By Mike Perez, RLACEI Golf Committee Chair
From the 19th Hole
I recently had the pleasure of joining my friend of decades, Steve King (Retired from the LADOT), for a round of golf at the Las Vegas Golf Club course minutes away from the strip. We used to play basketball and softball (on the Intergalactic), but ahem, that was a couple of minutes ago.
The Las Vegas Golf Course is fairly flat; a few of the holes are bordered by streets, but most are not. I played in the fall, and the weather was perfect – polo shirt, beautiful blue skies, puffy white clouds and snow-covered mountains in the distance. There’s a huge driving range, hitting off matts, and the facility is well organized and in good shape. The course is 5,917 yards playing from mid tees. One of the holes I liked best was number 3, a 98-yard par-three over water and backed by four bunkers.
The course was designed in 1938 by famous golf course architect William P. Bell and still provides wide fairways, generous greens and many stunning backdrops. Timing the round to finish at dusk – well you know – you can catch some incredible views.
I’d certainly play this course again, but I also wanted to bring up a course Steve mentioned called Bear’s Best in Las Vegas.
The Bear was Jack Nicklaus, one of the best golfers of all time, who also designed golf courses around the world. These courses are the inspiration for the 18 holes of Bear’s Best in Las Vegas. The course is near Summerlin, at 11111 W. Flamingo Rd. in Las Vegas. I couldn’t play the course but I did visit it, and it looks amazing. The practice facility is wide, long and full of healthy grass. Many of the holes have views of Vegas, so a round includes incredible vistas. Vegas has quite a few courses, so let me know of any you recommend!
If you don’t have time for a round, try the TaylorMade Golf Experience on Las Vegas Boulevard near the airport. It has a double deck driving range if you just want to hit that, but you can set up a time to try out clubs and get fitted. In addition, it has a nice little par-three course. Being near the airport, there’s wind and the planes fly overhead, but what a great time to practice shots into the wind!
Keep it on the short grass.
