2023 Las Vegas Course Conditions Thread

Bonneville85308 · February 15, 2023

I just came back from a trip to the Las Vegas area and figured I'd make a thread like we have for Phoenix and Tucson. All of the courses below were first-time plays for me except Desert Willow which I played probably 5 years ago.

Paiute-Wolf:

Teed off at 730am in the first group of the day. It was about 40 degrees, cloudy, calm to very light wind that didn't really pick up until we teed off on 18. Had a great pairing with a local and two guys from the east coast, finished in 3:45. The course played fast and firm all around. They don't overseed here, it is year-round rye (?) type grass. The greens weren't really holding approach shots, we weren't making many ballmarks, I remember one well-struck 8-iron that landed on the front edge and rolled off the back. Very quick greens, too. Everyone in the group got a lot of practice putting from off the sides of the greens, which was a must as they are cut very tight. This is a first class facility all around. It was a challenging round for sure but was fun. I had a nice par on the island green hole; which fortunately wasn't playing into the wind that day. Now that I've played all 3 Paiute courses, this is my favorite. I am generally not a Pete Dye fan at all, but Paiute Wolf seemed to have fewer of his most annoying design features. None of those silly railroad tie bunkers either.

Eagle Crest at Sun City Summerlin:

This is a par 60 course that plays about 4,100 yards from the tips. It was probably the most fun short course I've played besides Mountain Shadows. Lots of elevation change and interesting green shapes. Includes two 400 yard par 4's, one plays very uphill. Nice views of the valley from the back nine. All but the rough beyond greenside was overseeded. Conditions were similar to what you might find around Phoenix in Sun City West, but drier and firmer. The greens did hold shots well. Good bunker sand. Got around with two other randoms in about 3 hours despite a lot of waiting as it was busy. Price for non-residents is pretty steep but I felt it was worth it given the conditions and how enjoyable the course was. I will return to this one.

Revere - Lexington:

I didn't really care for this layout. Just wasn't my cup of tea. I wasn't hitting the ball well, but I don't think I would have liked it even if I brought my A game.. Lexington does a wall-to-wall overseed whereas Concord generally doesn't overseed the rough. It didn't play as firm as Paiute, but a lot of the rough was cut low and beaten down by cart traffic. The ball was rolling out in general. Greens putted kind of weird in my opinion (needed to be rolled?) and were absolutely full of a ridiculous amount of unrepaired ball marks. Bunkers were just a thin layer of pebbles and rocks on top of concrete-like hardpan, I pulled my ball out of two of them. 2 of the 4 people in the pairing no-showed so it was just me and another guy, we went off around 8:30am and got around in about 4:05 which was better than I had anticipated. I want to try Concord for the first time but would not play Lexington again.

Desert Willow:

Another par 60 course. Not as interesting as Eagle Crest, not really anything memorable but still a decent enough place to golf your ball if time and money are tight. Course was in nice condition all around, not as good as Eagle Crest but nothing really to complain about. Only $37 which is dirt cheap for this market in winter.

Primm Valley - Lakes Course:

This was the highlight of the trip. It is about a 45 minute drive south of the Las Vegas strip to this course out in the middle of nowhere next to the interstate and a solar panel farm. Both the Lakes and Desert courses at Primm Valley are Tom Fazio designs that I believe opened in the late 1990s. The Desert course is currently closed temporarily due to conditioning problems (dead greens, etc.) that it appeared they were working to correct. When you pull up to this facility, it gives off that "this must have been something special 20 years ago" vibe that I've felt at many courses built in the 1990s CCFAD heyday that are now in decline. I paid ~$45 for a "pay now and save" deal on Golfnow as their $119 rack rate gave me caution based on recent reviews. It apparently doesn't get much play, there were less than 20 people on the tee sheet on the weekday I played. I went out early solo, played through a threesome on 6, took my time and finished in about 2.5 hrs. Before I get into the conditions, let me tell you I completely fell in love with this layout, it was my favorite course of the trip and one I hope to return to. Probably helped that I shot my lowest score relative to par on the trip here. The course like something out of a different state somewhere on the east coast....sort of a bit of that Shadow Creek feel...Shadow Creek for the penny slot player? lol.

