Yet another Vegas thread

[MileHi]

Sorry, had to do it

I read through most of the Vegas threads here, but still felt the need to get some personalized recommendations.

I'm tagging along next Thursday with my wife for her work event, so I'll be free to golf Thursday and Friday afternoon. I'm a scratch golfer, and will likely be playing with my wife's coworkers husband, who I've never played with.

Hadn't planned on renting a car, but it sounds like that opens things up a lot in terms of course choice if I do. I'd rather be able to drink instead of get stuck driving, but I'm up for it if the courses are worth it. I've only played Bali Hai (loved it) and Tuscany (meh) so I haven't experienced much out there.

We're staying at the Encore. Is it possible to play the Wynn course for less than $500 or is that set in stone? Probably wouldn't cough up that much cash to play that course unless I won it gambling. Guessing you'd need to be gambling in the 5 figures to get it comped? I'd like to stick to $100, maybe up to $200 or more per round if its a great course. Looking at Golfnow, that seems possible. Preferably courses that are great enough to "wow" me if I'm dragging my sticks all the way out there.

Paiute seems to get a lot of love here, though that requires a car. Which one(s) are best?

Any others besides Bali Hai that are a quick cab ride? Royal Links looks relatively close and seems pretty cool.

What else should I look at? Is TPC Vegas that great or just a name? I'm interested in suggestions for either close courses or ones that require a car, I'm undecided. Is Golfnow the best way to book them for the best deals?

[stage1350]

Bang for the buck, go play Angel Park. It's in Summerlin.

Further south near Henderson, Rio Secco is a good course. But it's going to be in the $150-200 range.

[sabram]

Don't know what it takes to get comped at the Wynn. I wouldn't pay $500 to play there when I can play three rounds at Piaute for that. If you and the other gy you are playing with share a cab you can get away without renting a car. However, small car renatls are pretty cheap at McCarron. The three courses at Pauite are among the best in Vegas and are a good value. All three are similar in style. The Wolf is the toughest and is a little more expensive than Sun Mountain or Snow Mountain. I play there almost every time I visit Vegas. You can get last minute deals on Golf Now, EZ links or some of the other sites. Those work well unless you need a specific tee time. Bear's Best is a little closer to the strip so if you take a cab it is a shorter drive. I would choose the Paiute Courses or Bear's Best over Rio Seco, TPC and Angel Park. Royal Links is okay, but why go to Vegas to play a faux links? If you think New York New York is like coming to NYC or that the Venetian is like visiting Venice, then go fro it, but it is really nothing link a true British links. If you're in the desert, play a good desert course.

[Golfinnova]

Agree that Paiute is the best. I'm having another WRX'er join me this coming Sunday for a round.

Some options closest to you are:
Desert Pines-10/12 minute cab ride. Designed as a Pinehurst wannabe, ok layout but their greens are marked with unrepaired ball marks. Probably can get on for $45-60 through golfnow.com afternoon.
Las Vegas National-Former PGA stop, great layout but god-awful slow greens. Course is dead in afternoon so good deals await with 12-15 minute cab ride.
Angel Park-Good course but can be busy.
If you get a car and wait until 2:30, you can play unlimited at Painted Desert for $20.

[MileHi]

Thanks for the input guys. If I'm playing Thu and Fri afternoon, is it smartest to just wait and see what kind of deals come out that day? Or do they fill up fairly fast?

[dannytmc]

To get the round at Wynn comped will require some significant time at the tables. If blackjack is your game, figure on averaging 4 hours of play a day with an average bet of 300-500/hand. RFB (room, food and beverage) comps come in around $250-$300/hand.

That said, the Wolf course at Paiute at the tips will give you all challenge you care for and then some. Rio Secco is a very nice course in it's own right, but in the middle of a housing development. TPC Las Vegas is indeed a very nice course, but I didn't think it was any better than say Revere at Lexington or the Rio. Bears Best is nice and the Badlands are about as desert golf as you can get. Both are always in good condition, when I have played.

I have not played Spanish Trail, but have heard good things about it. At some point Dragon Ridge allowed limited public play, but I'm not sure these days. I have also heard excellent things about that track.

GL!

[Bombn]

[b]Wynn[/b] is a very exclusive course that Mr. Wynn himself has a great degree of control over. Only comp'd rounds are for players with a $1mil marker, period. Never discounted ever, and in the past you also had to stay at the hotel, however this is no longer a requirement. On a positive note, the $500 green fee does include all your drinks (non-alcoholic), caddie, and rental clubs and shoes if needed!

