In Indian Wells, the Golf Discount Comes With the Deed, Two Cards at a Time

Suppose three people are named on the trust that owns an Indian Wells home. Which of them pays the resident rate at the Indian Wells Golf Resort?

Under the city's Residence Benefit Card policy, at most two of them can, and the two are whoever applies first. The policy adopted in Resolution 2017-28 says that when a trust owns a property, "a maximum of two (2) persons" among its trustors, trustees and beneficiaries may be issued cards "on a first come, first issued basis, for that calendar year." Corporations and partnerships follow the same cap. The board or the partners designate up to two named people each year.

That cap matters because the card is worth real money. Buyers comparing Indian Wells with La Quinta or Rancho Mirage usually compare HOA dues and club fees. The city-owned golf resort's budget puts the average resident round at a fraction of a non-resident round, and who gets that rate depends on how you hold title, when you close and who actually uses the house.

The card belongs to the lot

The Residence Benefit Card, or RBC, is issued against a property, not to a person at large. The 2017 policy allows "a maximum of two (2) RBCs" per calendar year "for each lawfully occupied residential lot in the City," issued to owners of record. Each card carries the holder's photo, name and the property's Assessor's Parcel Number.

The policy's other rules follow from that:

• The home has to be habitable. A property qualifies only if it has a dwelling with a city certificate of occupancy. A vacant lot or a house under construction or rehabilitation "such that occupancy is not feasible" does not qualify. A buyer who plans a gut renovation should expect a stretch without cards.
• Proof means a recorded deed. Owners prove fee title through the Riverside County parcel or tax rolls, or with the most recent grant or quitclaim deed bearing the County Recorder's date stamp.
• Co-owners cannot swap mid-year. Once cards are issued for a property for the year, "the trading or transfer of RBCs is prohibited."
• A spouse or domestic partner who is not on the deed can hold a card, as long as no other owner of that property has been issued one.
• Dependent children are outside the cap. Unmarried dependent children under 21 who live primarily on the property can receive cards in any number.

Every card expires December 31 of the year it was issued, and the fee is not prorated.

Closing in late fall, carding up in January

The calendar creates the friction. The city's Residence Benefit Card page says its online form is "for RENEWALS ONLY." New residents, first-time cardholders and anyone who has recently changed properties in Indian Wells must get a card in person at City Hall with a picture ID and valid proof of residency. The same page sends first-time cardholders to City Hall "starting in January 2027."

So a buyer closing between now and New Year's should plan the first golf round at resident pricing for after the deed records and after a January visit to City Hall. A seller's cards do not pass to the buyer. The Code of Conduct Policy Manual, adopted by the City Council on December 4, 2025, calls the RBC non-transferable and requires a cardholder who no longer qualifies to surrender the card.

The city's card page lists two card types. A Social RBC costs $5 and covers every city benefit except discounted golf. A Golf RBC costs $45 and includes the resident golf rate. Each costs $5 more as a printed card.

What the resort's budget says a resident round is worth

The Indian Wells Golf Resort's 2025-2026 budget summary breaks out rounds and golf-fee revenue by player type. Dividing one by the other gives the average golf fee per round for each group in the city's budget for fiscal 2025-26:

The blended $139.75 average is the city's own figure. The per-group averages are division and cover golf fees only, not merchandise or range revenue. At those averages, a cardholder pays less than a quarter of what a typical non-resident round brings in. The resident's guest sits in between at roughly 55 percent of the non-resident average.

Earlier budgets carried a separate line for the program's cost. The same document shows a "Resident Golf Amenity Fee" of $3,118,005 in the 2023-24 actuals, with no amount in the 2024-25 forecast or the 2025-26 budget. The city's adopted FY2023-24 golf budget refers to a General Fund amenity subsidy and directs that it be shown below net income. More broadly, the city's 2025-27 budget names tourism as its primary revenue driver, particularly transient occupancy tax, admissions tax and sales tax.

