Shadow Creek for my 40th?

[briggek8717]

So, I'll be in Vegas for my 40th birthday (nothing crazy, just happen to be headed there with family over the big day). We'll already be staying at a MGM property, so it opens up the opportunity to play Shadow Creek if I want to fork over the $500 for green fees plus tips.

 

I'll be there in the middle of June, so I know it will be hot. Anyone played there then and had any issues with the heat affecting the course conditions? I don't want to pay that much to play and then end up not having great conditions. I'll probably try to play early in the day, and unfortunately I'll probably be a single. I'm still trying to talk a buddy or two into coming out there with me to golf, but I haven't been successful so far.

 

Should I spend the money to play there? Just as a FYI, here are the courses I've played in the Vegas area before:

 

Cascata

Pauite - Wolf

Revere (or maybe it was Anthem)

Aliante

Siena

Rhodes Ranch

Legacy

Black Mountain

Wolf Creek (not really Vegas, but close enough)

 

I should also mention that I could play either of the TPC courses, Coyote Springs, and some other courses for free with the free 3 rounds of golf that comes with being a Citi Prestige credit card holder.

 

So, if it was you, would you shell out the money for a special occasion?

[AC168]

Middle of June in the morning is hot but bearable. Depends on how often you come to Las Vegas. If not often, I'd go for it. If yes, I'd do it in March or April for same price. Check the aeration schedule though ... If I recall correctly, they do it differently from the rest of Las Vegas.

[Chomper]

I played end of May last year - it was hot but not too bad. I loved the course - but I live in the desert.

 

I am sure the course will be in perfect shape. It pretty much is always in great shape, save for overseed time.

 

I would say that, if you have other options and $500 is too high, do the other courses. Shadow is spectacular because it is in the desert, but (according to my partner when we played) it is similar to lots of CO mountain courses.

[az2au]

I think if $500 is not a major hit to your life then it is worth it. Great experience. Fun course. FWIW Coyote Springs is excellent and definitely worth playing as well. Cascata is also a cool place but a somewhat of an odd layout.

[TheDailyDuffer]

Honestly, its probably one of the cheaper things you can do in Vegas, so you should probably go for it. Unless you're freaking out about the $500 +caddie+limo driver tip, you're unlikely to regret it.

 

Play it as soon as you can, as I wouldn't been surprised if shadow creek wasn't there for your 65th birthday.

[Mob]

You can lose $500 in about 5 minutes if you have a bad run at the tables. Think of it in terms of a 4 1/2 hr. entertainment fee, which is a pretty good deal in Vegas.

[ScGolfer08]

So, I'll be in Vegas for my 40th birthday (nothing crazy, just happen to be headed there with family over the big day). We'll already be staying at a MGM property, so it opens up the opportunity to play Shadow Creek if I want to fork over the $500 for green fees plus tips.

 

I'll be there in the middle of June, so I know it will be hot. Anyone played there then and had any issues with the heat affecting the course conditions? I don't want to pay that much to play and then end up not having great conditions. I'll probably try to play early in the day, and unfortunately I'll probably be a single. I'm still trying to talk a buddy or two into coming out there with me to golf, but I haven't been successful so far.

 

Should I spend the money to play there? Just as a FYI, here are the courses I've played in the Vegas area before:

 

Cascata

Pauite - Wolf

Revere (or maybe it was Anthem)

Aliante

Siena

Rhodes Ranch

Legacy

Black Mountain

Wolf Creek (not really Vegas, but close enough)

 

I should also mention that I could play either of the TPC courses, Coyote Springs, and some other courses for free with the free 3 rounds of golf that comes with being a Citi Prestige credit card holder.

 

So, if it was you, would you shell out the money for a special occasion?

 

I've never played at Shadow Creek as well, but will be in Vegas for my Dirty 30 and we are planning on playing Shadow Creek one day as well!

[briggek8717]

I decided to go ahead and make a tee time. I'll be playing there on Monday, June 13th. Unfortunately, I'll be playing as a single. I was trying to talk a buddy into flying out and playing, but none of them took me up on the offer. If anyone else is there at the same time and wants to drop $500+ and join me, you are welcome to do so.

 

I did check on the aeration, and they said there was no maintenance scheduled.

[txeconomist]

Good for you...curious to hear the comparison versus Casacata, which is maybe my favorite place to play golf.

