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Las Vegas Area
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Arroyo Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas has always been visited by the greats including Elvis, U2, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, and many others. In terms of golf course design and legends, the great one, Arnold Palmer, has left a wonderful legacy with his Signature Course at Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock.
Arroyo travels seamlessly through the surrounding terrain, nestled between the landscapes of Red Rock Canyon, one of Vegas' most revered natural landscapes and amazing views of the Strip.
Early on you'll notice that Arroyo features a lot of sand, nearly 100 bunkers challenge most tee shots and approach shots throughout your round, couple that with the native area around the course being returned to sand and natural vegetation, it equals even more. The good news is that the bunkers aren't very deep like its sister course Siena, their more flat and playable.
Early in your round you're going to come across one of the more scenic holes at Arroyo, the par three seventh. You tee off almost 100 feet above the green and shoot to a green that is significantly wider than it is deep and has three bunkers that get plenty of service during the day. The reason the bunkers get hit often is that the tee shot is all carry, all 215-yards of it over water. A long carry becomes an issue on the par-five 16th as well. The par five doesn't seem like much on the scorecard but the carry off the tee is 230-yards just to stay dry, then you have to navigate a fairway that continually get's narrower and a huge green.
Arroyo is one of those courses that you will thoroughly enjoy, the challenge is fair and straightforward, no tricks or gimmicks. Another fun element to Arroyo is the hole in one contest. Remember to pony up the $5 during your round because it could be worth $10,000 if you make a hole in one during the day. It's a fun way to add some excitement to your round and really hit it big if you do happen to find the hole during the round off the tee.
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Badlands Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
The Badlands Golf Club features 27 holes of championship golf. Don't spend too much time trying to decide which nines to play because each course packs a punch from the tips. Only one par three out of the six is under 190-yards and several par fours play close to 500-yards. The Badlands is a great mix of a challenging and fair layout combined with extraordinary views and vistas.
Most recently, Badlands Golf Club was voted the Best Desert Course in Las Vegas (2006) by Vegas Golfer magazine and has been ranked in the Top Ten Best Courses in Nevada by Golf Digest in 1997 and 1999. The Johnny Miller-designed Badlands Golf Club in Las Vegas has three distinct nines that combine to create one of the most unique and memorable golf experiences that defines Las Vegas golf. The Desperado, Diablo and Outlaw courses will challenge your game at any level. It is a true target, desert golf experience with a premium placed on accurate ball-striking and course management.
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Bali Hai Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
So you want to play a great round of golf on one of the best courses in Las Vegas but you don't want to leave the Las Vegas Strip. Well, Bali Hai Golf Club is the answer. Located just south of Mandalay Bay, Bali Hai Golf Club offers an amazing golf experience virtually just don't the street from your Vegas hotel/casino.
The tropic theme of Bali Hai meant they imported more than 2500 palm trees to this exquisite property. The course itself is golfer friendly with bowl shaped fairways and greens that accept short irons and wedges quite well. But there is some length to several holes and then there's those palm trees to navigate if you're erratic off the tee. Easily one of the most challenging holes on the course is the finishing hole that used to be a par five but was converted to a long par four that measures over 480-yards from the tips. The play on your approach shot is to play it safe to the left of the green and try to save par with an up and down, that will take the hazard out of play altogether.
Its not often that a golf course can boast as much about its dining experience as its course, but with Bali Hai Golf Club the Cili Restaurant and Bar lives up to the hype. Take the time after the round to enjoy a fantastic lunch in their Balinese themed restaurant that features some great private areas throughout the restaurant or take in the patio view overlooking the finishing hole. Either way, we have to recommend this restaurant because just as the course lives up to the ratings and hype, so does the restaurant.
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Boulder City Golf Course - Boulder City, NV
The sister course to Boulder Creek Golf Club is the player friendly Boulder City Golf Course where one of their slogans is "a golf course where you are treated like an old friend. It is a golf course where we haven't forgotten that golf is a game that should be played for fun." Located just down the road from Boulder Creek and only about 25 minutes away from the heart of Las Vegas, Boulder City will remind you of your favorite city course back home and will be a lot easier on your pocketbook as well.