Skip [b]Angel Park[/b], nothing special and usually very slow rounds. Conditions very from average to bad, and are rarely as good or better than the better courses.

[b]Paiute [/b]is a favorite for a reason, all the courses are great and the conditions are generally perfect. [b]Wolf [/b]is commonly stated as being the "toughest" or "Best" of the three courses which is not entirely true, its is by far the longest and therefore has the high rating. But also has the large fairways and greens. The Island hole (15) is a signature hole of the entire facility. But, [b]Snow[/b] is clearly a toughest course for the same yardages, and Hole 16 and 18 are as good as any the entire facility has to offer. [b]Snow [/b]has the smallest fairways and greens. [b]Sun [/b]is the more playable of the three as it has the largest fairways, but has some tough greens as well.

[b]TPC Las Vegas[/b] is awesome, tough, and can be really hard if the wind is blowing. Great layout and conditions are always as good as it gets. Definite recommend.

[b]Primm Lakes[/b] is another gem about 40 mins. south of the strip on the Cali border. Great Tom Fazio design and crazy considering the area it was built.

[b]Bears Best[/b] is ok, but a bit over hyped in my opinion.

Only other quick cab ride course is[b] LV National[/b] which is just a glorified muni course. The condition is better lately than it has been, but overall nothing special at all.

[Golfinnova]

I agree that Wynn simply is not worth the money. You can play all 3 Paiute courses for the same money. I also concur that TPC Las Vegas is a good layout and I recommend going there as well since it's right next door to Angel Park and the cost won't be that much higher.

[MileHi]

Looks like the weather is going to be great Thursday and Friday - highs of 88 and 89, 5 and 7 mph winds.

So nobody had an answer for my question - is it smartest to just wait and book a last minute tee time Thursday and Friday afternoon, or do they tend to fill up?

So if I get a rental car I'll play Paiute, otherwise it looks like it's a bit too far for a cab. If I don't, I'll see what kind of deals are available for the close-ish ones. Just saw Rio Secco is $150 for Thursday afternoon.

I haven't even connected with the guy I'm supposed to play with, so if any of you locals wanted to join me Thursday or Friday afternoon...

[DeNinny]

I just got back from a trip and played both Lexington and Concord at The Revere and also Aliante. The Revere courses were both great challenges. Lots of elevation changes. They were tough not knowing where to miss and if you picked the wrong club for distance you were screwed. Aliante was much cheaper but its layout wasn't near as strong as The Revere courses. Much more benign but my wife and sister loved it. The greens there were also the best. Near perfect. The Revere's were dry and a little beaten by comparison. BTW it can get very windy there so be prepared to play in 20+ mph winds depending on the weather.

[MileHi]

Revere does look nice. So many choices!

There are some crazy deals for Paiute, $45 for a 1:45 at the Snow course. Might just bite the bullet and make the drive for that kind of deal. Definitely starting to overthink this.

[Golfinnova]

Make the Paiute deal, you won't regret it. It's normally $89.

[MileHi]

So how would you rank in order of preference, not taking into account the cost:

Paiute (Each separate)
Desert Pines
Royal Links
TPC Vegas
Rio Secco
Bears Best

[Golfinnova]

Paiute-Snow
Paiute-Wolf
Paiute-Sun
TPC Las Vegas
Rio Secco
Bears Best
Royal Links
Desert Pines

[Bombn]

I've played them all so many times I can count.

That being said, my order would also be the exact same as Golfinnova.

[sabram]

[quote name='MileHi' timestamp='1334761703' post='4744802']
So how would you rank in order of preference, not taking into account the cost:

Paiute (Each separate)
Desert Pines
Royal Links
TPC Vegas
Rio Secco
Bears Best
[/quote]

The three Paiute courses would be at the top of my list. It almost doesn't matter the order of those three but If pushed, I'd say Wolf, Snow and Sun. You won't go wrong with any of them.

Bear's Best, TPC and Rio Secco are the next tier and again, almost equal IMO. Again, if pushed, I'd order them Bear's Best, TPC then Rio Secco.

Royal Links is hard to rank. I know you said don't take price into account, but it was overproced the times I played it. If you've never played a true links you may find it intersting and might like it as much as the three mentioned above. If you've played any British or Irish Lnks or been to bandon, you'll be very disappointed in Royal Links.

Desert Pines would be at the bottom of my list.