The course excluding the greens plays dry and firm. Fairways are overseeded, rough is mostly dormant. Some minor bare patches or thin overseed spots in the fairways. Tees were in great condition, even the par 3's. Since the place gets very little play, the dormant rough wasn't really compacted down from cart traffic. The greens are recovering from major near-death problems last year. They were slow, and most had large patches of sanded/seeded/fertilized areas. Despite that, the ball actually rolled fine and I was making plenty of putts. They were quite receptive like velcro. Bunker sand was surprisingly good. The course plays better than it looks. If you can get a Golfnow cheapo price it's definitely worth the trip. You just need to set your expectations correctly on the condition of the greens. I will be back. Really enjoyed this one.

Valle Vista, Kingman, AZ:

Not in the Vegas area, but I am what you might call a "completist" when it comes to golf courses, so on the way back to Phoenix I stopped to play this neighborhood course about 15-20 miles north of I-40 off ye olde Route 66. Double Woof for this one. $32 got me 18 holes and a cart on this course of unknown architectural lineage in what appeared to be a 1990s-era mostly unbuilt community. Weird conditions. They don't overseed, but there was some type of random green grass still in little spots here and there. The greens were definitely not overseeded, but they were extremely soft and mushy (yet fast?!) and actually appeared to have been watered recently whereas the rest of the course was bone dry and rock hard. Greens reminded me of how poa or bent greens get on the east coast in winter, I don't think these were bermuda. Place was empty except for a few singles and I got it over with in less than 2 hours. Skip it and play Cerbat Cliffs if you are in the Kingman area.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Bonneville85308

puttnforthe8 · February 15, 2023

Nice. I love Primm, and love your assessment. It is like if you see olive shag carpet when you walk into a house you are looking to buy.

Concord is just as bad...both those courses should be exploded and redone to make one really good course.

702Golf84 · February 19, 2023

All of the Sun City Summerlin courses are in great condition and have fabulous views.

I agree about Lexington and Concord is even worse.

AzSuperHack76 · February 19, 2023

9 hours ago, 702Golf84 said:

All of the Sun City Summerlin courses are in great condition and have fabulous views.

I agree about Lexington and Concord is even worse.

Goofy and forced layouts for sure. But, I don’t know which course it was, one has a Par 5 that I enjoyed. I had a 400 plus yard drive on it, clearly all down hill but it was neat to have a sand wedge in, made me feel like I hit the driver like Bryson.

Scootre · February 22, 2023

Anyone played up north in Mesquite lately? Headed there in about a week and half. Oasis, Falcon Ridge, Sand Hollow, Copper Rock, Coyote Springs.

The weather seems to be a bit cooler than expected.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Scootre

remlap13 · March 3, 2023

Just came back from a 3-round trip to Vegas. Here's where we played with an update on current conditions and layouts:

Angel Park - Mountain - 6/10 rating. Conditions were OK. Greens a little bumpier than we'd like for the price. Layout was... OK. Nothing spectacular. Biggest gripe here were the speed and slope of the greens. We had a couple of holes where we all agreed as a group to attempt our first putt, and if it misses, take a two putt and move on. Why you ask? A hole on the front 9 (can't remember which one) where I had an 8 foot putt straight uphill, had the ball stop 3 inches from the hole, pause, and immediately roll back 8 feet past where it started. There were a few holes like that. Barely touch a downhill 6 footer, have it creep at a snails pace toward the hole, just miss the cup, and continue on at that pace off the front of the green. The grounds crew either needs to cut the holes in different spots, or find a way to slow the greens down. It was unplayable.

Paiute - Wolf - 9.5/10 rating. By far the best conditioned course of the trip. Those greens were like carpet. Quick, but rolled so true. Great layout. Straightforward but with some interesting hole design. If you're golfing in Vegas and don't make the trip out to Paiute you're missing out. Not much more to say.

Bears Best - 8/10 rating. Conditions were decent. I think it was 16 or 17 green that was in shockingly rough shape, but for the most part it was just fine. The most interesting layout of the trip. Some really awe inspiring "stadium" like holes. Huge landing areas. Some really neat elevation changes but nothing drastic. I ended up in one of the black sand bunkers which was neat. It looks like little pebbles but plays like soft sand. Worth missing the green for! Biggest complaint here was the price of food. $12 for a hotdog? Come on guys...

Edited March 3, 2023 by remlap13