Our Big Day: The Warburton

As fans of “Seinfeld” well know: It’s never good to get behind the 8-ball with Puddy.

One of the world’s largest annual charity golf events, the Patrick Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament — colloquially known as “The Warburton” — has raised more than $26 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in its 13-year history, including nearly $5 million in 2023 alone.

The Puddy party brought to Palm Desert, California, proves a celebrity pairing of song and swing across a trio of area properties, with each locale on its toes for the popular actor’s altruistic mix of celebs, athletes and musicians.

The golf staff and agronomy team at Desert Willow Golf Resort, now in its third season as The Warburton co-host, sees the event as a unique opportunity to create the stage for celebs used to being in the spotlight.

“This place was built with the attitude, ‘Yeah, we’re a municipal, but let’s make it feel like a country club,’” superintendent Christopher Bien says. “So, my job is to have turf conditions as nice as we can on a daily basis, but yes, there are a few events that we ramp up for, and the Warburton is one of them. And not because it’s all these great players, but it is a very high-profile event with a lot of celebrities and a very worthy cause.”

The 36-hole property is a deserved magnet for volume gatherings, with 500 yearly events of 12 or more players. Come the desert’s winter peak-season, the prep for Puddy requires peak form of course and crew.

While Bien and team need to keep green speeds at 10.5 on a daily basis for pace-of-play considerations, for the Warburton, they’ll employ an extra roll of the greens and an additional mow. Special tournament amenities may also include the bunker stamping, Warburton-centric flags and a helicopter ball drop on the home hole of Desert Willow’s Firecliff Course.

“The F&B on the course is probably the biggest thing,” Bien says. “Maybe they want a grill on an event lawn, where we may need to make sure we’re putting something down before and after, so they don’t torch the grass. Or, it may be cleaning up after, whether it’s something as simple as seed and fertilizer to maybe having to sod a certain area if they spilled grease or something like that.”

In concert with prime course conditions, the staff needs to ensure prime timing.

“Maybe they want to bring out a taco trunk on No. 17,” Bien says, “so we may need to get out there first before the truck gets there, so we’re not in their way and they’re not in our way.”

The 2024 Warburton celeb list included the diverse likes of Jonathan Banks, Kim Alexis, Alice Cooper, Don Felder, Brian Urlacher and Mardy Fish. But the Desert Willow crew knows not to be distracted with a head in the stars.

And yet, once the work is done for a Big Day, some can’t resist a lil’ brush with fame.

“Yes, we do have a (celebrity guest) policy here, but that, I would say, is for everyday (play),” Bien says with a smile. “For the Warburton, yeah, they’re here to play golf, but they’re here as celebrities, so I think they’re a little more accessible and a bit more likely to enjoy the interaction. My guys, they know the policy and they’re really good about it. Now, as a huge sports fan and being from northeastern Ohio, … I won’t say that I hunted down Kenny Lofton, … but I wouldn’t say that I did not hunt out Kenny Lofton. Let’s just say that we had a chance meeting that was 100 percent not by chance.”

— Judd Spicer