Marty Linville and i often went to the desert, specifically the Palm Springs area, for golf. We began going as a twosome before including Marty in a several groups i played with, usually with Jim Hileman and Mike Kelly.

Marty and i were always looking for bargains, which mostly occurred in the 120 degrees of summer. One summer, Marty spotted a good deal at the Marriott Desert Springs Resort.

The two golf courses, Palm and Valley, are part of the resort. It was August, and Marriott was offering a stay in the hotel with unlimited golf at the two courses for $100 a night. Marty and i decided we could drive out, check-in, and play one of the courses that day and the other course the next morning before returning home. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

Off we went I-15 to state highway 79 South, then through the hills, mountains and deserts to Aguanga, a spot in the road where we caught CA 371 up and through the big mountains of Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Parks to of through the farming community of Anza to down the mountain on state highway 74 with switchbacks and incredible views of the desert to the resort appropriately on Country Club Drive.

The great cost-saving plan was in effect until we arrived too early to check in. Undaunted, we drove down the road to play Desert Falls, an incredible course. At that time, the course was just completed. There were no houses or condos around where they swarm today. The pro shop was a trailer. A snack shack with hot dogs and beer was beside it. They were advertising life-long memberships and unlimited play for $10,000. We both wished we had that kind of money, but dismissed such trivial thinking for two retired military blokes looking for bargain golf. We played that wonderful course in 120-degree heat for $50, a great deal.

We returned to the Marriot and played the Palm course, finishing about 8:30 p.m., somewhat spent. We cleaned up, discovering we were too tired to go out for dinner and decided to eat a snack at the resort. The only problem was, because it was hot, hot summer, the only dining open was an up-scale Italian restaurant. After drinks, dinner and a bottle of wine, we returned to our room. It cost us more than the hotel room.

The next morning, we checked out and played the Valley Course before leaving. The $100 bargain had cost us about $250.

We left a little wiser, but i sure would like to do it again.