[Paul Richards]

It has been a number of years since I last visited Vegas (2004).

I know that Shadow Creek has been redone, but, unfortunately, I am not a high-roller....

So what else is worth seeing?

[Bill_McBride]

I always liked the Desert Inn course.

Oh wait, that was bulldozed. 

[Mike Bowline]

Several years ago a survey listed Nevada as having the highest green fees in America. I have played golf several times in LV and I can vouch that what they stated was true. Average, plain courses are $$120-150 (Angel Park, Painted Desert, to name a few). You pay big bucks to play. And I refuse to pay the high fees at Pauite, TPC, etc which no doubt are better tracks.
Good luck.

[Mike Erdmann]

Typing this from a hotel room at the MGM Grand, as I'm here all week.  Played on Monday at a very, very good new Nicklaus course about an hour north of town called the Chase course at Coyote Springs.  It is literally in the middle of nowhere, with the course being the only civilization for miles and miles around, but absolutely worth the effort to get to.  Excellent green complexes with plenty of character, lots of fairway undulation, interesting centerline bunkering and plenty of strategy off the tees.  IMHO, a step up from the trio at Pauite, if that puts the quality in perspective.  Wish I could pull the photos off my camera and post here, but that'll have to wait until I get back home this weekend.  Their website is www.coyotesprings.com.

[Paul Richards]

Thanks for the thoughts, especially Mike.

Has anyone played the Wynn course?

[Jed Peters]

Thanks for the thoughts, especially Mike.

Has anyone played the Wynn course?

Same price as Shadow.....

It's vegas, spend the money and play Wynn, Shadow, and Cascata....and then spend the rest at the Rhino....

Come on, you know you want to....

[John Foley]

Sorry to hijack but..

Mike - very intrerested in your thoughts on Coyote Springs. Love to see the pics.

Given the state of the economy I wonder how this development was going. Was it crowded at all? Any signs of the other courses?

[tlavin]

Thanks for the thoughts, especially Mike.

Has anyone played the Wynn course?

I have and it's only worth the experience if you are staying at the hotel and you over-rate the "convenience" factor.  It's more of a construction marvel than an architecturally worthy course in my opinion.

[Rich Brittingham]

I played Desert Pines in October.  It was a little cramped but had some fun holes, we paid just over $100 and its only a $25 cab ride from the strip.

[Joel_Stewart]

I always liked the Desert Inn course.

Oh wait, that was bulldozed. 

Then try and play the Tropicana course, oops, that was bulldozed

Try the Dunes golf course, oops again, bulldozed as well.

In all seriousness, unless you want to spend the money and play Shadow Creek, the options for great architecture are limited.  The two courses at Primm and in my mind Royal Links are your best bet.  I would stay away from Stallion Mountain, Bears Best and Desert Pines.

[PCCraig]

It's funny...I'm usually down with visiting anyplace. But I have almost ZERO interest in ever going to Vegas.

I just don't get it. Perhaps its that I don't really gamble other than the occational horse race (or scotch game) and that I would rather spend an extra couple hundred dollars more on a plane ticket and go see the real eiffel tower.

[Stu Grant]

Wolf Creek in nearby Mesquite (a little over an hour northeast of Vegas) is a unique golfing experience and definitely a marvel of construction as it is carved out of the extremely undulating desert landscape. 

When we played the course last year they did not have the tips available for use and after playing it I understand why.  We played from 6300 yards or something and it was still tough as nails.  If I played it again I would try and get in the first group so we're not held up by the carnage suffered by golfers in front.

In summary, a very very difficult golf course but very memorable with a lot of "wow" views.

Here's a link which gives you an idea what I'm talking about...

www.golfwolfcreek.com

[David Stamm]

I found Dye's effort at Paiute (Wolf course) pretty fun and a neat setting. Very tough as well. Badlands is a very target oriented course. Was more enjoyable when there was less bulidings around it. The golf is quite expensive wherever you go and I don't think I have ever found any of them to be "worth" the money, however.

[Jeff_Stettner]

I just played the Chase course on Saturday and will echo the positive comments. The course is a lot of fun, conditions are amazing and the greens have plenty of character. I will post photos soon.

[Bill_McBride]

I always liked the Desert Inn course.

Oh wait, that was bulldozed. 

Then try and play the Tropicana course, oops, that was bulldozed

Try the Dunes golf course, oops again, bulldozed as well.

In all seriousness, unless you want to spend the money and play Shadow Creek, the options for great architecture are limited.  The two courses at Primm and in my mind Royal Links are your best bet.  I would stay away from Stallion Mountain, Bears Best and Desert Pines.

Joel, I didn't mention the Trop because that was truly a crap course, only fit for meeting hungover pit bosses!  Never played the Dunes.

As you can see, I haven't been playing much golf in Vegas the past 20 years, although I did spend 1993-1995 working for a company that was headquartered there.

[John Mayhugh]

I'd want to play that course where you can kill yourself by driving a cart off a cliff.  I remember Matt Ward talking about it, so that'd be interesting...

You mean Wolf Creek?  It's about 90 miles northeast of Vegas.  I definitely would rather be the person driving the cart at that place!

[Jeff_Stettner]

Re: Wolf Creek

It is safe to say that I disagree with Mr. Ward on Wolf Creek. Out of respect for the course and its operators, I will not say much other than, to rank this course as best in the state, says more about the ranker than the ranking. On a positive note, the setting is spectacular and the engineering is something to behold. As for the cart paths? It was raining the entire day I played there and I have never been so scared of a golf cart.

Of course, based on my day there my opinion may be one of the minority. The course was packed despite the rain and I am pretty sure they are pulling in some serious cash flow. It would appear to be a financially blooming flower in an otherwise withering desert.

[Greg Ohlendorf]

I second the Wolf Course at the Paiute. Not a bad drive and if the wind is up, its even more of a challenge.

As far as Wolf Creek, I don't consider myself the best cart driver in the world, but even being careful, the trip around that track is flat out scary. Beautiful vistas, some over the top holes, and the ride out does many amusement park roller coasters!

[Andy Troeger]

I would agree that the cart paths at Wolf Creek would be scary if they were wet or if one were drinking--if its dry and one is careful they're not THAT bad. It is wise to pay attention to where one is going, but that's normally the case.

Wolf Creek and Southern Highlands are the only two courses I've played in Nevada--I liked both of them and would recommend them. I didn't find Wolf Creek to be that hard at 6,300 yards--the fairways and playing corridors have a reasonable amount of width and a lot of risk/reward. That said, there are certainly posters here (generally those who prefer natural, classic, and/or easy walk courses) who would be wasting their money to play it.

Southern Highlands has absolutely no desert characteristics to it--its again very much contrived but very well done at the same time.

[Jon Spaulding]

Southern Highlands is definitely worth a look, as is Primm/Desert.

Here's a link to some photos of the former:

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,34227.0.html

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