Designed by acclaimed golf course architects Billy Casper and David Rainville, Boulder City was established in 1973 and is a perfect course to walk no matter the time of year thanks to its 6600-yard layout. You'll be pleasantly surprised about the lushness of this course, it's brimming with plants, trees, palm trees and water features. The course was designed on a relatively flat landscape and the holes are mostly straightforward, absent of any gimmicks or "gotcha" holes. The fairways are lined by mature trees that do present a challenge at times and much needed shade throughout your round.
If you want to play an affordable fun golf course where you can get out and stretch your legs a little and enjoy a park-like setting, then Boulder City Golf Course should be on your list of places to play. The Boulder City Golf Course was voted "Best Bargain Course in Southern Nevada" three years in a row by Vegas Golfer Magazine, and presented with the Vegas Golfer Fairway Award.
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Boulder Creek Golf Club - Boulder City, NV
One of the beautiful things about Las Vegas is how easy it is to get around. The city is so new compared to other major cities that the transportation system is truly functional. Within a twenty-minute drive you can get to most anywhere in the Las Vegas area. One of those twenty-minute drives will take you to Boulder Creek Golf Club. This relatively new course opened in 2003 and from the moment you arrive you're thrilled to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoying the clean crisp air.
Boulder Creek features three championship nines to choose from. The normal pace of play and the walking friendly layouts will easily allow you to play all three without a problem in one afternoon if you so choose. As you play Boulder Creek a couple of things become instantly clear, the rough and the surroundings. At times, your ball can get gobbled up by the 3-4 inch deep rough that will instantly grab errant shots. Also, the surroundings just have to be enjoyed, the course doesn't weave its way through homes like other course, but instead the open layout shows different views of the surrounding mountains and valley. Visually, this course will knock your socks off.
The beauty of the golf course is that its straight forward, what you see is what you get, there's no blind shots or hazards that you can't see. With five tee boxes, the course can reach up to 7400-yards or play a lot shorter if you like. The surrounding desert is relatively easy to play out of so don't worry if your ball lands in one of these areas, just be thankful it didn't go out of bounds and you can find it.
Boulder Creek is also home to many tournaments throughout the year including the Clark County Amateur in November each year, the UNLV Spring Invitational, the 2006 Nevada State Amateur Championship and several Butch Harmon Vegas Tour stops.
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Cascata - Las Vegas, NV
"Cascata is the eighth wonder of the golf world," claimed designer Rees Jones when he completed Cascata in 2000. One visit to Cascata and it is no wonder why Mr. Jones would make such a claim: the impeccable course conditions and detail work, the contrast between the lush green fairways and water features, and that of the harsh desert landscape of the Red Mountain area offers a truly surreal experience.
Nothing at Cascata is ordinary but extraordinary. When meandering up the private drive you quickly realize that while in reality you're only a mere 30 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, it feels like you're a world away. When you pull up to the 37,000 square foot Tuscan style clubhouse, you are immediately greeted by a player service representative, and a member of the golf shop. At once begins your tour of the clubhouse until you are led to your personalized locker in the award-winning locker room area, and yes the clubhouse features a brook running right through the facility.
The practice area features a waterfall cascading in the distance and you'll often find bighorn sheep finding home on the range. Again: extraordinary. Once on the course, the stunning scenery and shear silence will overload the senses: because of elevation changes and careful design to make each hole an experience unto itself, it is possible and in fact likely that you will not see another golfer all day.
Many people ask, what is the signature hole at Cascata? The answer is all 18 but perhaps my favorite hole however is the dogleg left, par four thirteenth with a green surround seemingly painted right into the red rocks rising to either side.
One round at Cascata and you'll understand why it is known as the ultimate natural golf experience in Las Vegas.
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Desert Pines Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
Walters Golf is known for creating fun, challenging and especially unique golf experiences. With Desert Pines Golf Club they did just exactly that, a great golf experience modeled after golf in the Carolina's.