[MileHi]

Well I'm back. Played TPC Vegas on Thursday, and Paiute Snow on Friday based on the recommendations here. Gotta say you guys were right. TPC was nice, and the greens were very fast and impressive. Only gripe was that the bunkers aren't that great for a high end course. The fairway bunkers were rock hard, and the greenside ones were hit and miss. Liked it, didn't love it. Paiute Snow was just a great course, really loved that Dye layout. Lots of really cool holes and great condition. Looked like they must have aerated not too long ago so the greens were a touch shaggy still but very playable. Glad I made the drive, and looking forward to playing the other two the next time I'm in town. For half the price of other courses like TPC, it definitely held it's own.

[Golfinnova]

Glad you liked them. Played Paiute-Sun yesterday and the greens were slow as molasses yesterday which is definitely not the norm, they will get back to their faster speeds once the grass fills in.

[Bombn]

Aerification schedule for Paiute always effects the green speeds unfortunately. About 3 weeks after they are glass again...

[b]Snow [/b]- April 9-12
[b]Sun [/b]- April 16-19
[b]Wolf [/b]- April 23-26

[SeveB]

Hi,
I will be visiting Vegas beginning of june and I will be playing 3 or 4 courses.
Following the various advices I plan to play:
1. Paiute, probably Sun or Wolf
2. TPC Las vegas

plus two more courses, either of:
- Primm valley
- Bear Best
- Rio secco
- another Paiute

Any advice? I would like to avoid to play very similar courses or too expensive ones, let's say 100$ max.

I just read TPC will be under aeration on may 30th, do you think greens will be ok by june 8th?

Also, I play in the +20s so I hope those courses are not too hard...
Last question: Shall I stick to golfnow/golfhub for the best price ?

thanks in advance

[Bombn]

If you are truely a +20, then definitely skip [b]TPC Las Vegas[/b] and [b]Rio Secco[/b], unless you like the view and dont mind losing a ball on every hole. They are both tough courses with many forced carries over desert areas.

[b][i]Pauite Sun[/i][/b] will give you the best desert experience ([b]Snow[/b] and [b]Wolf [/b]are tougher). Definitely play Sun, get's the desert course nod.

[b]Bear's Best[/b] is ok (really nothing special though), but more forgiving than TPC or Rio.

[b][i]Primm Lakes[/i][/b] would be another recommended course, beautiful layout and design.

You might also consider [b]Red Rock Arroyo[/b], and also either of the courses at [b]Revere[/b] I think you would enjoy and they wont be as punishing as TPC or RIO.

I also see some interesting deals on GolfNow.com for [b]Spanish Trail[/b], for a reasonable rate that would also make the list.

[Golfinnova]

[quote name='SeveB' timestamp='1337642959' post='4953868']
Hi,
I will be visiting Vegas beginning of june and I will be playing 3 or 4 courses.
Following the various advices I plan to play:
1. Paiute, probably Sun or Wolf
2. TPC Las vegas

plus two more courses, either of:
- Primm valley
- Bear Best
- Rio secco
- another Paiute

Any advice? I would like to avoid to play very similar courses or too expensive ones, let's say 100$ max.

I just read TPC will be under aeration on may 30th, do you think greens will be ok by june 8th?

Also, I play in the +20s so I hope those courses are not too hard...
Last question: Shall I stick to golfnow/golfhub for the best price ?

thanks in advance
[/quote]


Let me know your exact dates and I'll help you out with options.

[SeveB]

ok, thank you very much both of you.

I'll probably stick to Paiute Sun and Primm valley lakes.

For the third one I'll check those three other courses recommended by Bombn, Spanish trail is a Trent Jones Jr, it looks good indeed.

Golfinnova, I will be playing on June 4th, 7th and 8th. Optionally june 2nd and 9th, depending on my flight schedule.

by the way, any good pro shop recommended in Vegas for some bargains?

[Golfinnova]

[quote name='SeveB' timestamp='1337723458' post='4960366']
ok, thank you very much both of you.

I'll probably stick to Paiute Sun and Primm valley lakes.

For the third one I'll check those three other courses recommended by Bombn, Spanish trail is a Trent Jones Jr, it looks good indeed.

Golfinnova, I will be playing on June 4th, 7th and 8th. Optionally june 2nd and 9th, depending on my flight schedule.

by the way, any good pro shop recommended in Vegas for some bargains?
[/quote]

I'm a member at Paiute so I can get you on the 8th under $60. If you're interested, let me know.

[Brianm423]

What are ppl's thoughts on Red Rocks Arroyo? Course looks pretty sweet on the website...can't trust a website pics though.