Valley Golf Club Set For Growth With Canadian Flare

Desert Dunes Golf Club near Desert Hot Springs is making a comeback.

The course wasn’t doing so well when Canadian Glen Brayshaw and his partners bought it in 2009 for a little more than $5 million.

“This was the only place we found where you could start with a clear palette and design exactly what you want. That’s what attracted us to it,” said Brayshaw, whose partner spotted Desert Dunes — for sale — on the internet.

And now, they have even bigger plans.

“We’re now in escrow to purchase all 471 acres around the golf course,” said Brayshaw.

He said the land will be covered with 1,500 single family homes on the north side of the course — and up to 900 condos to the south.

And he says plenty of his fellow Canadians are ready to buy.

“As terrified as Californians are to buying real estate now, Canadians are terrified not to buy something. Because they feel this window of opportunity is going to close — with getting such value for their dollar,” said Brayshaw.

Future development is expected to create between 2,000 to 3,000 jobs.

“When you look in the entire county, 18,500 of our construction workers have been idled for the last three years with nothing to do, still on the unemployment line. So this comes at a very critical time for us,” said Tom Freeman, with the Riverside County Economic Development Agency.

Developers expect to break ground on the new housing next year.

In the meantime, as far as golf goes, business is good. The course now hosts a Canadian PGA tour event. And it’s the home course for Canadian qualifying school.

“For a bunch of guys from Canada, this is about as close to nirvana as it gets,” said Brayshaw.