waves can be manipulated in myriad ways.

“We have the ability to change height, change direction, change speed, change the length of the wave,” Navarro says. “We have so many variables that we can control, such as how hollow it is or the steepness of the wave – the curl. So, we can control the power or a ‘wedgy’ wave that surfers can tube, which everybody loves. In this pool, we can create that wave and teach how to backdoor a tube; the pool is tailor-made for that.” Control tower operators created 118 different wave profile options, including “the Waikiki,” “the J.O.B. Wedge,” “the Ted Farm,” and a few named/created for a former PSSC guest named “Zuckerberg.”

The Endless Summer has passed; welcome to the age of instant satisfaction. “In the ocean, you’re pretty hard-pressed to get a tube,” Navarro says. “With our private sessions, guests can pick their waves and we’ll give a whole list, almost like a menu. You can come here with your buddies and everybody gets a tube and is high-fiving. It’s pretty amazing.”

As the Palm Springs Surf Club’s waves ride toward a full year of operation, both pros and average Joes can eye a pool of unleashed engineering. “I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface when it comes to the ability of this tech; it’s still very new,” Navarro says enthusiastically. “With even a little more time, the machinery and the controllers are gonna find the boundaries of what this pool is capable of.”

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