Tribe unveils The Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon

Written by
Debra Gruszecki

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has given its 36-hole golf course amenity to Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa a new name: The Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon.

The renaming Tuesday of the PGA-rated course in Beaumont comes as Morongo rolled out a fleet of new golf carts emblazoned with the new Tukwet Canyon logo.

The tribe acquired the golf course that formerly operated as East Valley Golf Club in October.

The name, Tukwet, is the word for cougar in Cahuilla, the native language of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and many other tribes in southern California.

Morongo Tribal Chairman, Robert Martin, said the name was chosen because cougar have roamed the isolated foothills and mountains of the San Gorgonio Pass for centuries.

The large cats, and the architectural lines of the course are "sleek, powerful and precise,'' Martin said. "Tukwet Canyon will offer players a remarkable golf experience in a scenic and natural environment."

Complimentary transportation to the course will be provided to patrons of Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa. The golf course will also remain open to the public, tribal officials said.

Tukwet Canyon, designed by Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley, will remain the regional home for the Southern California PGA, and host to the SCPGA Professional Championship and the McGladrey Section Championship.

Martin said the new name and the new golf carts are the first of several planned projects and improvements for Tukwet Canyon.