1955 Ryder Cup

The Thunderbird Invitational was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played from 1952 to 1959 in Rancho Mirage, California. Held in late January at Thunderbird Country Club, the tournament's purse was a modest $15,000; it was the direct predecessor of the Desert Classic, which began in 1960. Thunderbird hosted the Ryder Cup in 1955.Arnold Palmer, 29, was the event's final champion in 1959; he won the next year at the first edition of the "Palm Springs Desert Classic," which had a $100,000 purse and a winner's share of 12,000, his largest tour check to date.Ken Venturi, 26, won the 1958 event and was awarded a $1,500 check and a $4,500 automobile. He backed it up with another win the following week at Phoenix.Jimmy Demaret won the event three times; his first was a 54-hole midweek event in 1953, and the last was an 18-hole playoff on Monday in 1957 for consecutive titles.The 1952 event was a 36 hole pro-am, played midweek. Dutch Harrison won the best-ball while Jim Ferrier and Cary Middlecoff had the best professional scores.

The Maslon House was a mid-century modern house designed by the architect Richard Neutra in 1962 for the art collectors Samuel and Luella Maslon in Rancho Mirage, California. It was demolished in 2002. The house was situated within the Tamarisk Country Club golf course.The house also held the Maslons’ collection of modern art; the couple wanted Neutra to design them a house that combined their ideas with those of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Thunderbird Country Club is a country club in Rancho Mirage in California's Coachella Valley. Its signature 18-hole golf course has hosted the Ryder Cup and the Palm Springs Golf Classic (now known as the American Express). Opened in 1951, the country club has been a favorite of many celebrities, including Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, as well as US Presidents Gerald Ford and Barack Obama. First known as the Thunderbird Ranch, it was purchased by Johnny Dawson, who established Coachella Valley's first 18-hole golf course here in 1951.The golf cart is rumored to have been invented at Thunderbird Country Club. By its own account, the Ford Thunderbird is named for the club.It’s golf course was designed by Lawrence Hughes, also responsible for the 9-hole course at the Tomahawk Lake Country Club in South Dakota.

Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory is a public library and science education complex in Rancho Mirage, California. It has been called a "cultural oasis" in the Coachella Valley.

The Kenaston House is a historic building located in Rancho Mirage, California. The building is a fine example of the residences that master architect E. Stewart Williams designed between 1947 and the end of the 1960s. The single-story structure features a flat roof, deep overhangs, and large glass surface areas with sliding glass doors that facilitate its indoor-outdoor flow. He also integrated natural materials into the design that includes native rock used on some of the interior and exterior walls, and wood finishes that are used for the interior cabinets, doors, and walls. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert-resort community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains in the south, it is located several minutes east of Palm Springs. The city is adjacent to Cathedral City, Palm Desert, and unincorporated Thousand Palms. The population was 16,999 at the 2020 census, down from 17,218 at the 2010 census, though the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973, Rancho Mirage is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley.Rancho Mirage is home to a number of celebrities past and present, including Don Sutton, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Billie Dove and Gerald and Betty Ford. The city has been nicknamed "Playground of the Presidents" and "Golf Capital of the World." The city has hosted and currently hosts a variety of golf and tennis tournaments, including the Ryder Cup, Desert Classic (PGA Tour), Davis Cup, and the LPGA Tour (Chevron Championship).

70588 Frank Sinatra Drive is a mid-century modern house in Rancho Mirage, California, that was the residence of the singer and actor Frank Sinatra from 1957 to 1995.

Tamarisk Country Club is a private country club in Rancho Mirage, California, established in 1952. The club had 65 original investors, including Jack Benny, George Burns, Danny Kaye, and the Marx Brothers. Ben Hogan was the club's first golf professional. The club hosted the Bob Hope Classic 19 times. Architect William Francis Cody designed the clubhouse. Frank Sinatra lived in a walled compound on the club's 17th fairway, and his Rat Pack friends, Sammy Davis Jr., Pat Henry, and Jilly Rizzo built homes around the corner from Sinatra.

The Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) is a not-for-profit hospital based in Rancho Mirage, California, serving the Coachella Valley region of Southeastern California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospitals in the United States in 2005.

Sunnylands is the former Annenberg Estate in Rancho Mirage, California. The 200-acre (0.81 km2) property is currently run by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, a not-for-profit organization. The property was owned by Walter and Leonore Annenberg until 2009 and had been used as a winter retreat by the couple beginning in 1966, when the house was completed. The city of Rancho Mirage considers the property to be “rich with historical significance” and declared Sunnylands a historic site in 1990. Located at Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope Drives, the property has been the vacation site of numerous celebrities and public officials. Sunnylands is sometimes referred to as the "Camp David of the West."

The Betty Ford Center (BFC) is a non-profit, residential treatment center for persons with substance dependence in Rancho Mirage, California. It offers inpatient, outpatient, and residential day treatment for alcohol and other drug addictions, as well as prevention and education programs for family and children. The Betty Ford Center, which is adjacent to Eisenhower Medical Center but is under a separate license to practice, has 100 inpatient beds available on their campus and additional lodging for 84 clients in the Residential Day Treatment program. The Betty Ford Center opened on October 4, 1982.

Palm Valley School is a private college-preparatory, non-denominational and co-educational school located in Rancho Mirage, California, United States. It was founded in 1952 in Palm Springs, CA. The school moved to Rancho Mirage in 1992.The school serves all grades from Preschool through Grade 12 on 34 acres of campus in Rancho Mirage, CA. The campus features separate campuses and buildings for each division with a total enrollment of 270 students as of 2017. Preschool (6 weeks – 4 years) Lower School (Grades K – 5th) Middle School (Grades 6 – 8) Upper School (Grades 9 – 12)The average class size is under 20 with a student to teacher ratio of approx. 1:12. The College Counseling program graduates 100% of the senior class and 100% get accepted to college and university. The motto is "Paratus Vitae" ("Prepared for Life").