[ScGolfer08]

Going to Vegas on June 16th-19th.. We are playing Cascata on June 18th and either Southern Highlands or Rio Secco on the 17th since we cannot get onto Shadow Creek for some reason. Has anyone played Highlands or Rio Secco and have some insight on these courses?

[txeconomist]

I've played Rio Secco and it's nice. Haven't played Southern Highlands (thought it was private)...I'd think Southern Highlands would be quite a treat but Rio Secco is no slouch either.

[AC168]

Shadow Creek and Southern Highlands are 2 best courses in Vegas. Cascata is nice also ... Very cool place.

[briggek8717]

So, I played here this past Monday on my 40th and thought I'd come back to post my experience.

 

We stayed at Excalibur for our trip (myself, wife, and 3 kids who are 10, 8, and 3). Excalibur is nothing fancy, but it does have a great pool for kids that has a nice little water slide. It also has the benefit of being quite cheap...which helps offset the price of the round.

 

Anyway, I had a 7:45 tee time and the limo pulled up just before 6:45 as scheduled. It was probably a 20 minute ride out to the course. Once there, I went in and had some banana and apple pancakes in the bar area that was quite good and reasonably priced ($10). After that, I went into the locker room and put on my golf shoes before proceeding outside to meet my caddie, Moose. Moose is just an average sized 57 year old man. When asked how he got the nickname, he said some of the guys there just gave it to him. I hit some balls on the range for about 10 minutes before proceeding to the putting green and rolling a few.

 

A twosome seemed to want to sneak out ahead of me, so I had to wait for them in the fairway on the first hole a little. Moose asked me what tees I wanted to play (7500, 7100, or 6600). Normally, I like to play 6800-6900, so I was in a bit of a pickle. I had done a little research on the course beforehand and found that the landing areas were pretty wide open, and I hit a decently long ball (about 280), so I took the 7100 tees. It turned out to be a very good choice, otherwise, I think I would have had to lay up quite a bit off the tee. The first hole is a dogleg left, and that suits me just fine because I hit a draw. Moose was very good with telling me distances to everything and where you wanted to be on the hole. I hit a great drive in the middle of the fairway and had only 100 yards in. He told me to favor the right side of the green, which I did and the ball hit and rolled to about 8 feet away. He gave me a good line, and I rolled in the birdie putt. Pretty good way to start. That twosome that snuck out ahead of me let me play through on the 2nd hole, and then I never saw another group the rest of the day.

 

I'm not going to give a hole by hole account of my round. I played the front nine in even par (2 birdies, 2 bogies). The back nine started off okay, but I had a rough patch in the middle where I had a couple bogies and a double. I managed to get home in 2 on the last hole and missed my eagle putt, but had a tap in birdie and shot 76. Moose was a great caddie. He was easy to talk to and gave great reads on putts. I just wish I could have hit all the putts where he told me to. I ended up playing in 2 hours 45 minutes, and I was even trying to slow myself down and enjoy the round more, but when you are playing as a single in a cart and not losing balls, it goes fast.

 

The $500 green fee was softened quite a bit by a lucky night at the blackjack table the night before where I won $650. The course was in great condition. I probably wouldn't go back and pay another $500 to play it again for a 2nd time, but I'm not disappointed that I did it once. Just to be able to play a course like that is worth the experience alone to me.

 

Here are some pics that I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[txeconomist]

Can you generally compare to Cascata? Coke v Pepsi? I really like Cascata so interested to hear the comparison. Looks awesome and congrats on the solid play.

[slc247]

Its amazing that course is out there in what used to be the middle of the desert.....great round and pics

[briggek8717]

Can you generally compare to Cascata? Coke v Pepsi? I really like Cascata so interested to hear the comparison. Looks awesome and congrats on the solid play.

 

Cascata is a completely different type of course from Shadow Creek. Cascata is more a a traditional desert style course where if you miss the fairways, there is a little rough and then just barren desert. Shadow Creek is more of a traditional course with pretty generous fairways and decent areas of rough. There are also lots of trees. When I played Cascata, I hit 3 wood off most tees (I probably played shorter tees) because the ball seemed to roll out more and I needed to be more accurate off the tee. The reason I chose the 7100 yd tees at Shadow was because the landing areas are larger and I'm not one who likes to just hit 3 wood off tees.

 

Both are great courses. I liked Shadow better, but it was also twice the price. As I mentioned, I think the $500 was worth it for a one time experience.

[Chomper]

Fantastic photos!

It really is impressive - the course is in beautiful shape in the middle of the desert. Good round!