I have always loved this course. It is not very long (6300 from tips), but it definitely has its defenses. It's a Pete Dye course, so of course it does. First, it is VERY narrow. A lot of holes have p... Continue »

I have always loved this course. It is not very long (6300 from tips), but it definitely has its defenses. It's a Pete Dye course, so of course it does. First, it is VERY narrow. A lot of holes have parallel fairways, so that is not as penalizing as it could be, but it's difficult enough. There are A LOT of pine trees, hence the name. There are plenty of holes with water, which is always fun. Finally, the greens! The greens are insanely undulated and fast, especially downhill. On this day, 06/19/22, they weren't nearly as quick as they usually are, but they are clearly having some severe issues with several greens, which is a real bummer. I swear there is not a flat spot on any greens, therefore no matter where they put the pins, it's sick. Overall, I was very disappointed with the condition of the greens, for the most part. I heard, recently, that the county sold the course to a developer who is going to build affordable housing on the site. That is a doggone shame. Another gem bites the dust in Vegas. So, I assume they aren't going to be putting a whole lot of effort in keeping this course in the pristine condition it usually is, because it is short-time. The fairways were beautiful and tight. A lot of the greenside bunkers were a bit soggy, but playable. The tee boxes were pretty nice and mostly level. The two-tiered, lighted, driving range is still great. I don't think they should have wasted the money to change the astroturf to real grass, since they aren't taking very good care of it, but that's just aesthetics. They provide different height rubber tees for the mats, so that's good. The putting green is narrow, but it's long and well maintained. Same goes for the chipping area. The beverage cart made several trips around and the restrooms were well maintained. I do like the bar/restaurant area and the prices are decent. I will miss this course.

Since it hasn't been reviewed in quite a while:
Management and staff is very good and great to work with.
Our club had our getaway tournament here on 6/12.
Shotgun start followed by a choice of men... Continue »

Since it hasn't been reviewed in quite a while:
Management and staff is very good and great to work with.
Our club had our getaway tournament here on 6/12.
Shotgun start followed by a choice of menu luncheon.
Course is generally in overall good condition with one big
and one huge exceptions.
They have a temp green on 15 essentially reducing the par 4
to a par 3. (big)
There are about 4 greens that have fungal craters/bare spots
making them almost impossible to putt on. (huge)
Pity the golfer on that part of the green!!!
Appreciate staff for their great, efficient job taking care of our
group after the round!

Played here 01/24/18. I actually typed this without reading Itslikeimsayin's review, eerily similar! My friend and I wanted to stay on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley and started the trip out ... Continue »

Played here 01/24/18. I actually typed this without reading Itslikeimsayin's review, eerily similar! My friend and I wanted to stay on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley and started the trip out at Desert Pines Golf Club, a budget selection. Tee times here range from $70 to $90 this time of year and I found an early morning tee time for $55. Considering all the overpriced golf in Vegas, I didn’t think that was a bad deal! Desert Pines is northeast of The Strip, a few minutes from the I-15/I-515 interchange and smack dab in the middle of town. The course’s location is one of the things that I’ll remember the most about Desert Pines. But, in an odd sort of way! The course occupies a squarish block of land in a rougher looking part of town. What was really funny to me is that billboards line a road which borders the course. And, you practically tee off from under a billboard on the 13th hole! I think the property was more suitable to residential or commercial development than for golf. You get a couple quick peeks at the top of the Las Vegas skyline and Mt. Charleston, but that is about it for scenery. From the tips (where we played), Desert Pines was short. The course is a par 71 with three par 5’s and four par 3’s. From the back tees it still packs a punch with a rating of 71.1 and a slope of 137. I think the biggest difficulty are going to be uneven lies and small, continuously sloping greens. Prior to the round, I read that Desert Pines could play up to around 6,800 yards. So, I was a little puzzled when the scorecard showed that the course maxes out at 6,222 yards! I don’t know the decision behind shortening the course, maybe to speed up play or allow for greater safety would be my guess. If shortening the course was for the pace of play, it worked! Even after a frost delay we got around in less than four hours, which is good by Vegas standards. My favorite stretch of holes was the 7th through the 9th. The 7th is a reachable par 5, with a narrow green tucked between a water hazard and some bunkers. The 8th is a mid-length par 3, framed by pine trees which surround the tee and gave it a nice look. The 9th is a brash, 447 yard par 4 that runs parallel to the long, par 4 18th. Water separates those two holes, in typical Dye family fashion! Visually, the 12th was another impressive looking hole with railroad ties lining deep bunkers. Another design feature at Desert Pines is all the mounding, likely to help separate the holes. Mounding separates the majority of the holes, with water features and crushed, rock-like waste areas separating the remaining holes. It was busy by the time we got going because of the frost delay, and you have to be on the lookout for incoming golf shots to your fairway. Likewise, yelling fore is a good idea if your shot is headed over the mounds. The most unique characteristic about Desert Pines is it’s twist on traditional desert golf, and because of that it is probably worth a play. The course’s claim to fame is that it is modeled after golf in the Carolinas. Well, I live just hours from the Carolinas and saying that Desert Pines has a Carolina feel is a stretch of the imagination if you ask me! It is a great looking golf course in the desert with all the pine trees, water features and domestic vegetation but that is as far as I would go. If you enjoy Dye family designs and are looking to stay close to town, then I think Desert Pines is worth a look.

