Las Vegas Golf Trip in 3 Weeks

Hi All,

A group of 7 are heading down to Vegas in 3 weeks. We are recreational golfers who normally shoot 90-110 range. Our stipulation is that we want to play courses with a desert feel, visually appealing and not overly hard where the high handicappers would struggle. We want to keep the drive around 45 mins max from the strip (Wolf Creek will have to wait for another trip). Our budget is around $120/rd and we are planning on playing 4 rounds. I have read over the forum to get an idea of courses. Here are some we are considering:

Boulder Creek

Primm Valley (Lakes/Desert)

Rhodes Ranch

Tucsany

Paiute (Sun, Mountain, Wolf)

Revere (Concord/Lexington)

Here are my questions:

1) Other than Golfnow, are there any other discount sites that I should be aware of? Or any other way to get a deal?

2) Given our stipulations, what courses should we play?

3) Is there any other courses we should consider?

Thanks!

look into Coyote Springs

Definitely Paiute. Cannot lose there. 3 nice courses.. Coyote Springs is nice but it's only one course out in the middle of nowhere.

I don't see how you could go wrong with Paiute. Biggest mistake would be NOT to play there IMO.

Primm is about an hour from the strip and the conditions there are sometimes shockingly lame. The wind can howl there too but you can also have spectacular days there. For me, it's more of a risk vs. Paiute.

Reflection bay is really nice and not overly difficult. I'm not sure what the rates are. I was with a buddy who is a local and he got me on for $65.

I'm going for a trip out there in about a week. Booked at Boulder Creek (played it last time, was excellent value for money/30 min drive in traffic). Also playing Piaute Wolf, sounds like a real gem, but might be LONG for my game at 7600 tips, so I'll tee it forward a great deal to have more fun in the sun!

I'd say any of the courses off the main drag are worth it, as the majority in town are a lot more money and didn't have as good of reviews from what I saw on golf now.

Play all 3 courses at Paiute from the white tees and you will enjoy it with all the stipulations met.

Given your requirements I would play Boulder Creek and Paiute. Both are beautiful desert courses, within 45 mins of the Strip and would match your budget.

As you are a large(ish) group I would not bother too much with golfnow or similar websites, especially if you are on the Strip at the weekend. Book direct with the clubs and they may give you a deal eg 7 for 6.

Of the other suggestions which have been made, Reflection Bay is awesome but not really a desert course and Coyote Springs is too far away (and is a beast of a course with some of the biggest green undulations I have ever seen).

If you play Paiute, just make sure you play off the correct tees. Don't even think about the tips, play the tees at about 6300 yards and you'll have much more fun.

Just got back from a trip last Wednesday. Posted some pics in the SW Regional forum.

Given your stipulations, I think you should definitely play Tuscany and Paiute. I played Snow and Sun courses and enjoyed both.

I'd also consider Reflection Bay while it's a little above your target price. It's an amazingly scenic course and isn't too bad from the middle-front tees (I think it's about 6,000 yards from there). IMO it's worth the $50 or so over your budget.

Shame to hear you are skipping Wolf Creek. It's an amazing treat despite being a bit of a hike from the Strip. If you are with a bunch of guys who frequent Vegas, then definitely add it to your bucket list. If your group is unlikely to return to Vegas again, then I would strongly consider adding it to the itinerary.

I'm in the minority but much preferred desert pines to paiute wolf, just don't pay too much. I think I played it for 59. Only other recommendation is wolf creek.

Las Vegas Golf Adventures

I concur on Paiute - it may be that playing Paiute is the best experience for the money that you can get in LV.

At Paiute What's better sun or snow and why? I prefer good scenery and elevation change. Thanks.

Thanks to all who replied. This is what I have booked;

THU: Paiute Sun
FRI: Tuscany
SAT: Rhodes Ranch
SUN: OPEN

There will only be 4 of us left for Sunday's round. I called Reflections Bay and it's $250 for Sunday, so that is out unless someone can suggest a way to get a discount. We may just pick something off of Golfnow since we only need to book one tee time. I am trying to convince the guys to play Wolf Creek. I will keep you all posted.

I was down there three weeks ago for the same kind of trip. We played Reflection Bay (great course but they'd just punched greens), Revere - Lexington (total piece of crap, don't even consider this course), Wolf Creek in Mesquite (best course I've even played hands down, absolutely stunning) and Tuscany (great track and wonderful value).