Golfers are surprised to find an authentic Carolina's golf experience right here in the desert that features over 4000 pine trees.
Although the course itself isn't the longest around at just over 6800-yards from the tips, it does present some challenging and unique shot opportunities around the green with the Augusta like greens. Off the tee you might find the course a little more forgiving than other courses but be careful of water that comes into play on 9 of the 18 holes, so an emphasis is placed more on shot placement compared to distance.
On of the most challenging holes hits you later in the round with the par 3 sixteenth hole. This is the signature hole at Desert Pines Golf Club that stretches a whopping 252-yards from the back tees. As if the mind-boggling distance isn't enough, the green is guarded by bunkers and is quite large.
Another unique aspect to Desert Pines Golf Club is the practice facility. The driving range features a two-tiered climate controlled range that has over 50 stalls. The state of the art facility also features automatic ball return, which I have to say is just a great invention that is worth witnessing. And finally, the range itself features fun and unique island like greens to hit to. Now if they can only figure out how to get the automatic ball return feature from the range to the teeing areas at Desert Pines Golf Club.
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Las Vegas National Golf Club
Located just as stone's throw from the famed Las Vegas Strip is Las Vegas National Golf Club. This classic Bert Stamps design opened in 1961 and has since held a storied existence rivaled by only the most prestigious clubs in the world. How many other clubs have been regular hangouts of the old Rat Pack in the 1960's, held major tour stops from the Champions Tour, LPGA, and the big hitters on the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods won his first event in 1996 when Las Vegas National was part of the Invitational rotation: Tiger shot 1-under at National.
While Las Vegas National has a tradition steeped in history, it remains a local favorite among Las Vegas' avid golfers because it is a course you don't have to hit it a mile to reach the fours and fives in regulation. Of course it doesn't hurt if you do hit it a long ways but out-of-bounds, trees, and water await the errant shots.
Las Vegas National is not an overly long course, but play from the tips and the par4 sixth hole will quickly get your attention. This dogleg left with a hazard right places a premium on the tee shot, leaving a mid to long iron for the approach. Escape with par and consider yourself one of the fortunate few.
But anyone who has played Las Vegas National knows its real teeth can be found at the par 3's, and none tougher than the 204 yard 16th. Perhaps the toughest hole on the course with an extremely shallow green protected by menacing bunkers short, par here is a great score with two reasonable birdie holes to finish the round.
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Las Vegas Pauite Golf Resort
Located on the northern edge of Las Vegas is a golf paradise known as Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. Paiute completely breaks the mold in so many ways, its pure golf for the golf purist. There are no homes on any of the three courses, nothing obstructing your views and interaction with the natural landscape, no airports located within a five iron of the clubhouse, just the quiet desert landscape and 54 holes of amazing Pete Dye golf.
WOLF is the flagship of the three Paiute courses and the newest addition to the lineup. Of the three courses, WOLF is where Pete Dye cut loose and took the oasis out of the desert and left the longest course in Nevada at 7600-yards. One of the fun things about WOLF and Paiute in general is that the wind can make the course different every time you play it, shortening some holes and lengthening others, so you can get a different look at the same course. However, Dye did tip his hat by adding five sets of tee boxes so some of the bite of WOLF can be lessened. Dye did his magic again with the signature par-three island green on hole 15, which repeats the majestic challenge of the famous island green at TPC Sawgrass. The finishing holes are some of the most talked about with the 17th reaching a brave 486-yards that features two arroyos that you'll need to navigate on your way to the green. Finally, the 18th is a lean 496-yard par four that will have the last say if you've come down to the last hole needing a par for a record round.
Sun Mountain is noted as the most forgiving and playable of the trio, however this depends on whom you ask. Careful setup is required as you round Paiute's version of Amen Corner on holes 11, 12 and 13. Located on the far end of the property, the course again features a magnanimous mountain backdrop along with countless Joshua Trees popping in and out of the landscape. The biggest difference with Sun Mountain is that the golfer always feels like they have a chance to get back in the hole or round. Although golfers hail the 4th as the most challenging par-3 on the property, the desert brush seems to stay more at bay and the carries seem to be less with Sun Mountain compared to Snow Mountain or WOLF.
