Jackpot! Nevada’s Best Courses

Colorado AvidGolfer

The company’s called Par 4, but it manages five Nevada golf properties: Silverstone, Badlands and Spanish Trail in Las Vegas; Primm Valley in Primm; and Mountain Falls in Pahrump. All but the last boast more than 18 holes—and Silverstone actually has an extra bet-settler called “the decider.”

Strength in Numbers
All the golf, lodging and other activities offered in Mesquite can overwhelm even the most avid player. Golf Mesquite Nevada, a one-stop shop for expert vacation planning and assistance, has inside access to all the courses, hotels and things to do. GMN can package tee times at the Canyons and Palmer courses at Oasis Golf Club, Coyote Springs (pictured below), Falcon Ridge, as well as the St. George, Utah-area courses of Sand Hollow and Coral Canyon only 35 minutes away. The service also promotes the Mesquite Amateur, which is open to all, and also can arrange for dining, entertainment, spa treatments and other forms of recreation amid some of the grandest canyons this side of Arizona. golfmesquitenevada.com; 866-720-7111

 

Did Your Know?

• Spanish Trail Country Club hosted the PGA Tour’s Las Vegas Invitational for years. The 27-hole Robert Trent Jones design boasts three stunning nines—Sunrise, Lakes and Canyon— each of which challenges different parts of your game.
• Falcon Ridge Golf Course climbs, winds and plunges 6,550 yards through the hills and canyons of northwestern Mesquite. Designers Kelby Hughes and Cresent Hardy appear to have painted their masterpiece on the rugged canvas.
• Coyote Springs Golf Club, a 2008 Jack Nicklaus design formerly known as “The Chase,” is located 50 minutes equidistant from both Las Vegas and Mesquite, features 11 lakes and has steadily chased down higher ranked courses.
• Badlands is a Springsteen classic. It’s also a Vegas one. The 27-hole collaboration between Johnny Miller and Chi Chi Rodriguez registers a 147 as the lowest slope for any of the three 18-hole combinations. But it’s far less brutal from forward tees.
• Angel Park, just minutes off The Strip, is your best bet after a tough night at the tables. The local’s favorite has two Palmer-Ed Seaydesigned layouts. Another reasonable option is The Legacy.
• Rio Secco Golf Club is headquarters for Butch Harmon (pictured below), Golf Digest’s perennially top-ranked instructor. It’s also home to attractive female caddie concierges called T-Mates and November’s Wendy’s Three Tour Challenge.

A Lotta Cascata
Cascata has emerged from Shadow Creek’s shadow as the primo high-roller Las Vegas golf experience. It cost $60 million to carve Rees Jones’ 7,137-yard opus into the finger ridges flanking Red Mountain, and it will cost you about $400 to play it. Guests at Caesar’s Palace get priority tee times, limo service and a check off their bucket lists.

 

Experience Troon in Mesquite
Marbled by myriad washes, arroyos, bluffs and 51 bunkers, Mesquite’s stunning 7,232-yard Conestoga Golf Club earns every bit of its 74.9/147 rating from the tips. Forced carries and challenges abound, but this Troon-managed Gary Panks design plays from five sets of tees, eliminating some of the trouble but none of the enjoyment.

 

All Hail the King
The Palmer Course at Oasis Golf Club (pictured below) earned national notoriety for hosting The Big Break: Mesquite a few years ago. A perfect complement to the Oasis’s Canyon Course, the 6636-yard par-71 Palmer design traverses some of the most rugged and scenic desert terrain in Southern Nevada, its fairways carpeting canyons and leading to impeccable greens. The Palmer consistently ranks among the top Nevada public courses, with the 6408-yard Canyons right behind it. You can play both at Mesquite’s only 36-hole facility by going to golfmesquitenevada.com.

 

Featured Courses:

Badlands Golf Club
Las Vegas
badlandsgc.com;
702-363-0754

Canyons at Oasis Golf Club
Mesquite
theoasisgolfclub.com;
888-367-3386

Cascata
Boulder City
cascatagolf.com;
702-294-2005

Conestoga Golf Club
Mesquite
conestogagolf.com;
702-346-4292

Coyote Springs Golf Club
Coyote Springs
coyotesprings.com;
877-742-8455

Falcon Ridge Golf Course
Mesquite
golffalcon.com;
702-346-6363

Palmer at Oasis Golf Club
Mesquite
theoasisgolfclub.com;
888-367-3386

Primm Valley Golf Club
Primm
primmvalleyresorts.com/golf;
702-679-5509

Rio Secco Golf Club
Henderson
riosecco.net;
702-777-2400

Silverstone Golf Club
Las Vegas
silverstonegolf.com;
702-562-3770

Spanish Trail Country Club
Las Vegas
spanishtrailcc.com;
702-364-5050