Continue to try and convince them to play Wolf Creek. Totally worth the money and the drive from Vegas. Buy a yardage book, you'll be glad you did on some shots.

Good luck with the trip- I live in rhodes ranch solid golf course. Given you have the stipulation of a desert style course you may want to consider Siena or red rock arroyo.

I would also consider changing it up with a more traditional track like Spanish trail (private but has tee times in the afternoon on golfnow). Personally I would avoid Boulder creek.

If look into Bali hai club, royal links. And desert pines they are great tracks have played the. A lot

Rhodes Ranch is in ok (being generous) condition right now.
And you're not missing anything by not playing wolf Creek. Hugely overrated, more for people who play golf instead of golfers.

Paiute and Boulder Creek would be your top choices

Hi All,

I am back from my Vegas trip. Had an absolute blast. We got really lucky with the weather too as it was unseasonably cool for Vegas at this time of year. Most of the days were 25 degrees with a slight breeze and sunny.

THU: Booked Paiute Sun Mountain at 11am at $99. All I can say is wow! The 3 courses they have are in the middle of nowhere. No houses just you and the desert. The conditions are immaculate and as many have stated in the past, it is super windy. You have to keep the ball in play or else your ball is lost in desert wasteland. The pace of play was great, we were done in 4 1/4 hours. I ended up shooting 101 which I was OK with given the conditions, wind and fast greens.

After the round, I tried to convince my buddies to play another round. They all said that they were too tired. I decided to stay and play solo. They have a incredible replay rate of $40 and they let you play any of the courses. I chose Wolf which many have said is best one and they even charge a premium on the regular rate. I will have to acquiesce with everyone's opinion that Wolf is the best (although I never played Snow). The course conditions were even better than Sun Mountain and the greens were even quicker! Playing golf by yourself in the middle of desert is quite serene. You move at your own pace and just enjoy the scenery of the mountains that surround you. Since no one was around me, I took the opportunity to play some music on my iphone which seems like a trend in golf nowadays. I got through the front 9 in 1 1/4 hrs! But I hit major traffic on the back 9 (the ranger did warn me about this before my round). I did not let this get me down as I just replayed holes while I waited. The most memorable hole is the signature island green on the 15th which is very similar to the 17th at TPC Sawgrass. I played that one 3 times while I waited. Finally finished the back 9 in 2.5 hrs and finished with a score of 100 on the nose. In the end, I played about 40 holes of golf and had just an incredible day.

FRI: While researching the courses, I found a deal for Tuscany and Rhodes Ranch where you play both for $179 and it includes, golf, cart, range and lunch. Great value for this as the lunch was anything off the menu and included beer. Today's round was at Tuscany. Really nice course through a gated community. The course conditions were also top notch from the fairways to the greens. This course was significantly easier than Paiute with little to no wind and every hole is in front of you. Even if you miss, you will almost always find your ball. Case in point, I played the same ball for all 18 holes (which is a rare for me!). I shot an 88 which is only the 5th time I have broken 90

SAT: Rhodes Ranch was similar to Tuscany with respects to difficulty and playability. I would say it was slightly harder with more forced carries. Course conditions were slightly worse than Tuscany as there was some dry patches on the fairways. Some memorable holes including #18 which is a great finishing with a nice waterfall beside the green. I played pretty well shooting a 92.

SUN: I originally booked Wolf Creek but after 3 days of golf and late nights, the guys decided that the trek to Wolf Creek was not in the cards. In fact, two of the guys decided to skip the last day of golf leaving just two of us to play. We decided on Rio Secco and we got a rate of $119 but lowered to $107 with our Total Rewards players cards from the casinos. This course had a lot of canyons and valleys, and it was surrounded by some really nice houses. Rio Secco was by far the hardest course we played this trip. Tons of forced carries, blind tee shots, elevation changes and fast greens. It also didn't help that I completely forgot how to play golf. I blame it on fatigue and being up till 5am. I ended up shooting 112 Despite my poor showing, I enjoyed the course. Would like another opportunity to tackle this course again.

Final Thoughts: All the courses I played met or exceeded my expectations. My favorite was Paiute and will definitely play there again. Thanks again to all who gave me input on choosing these great courses.