The original course of the three, Snow Mountain has settled in between the other two courses in terms of difficulty. There is plenty of water on each course at Paiute and Snow Mountain is no exception with its seven water features. The desert brush intertwines more prevalently on this course compared to the other two, it always seems to be right where you want to cut that corner. The finishing holes are extraordinary and present a true risk-reward opportunity. And, even though the new kid on the block WOLF gobbles up all the headlines, the Snow Course is often thought of as the most difficult.
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Revere Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
Voted 4.5 Stars by Golf Digest, The Revere's motif is designed around Paul Revere, the well-known American revolutionary, and their mantra is "A Revolutionary Troon Golf Experience." True to its marketing message, Revere Golf Club presents two eighteen hole championship courses that are literally built into the desert canyons and landscape, giving golfers a feeling of seclusion and privacy during the round.
The Lexington Course was the first to open at this facility in 1999, the Concord Course followed in 2002 and both were designed by Billy Casper and Greg Nash.
The Lexington Course stretches a respectable 7143-yards and starts off with a bang, giving you incredible views of the Black Mountains on the first and second holes that stretch as far as the eye can see. The second tee box is located over a hundred feet from the fairway of this 591-yard par five, but for the long hitter it's reachable in two. The Lexington defies the normal thoughts golfers have when thinking of desert golf, if you miss the fairway by a couple of yards you don't end up in the rocks or desert like other courses. But that doesn't mean the courses doesn't have any teeth from the back tees, several holes will have you hitting everything in bag to manage the green in regulation, including the 625-yard eleventh hole, the 442-yard third and the 444-yard ninth. The biggest challenge with the Lexington is not necessarily the course, but staying focused on your next shot and not letting those amazing views distract you.
The Concord Course is a great complement to Lexington that measures just over 7000-yards from the back tees and Golf Digest gave a four and a half out of five star rating. Both the Lexington and Concord Courses feature wide fairways with elevated tee boxes that encourage the golfer to tee it high and let it fly. Although Concord is the more forgiving of the two courses, with larger greens and wider landing areas. With that said, The Concord course still has plenty of holes that will challenge every aspect of your game. Some highlights include seven par four's that stretch over 400-yards, including the 449 and 447-yard thirteenth and fourteenth holes. Finally, the 18th hole is a par five (551-yards) that was voted Best Par Five by Vegas Golfer Magazine in 2005.
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Rio Secco Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
"Rio Secco!" Just saying the name evokes imagery in the head of anyone who has played it. The better players love the Rees Jones layout, for the variety of holes which is arguably the best 18 in Las Vegas, for the course conditions typically to tour standards, for the greens that rank among the best in the west, and for the challenge.
The higher handicapper may not see the course as challenging but rather daunting. And while even the accomplished player may struggle at Rio Secco, the stunning estates that line the course, course conditions, abundant natural desert wildlife, and fantastic views of the famed Las Vegas Strip keeps Rio Secco a favorite for all-comers.
However, to make Rio Secco all the more palatable and to guide players through their round, the T-Mate caddie program was introduced in 2006. But this is no standard caddie program because that would not be the Vegas way. No the management at Rio Secco wanted it to be the best program around: each T-Mate has completed a very comprehensive training program including general golf knowledge and etiquette, but also Rio Secco-specific training featuring course strategy and green familiarity. T-Mates are the original and only true female caddie program, and exclusive to Rio Secco.
Tiger Woods holds the course record of 64, set while he was honing his skills at the Butch Harmon School of Golf (located on property at Rio Secco), and his scores are found on every scorecard, so you can compare your score to his. Are you up for the challenge?
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Royal Links Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
This is one of those courses you must play to truly experience. Just hearing about Royal Links Golf Club doesn't do it justice. The only thing better than playing all the great holes in the history of the British Open is to play them all in Las Vegas where the sun is shining and rain gear isn't required.
