Vegas Vacation help

Hi all. I'm looking for some advice for planning the golf portion of an April trip to Vegas. We will roll into town Wednesday 4/15 and leave Sunday 4/19...in town for the Dressage World Cup, or at least that is why my better half is going to be there, I'm pretty much along for the ride and want to play some golf. Might be just me, or might have the SO of my wife's friend along with me.

We will be staying at the Marriott Grand Chateau near the strip & will have a car, so driving a bit isn't an issue. Definitely want to get 18 in on Thurs & Friday, and possibly Saturday morning...if its possible (time&$$$), might want to try for 36 on Thurs or Fri.

Looking for suggestions on courses to play. Don't want to spend $200+ a pop each round, but might spring for that once...really prefer something that will be a fun place to play whether I'm spraying it or shooting a 75...and if there's someplace where I can play 36 at one location for a reasonable price, thats a big plus.

I'm a 14hc trending down, should be high single digits by April, if we can get enough good play days here in OKC before then...no idea what the other guy might play to, but assuming below avg. Unlike most Wrx'rs I'm not a hugely long hitter...the days of 325+ drives are 15-20yrs past. A solid "normal" drive for me is probably in the 250yd range...Irons are probably a bit shorter than avg with 7-iron being my 150 club. My misses are more likely fat/chunky or thin/blade these days rather than huge slice/hook.

Besides picking the courses I play a couple other questions...

1) Should I take (or rather ship) my own clubs out there? Don't know if quality rentals are an option, have never rented clubs before, but haven't played golf on a trip I didn't drive to and carry my clubs. I'm 99% certain the other guy won't take clubs, so will at least need the possibility of rentals. My irons are 1/2" long green dot G25's...wouldn't kill me to play with std irons of whatever type, but kinda just depends how easy it is to rent & if you end up with junk.

2) How far in advance should/can I set up tee times? Now? or wait. With 2 huge horse events in town at the same time, I'm guessing there might be a lot of husbands in tow (like me) who might be wanting to golf, and it could get tight, but don't know...might always be tight there.

Anyway, thanks for any advice!!

jj

My rule of thumb is that when I plan to play only one day I rent. When I plan to play more than one day, I bring my own clubs. If you decide to rent, most of the Vegas courses have good sets available... Callaway, Titleist, Nike etc. Once you have an idea of where you want to play you can call the courses and find out what they have and what they charge. There is a service in Vegas that I have used that rents clubs for multiple days. Their least expensive sets are pretty old. Their new sets are good, but expensive unless you rent for several days, in which case it can be less than renting each day at the courses. They deliver the clubs to your hotel and pick them up at the hotel concierge.

Since you'll be playing as a single or twosome you can book in advance or wait until a day or two before you play. It depends on how flexible you are in where you want to play and at what time. If you are flexible, wait until a day or two before you play and book on golfnow or one of the other websites that offer discounts on last minute tee times. If you want to play particular courses at particular times, book in advance.

My first suggestion would be the three Paiute courses. They are very good designs in a beautiful setting, well maintained and have excellent service. It's about a 25 minute drive from the strip.

My second choice would be Primm Valley which has two nice courses, about 45 minutes south of the strip.

Paiute Sun Mtn #15 from front tee spilt fairway 133 r

Paiute Snow Mtn #17 view back to fairway r 2

Las Vegas Paiute Wolf #8 par 3 don't miss right rev

Primm -Lakes 11 (2nd hole)

Primm Desert 1 (3rd hole)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157641144038584/ Paiute Sun Mtn photo tour

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157631988517935/ Paiute Snow Mtn photo tour

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157631989719954/ Paiute Wolf Photo tour

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157631989172188/ Primm - Desert Photos

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157631989251442/ - Primm Lakes photos

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/collections/72157631988064259/ 18 Vegas area courses

Agree with Paiute, 3 courses that are in great shape and you should have no problem getting in 36.

Primm is an option but it is 45 minutes each way just a mile past the state line in California.

Angel Park is another option with 2 courses, closer to the Strip but gets a lot of play so not in as good shape as Paiute.

Paiute has recent sets of both TM and Callaway for rent.

I agree with all that's been posted above.

Bring your own clubs.

With a twosome, I think you could easily book and save money on the Thursday and Friday rounds booking with Golfnow the day before. The Saturday golf should be booked in advance.

Angel Park should fit the bill for you and your bud, it's a player friendly track, er, tracks with two 18 hole regulation courses.. They also have a pretty neat natural putting surface mini golf in addition to a par 3 course with "replicas" of famous holes (if you're Stevie Wonder). Might be a good venue for your 36 hole day.

Having wheels opens up lots and lots of options!

Have fun.

Agree with Pauite courses. Book them a few days in advance on golfnow and you'll be set. It's about a 30-40 minute drive from the strip where you're staying, but it's all highway driving.

As far as availability, the population in town doubles in population on the weekends, you won't have any problem booking a course to play. I play a lot of softball and there are tournaments with hundreds of players every single weekend at BLD. Vegas is very accommodating to the weekend warriors from L.A. as well. The CES show was in town two weeks ago and I had no issues finding a tee time.

[url="http://www.golfnow.com/course-directory/nevada-golf-courses/las-vegas-golf-courses/tpc-las-vegas"]TPC Las Vegas[/url] hosts a PGA event every year, I would imagine that course is pretty pristine and they offer club rentals too. Closer to the strip than Paiute if that commute time has you concerned. I believe they also are connected with Angel Park that Hateto3Putt recommended.

It's a little more expensive then what your looking for. But I played Cascata when I was there a few weeks ago. Great spot and the service was first class ( caddies and your own locker with personalized name plate ). Pretty cool spot.

Pauite is highly recommended. I like Badlands. It's target golf. Angel Park is a about a 1/2 mile from Badlands. Both are next to Suncoast casino about 20 minutes from the strip. There is always something going on in Vegas, don't think a horse show will bring more golfers than normal. Angel Park is pretty laid back. You can wear jeans and it's a fun time. They have a variety of rental sets. TM, Callaway, Titleist. Very friendly there. Course is not hard but the greens were blazing fast, like 13 on the stimp. Primm is nice but a little drive to get there. I got my rental Versa up to 103mph coming back from Primm and was just going with the traffic.

Bear's Best, Coyote Springs, and Wolf Creek are great but the last two are about an hour drive from the Strip.

Golfnow has some good deals for Vegas courses.

Pauite for 36 holes in a day.
Coyote Springs if you want to go for a drive.
If you go to Primm play Lakes and not dessert.
They have re-opened Reflection Bay down by Lake LV. A Jack signature course it used to be the very best in the valley (including Shadow, Wynn etc...)
Stay away from Angel Park unless you want 6hr rounds and worn greens. Nice courses but just get waaay too much play.
Some courses punch and overseed in April so check their schedules.
Golfnow.com is your best friend for great rates. Book the weekends in advance, for weekdays leave until the day before.

I always thought Desert Pines was a fun, interesting course. Angel park is decent but rounds can run long and condition is always up in the air. . Stallion Mountain is not bad either, but is a little ways out. Primm is nice. Paiute is great.

Badlands is great, just played it for $70 last week. It is somewhat target golf, but that's good for you every once in a while. Hit some irons off the tee etc.

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