Robert,
I’d have to agree that Cascata does not merit a “zero” because - in common with most Rees courses - it does not push the envelope enough to warrant analysis , the main problem being the "envelope" is empty. Therefore there is nothing there but a mechanically uninspiring design that was not so much carved as thoughtlessly gouged out of a rocky slope above Boulder City. To suggest any equivalency between Shadow Creek and Cascata is a statement of breathtaking twaddle.
Frankly, Cascata is not even worth a discussion. Unlike Shadow Creek, there is nothing to debate. Shadow Creek - like Lido - is an engineering marvel and though it was grossly overrated when it opened, pretty well deserves its place on the ladder. It is top 100 in America - Cascata is not even the best course in Boulder City. Her Redness was a professor at UNLV - and lived in BC before we finally quit trying to break up - so I am more qualified than anybody on the board to opine on the subject.
Boulder Creek GC (the original 18), less than a mile away, is AT LEAST four Doak scale points above that vapid, overpriced, poorly routed yawn. It matches the personality of its creator - except with a wildly expensive non-sequitur faux-waterfall, so garishly done it would embarrass even Donald Trump. It is like sticking a bad toupee on a fat guy in a grey suit and pretending it looks fetching.
I’d rather go play Boulder City GC (across from BC Creek) because the in-house remodel work sets a new standard in laughably bad architecture. It is actually huge fun in a demented sort of way - at least there is something to talk about on the way back to The Strip. Look, I am no cheerleader for Tom Fazio, but when it comes to Shadow Creek, you have to give the devil his due. Faz is the Steven Spielberg of golf design; like him or not, there is no denying he gives the people what they want in spades.
If not for David Fay, Rees Jones would be pushing a mop like Charlie Gordon before Algernon.