The course was designed as a tribute to the game of golf and the memorable holes that have helped pave the way in Open history. It's also fun to browse through the clubhouse with all the memorabilia and see points on the course where they honor some of the great moments in the history of the Open. The caddies at Royal Links Golf Club will be a great source of fun facts and golf knowledge throughout your round.
The course features true to form replicas of such famous holes like the "The Road Hole", "Hell Bunker", "Postage Stamp" and more. Your experience at Royal Links Golf Club can be nicely summed up by one of golf's great personalities, David Feherty, "... Royal Links is like the haggies of Vegas, but a lot more palatable! It's stepped in tradition, rich in texture and if you play from the appropriate set of tees for your game and not your ego, it can be one of the most fun and memorable rounds you will ever play. Trust me, if you want sunlight, stay out of the bunkers there!"
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Siena Golf Club - Las Vegas, NV
One nice thing about Las Vegas is that everything is relatively close by, an easy drive. Siena Golf Club is located in a part of Las Vegas that has just exploded in growth and is only 15 minutes from The Strip. The luxurious Red Rock Casino Resort Spa is minutes away from Siena and it offers all the amenities of the big name casinos on the strip and in some cases, even more. The slower pace off the strip appeals to many and the community and area immediately surrounding Siena has a lot to offer.
No matter where you stay and however you get there, the golf experience at Siena Golf Club is wonderful, expect fantastic service, a great clubhouse complete with a full restaurant, white sand bunkers and a very challenging golf course. The course isn't overly long but they do present over 90 bunkers during the round, most of which are deep. The landing areas are somewhat generous off the tee as well, but again, the challenge awaits on your approach shots. The golf course was built on a ten percent grade, so the greens have numerous three putt opportunities, so play close attention to whether you should be above or below the hole when approaching the green.
The course also doesn't sport a lot of water throughout the round that will come into play and the term playability is commonly used when referring to Siena Golf Club. The course is just pure enjoyment, no big tricks or false fronts to your round. Its just you against the course and with those homes not coming into play as much as other courses, you don't have to worry about taking out someone's kitchen window during the family patio barbecue.
Like its sister course, Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock, Siena offers a daily hole in one contest where it costs $5 to enter. A hole in one during the round can pay out as much as $10,000 to the lucky shot maker. But you have to enter the contest to win, so be sure and ask the pro shop for details.
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TPC Las Vegas
As the home of professional golf in Las Vegas, TPC Las Vegas can most aptly be described as "desert elegance" that was designed by architect Bobby Weed and player consultant Raymond Floyd.
"As far as aesthetics and playability," says Floyd, who considers TPC Las Vegas among his best works, "I would put TPC Las Vegas up against any golf course you care to mention. It's as unique as they come and I'm very proud of the way it has turned out, especially given the challenges of designing a golf course on such a challenging piece of property." But, Floyd added, "I think a golf course is kind of like a fine wine. The best come from the toughest pieces of ground."
TPC Las Vegas in Las Vegas is a stern test of shot-making, as well as strategy and game management. There is more room than a player might think, particularly off the tees, but throw in prevailing winds and a number of elevation changes and you have a golf course that doesn't have much let-up. "We were generous with the landing areas and I think the routing is very good," Floyd said. "I don't see one hole out there where I might say, "I wish we would have done this." Given the property, there were going to be a number of forced carries but on a strategy level, we leave that up to the player to figure out how much of a risk he's willing to take. A good course ought to offer risk and reward situations."
Bring all the game you've got and be prepared to gamble. You'll enjoy an exhilarating day, just like you'd expect in Las Vegas at TPC Las Vegas.
Voted the Best Upscale Resort Course by Vegas Golfer and a Four Star rating by Golf Digest Magazine. Featuring an on-site PGA TOUR Instructional Academy and a world class caddie program, TPC Las Vegas allows every guest to "Live the PGA TOUR Experience" every day of the year.
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