The rate sheet and the booking rules

The city's golf and tennis benefits page lists the resident rate at $50 a round from January 1 through April 30 and $35 from May 1 through December 31. Accompanied resident guests pay $110 any day of the week from October 1 through April 30. Summer guest rates on the same page drop as low as $55 on weekdays. Resident guest rates are under review. The city's 2025-27 budget says the City Council told staff to gather data and bring back a review of resident and resident guest rates. The 2026-27 strategic planning page still lists that rate structure as under review and also mentions expanded card discounts and a requested review of the Tennis Ticket Allocation Policy.

Booking now runs through the resort's resident tee time system, which moved fully online.

1. Residents can book up to 14½ days ahead, starting at 7:00 p.m.
2. Every advance booking is prepaid and made online. The Golf Shop no longer takes advance bookings by phone, though same-day bookings in person are still available.
3. A resident's name can appear on the tee sheet only once every six hours, so all playing partners go on the booking.
4. Cancellations or changes need 72 hours' notice to qualify for a refund.
5. Every player shows a valid Indian Wells Property Owner ID or RBC at check-in, and guests at resident guest rates must play with a cardholding resident.

Players without a valid RBC who book resident or resident guest rates "will be denied play, will not receive a refund, and will be charged the full-rate cancellation fee." For a household with a third adult on the deed, the two-card cap shows up at the first tee.

Second homes, renters and the word "resident"

Most Indian Wells buyers asking about the card own another home somewhere else. The 2017 policy treats property owners as their own category of qualified resident, separate from "Full-Time Residents," and the owner rules set no minimum number of days at the property. The December 2025 Code of Conduct says cardholders must "be a legal resident of the City of Indian Wells at a qualified residence address," meeting the city's definition of residence under the program. A seasonal owner can read both documents and ask the card office directly at (760) 776-0235.

Leasing the home moves the card. A non-owner who wants one as a full-time resident has to meet a 12-consecutive-month residence or lease test, certify the address as their domicile, provide the owner's permission and a qualifying lease, and get the owner to relinquish the card for that period. An owner who leases long-term for a year gives up their own discount for that year. Anyone weighing that tradeoff should treat this as general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and confirm the details with the city and their own advisors.

Beyond the first tee

The golf rate is the biggest benefit, but not the only one. The city's resident benefits page describes discounts at the golf resort, the BNP Paribas Open and resort properties, along with resident events such as Resident Day at the Tennis Garden, Living Desert WildLights, Coachella Valley Firebirds games and Desert Town Hall tickets. The current listed perks include:

• 20 percent off food and non-alcoholic beverages at Kestrel and the golf resort food truck, with breakfast and lunch limits, plus 20 percent off eligible resort merchandise
• 10 percent off Tennis Garden Pro Shop merchandise outside BNP Paribas Open tournament weeks
• 20 percent off food and non-alcoholic drinks at Indian Wells Resort Hotel, Miramonte, Renaissance Esmeralda and Grand Hyatt Indian Wells, with spa discounts at Miramonte, Renaissance and the Hyatt, subject to each property's conditions

Each of these also requires the card, so the two-per-lot cap applies to dinner at Renaissance Esmeralda as well as to a tee time on the Celebrity Course.

Quick answers

Does a buyer inherit the seller's cards? No. The manual calls the card non-transferable, and new owners apply in person at City Hall with a recorded deed and photo ID.

Can a third co-owner get a card if one of the first two stops playing? Not in the same calendar year. Once a property's cards are issued, co-owners cannot trade or transfer them.

Is the Social card worth it for non-golfers? At $5 on the city's card page, it covers the hotel dining, Tennis Garden and resident event benefits without the golf rate.

If you're buying in Indian Wells and the resident golf rate is part of the plan, those decisions get made before closing, when the deed is drafted and the closing date is set. Kurt Bayek helps buyers time the closing, coordinate with the attorneys and tax advisors who guide decisions about title, and get the cards through City Hall. Schedule a free consultation.