Played here Monday morning with a 7:10 GN Hot Deal time. I started around 6:50, paired with two Vegas locals. I saw a group several holes ahead of us, but there was never anyone directly in front or b... Continue »

Played here Monday morning with a 7:10 GN Hot Deal time. I started around 6:50, paired with two Vegas locals. I saw a group several holes ahead of us, but there was never anyone directly in front or behind us. We finished in 3:30. Weather was nice with partially cloudy skies to start and then clear blue skies from about the 7th hole on.

Conditions are good overall and pretty consistent throughout the course. I think I rated everything either a 7 or 8. Greens were smooth, medium to medium slow, and semi-firm. My full approach shots typically took a bounce before stopping, but that could also be due to the crowned and heavily undulating greens here. It seems quite a few greens have spots rolling away from the incoming shot. Fairways were deep green and lush for the most part. Not ultra pure, but nice. Rough was about 2 inches deep and also lush with good coverage. Back (6,222 yards -- I sent Johnny the new scorecard to hopefully update the one here.) tee boxes were good. I was in a few bunkers and they were all good.

This was my first time here and I enjoyed myself alright, but I'm having a hard time really forming any strong opinions – good or bad – about this course. Maybe I researched it too much, because it was very much what I expected – a middle-of-the-road Vegas golf option. The "Carolina pines" theme didn't really resonate much for me, as in I never really felt transported out of the desert to the Carolina sandhills as they allude to on their website. There's tons of mounding and moguls all over the course, and a recurring theme found on multiple holes is mounding in front of the green to conceal the green's surface. The whole course is squeezed into a small plot of land, and done so pretty effectively, although big freeway billboards looming over several holes are unfortunate. A few holes and specifically the 17th tee has a cool view of Downtown Las Vegas and the Stratosphere farther to the left. Overall, I'm glad I played here but as an out-of-towner, I doubt I'll rush back anytime soon. If I lived in Vegas, it's a fun enough course that I'd put it in my regular rotation, and I believe they have some really good resident rates.

My Flickr photo album of 54 photos here: https://goo.gl/K8GT09

This is the second course I got to play while in Vegas. Got a good deal on golf now for about $40 with a 7 AM teatime. Check it was easy and smooth, starter was nice and paired me up with a nice coupl... Continue »

This is the second course I got to play while in Vegas. Got a good deal on golf now for about $40 with a 7 AM teatime. Check it was easy and smooth, starter was nice and paired me up with a nice couple and another single.

Course was in overall good to great shape, tee boxes were very nice lush and very easy to hit from. Fairways were excellent nice and green good coverage and good roll out. Sandboxes we're good. Greens were the only down part of the course. I don't know if I am just not used to playing on these types of greens but I didn't like the way they looked and they were very bumpy at times. The greens were fast and still A lot of ball marks.

I enjoyed the course is fairly narrow but if you hit right or left everything slopes to the center nice-looking horse also kind of a desert style with no houses around.

This was my first time at this course and so I had no expectations coming in.

My first impression as I exited the pro shop was WOW! The 9th and 18th greens were just to the right and they were i... Continue »

This was my first time at this course and so I had no expectations coming in.

My first impression as I exited the pro shop was WOW! The 9th and 18th greens were just to the right and they were incredibly picturesque. The putting green was in great shape and the greens were rolling true. The speed was medium/fast.

I looked on the card and the whites played to a slope of 120 at around 5700 yards while the blacks were a little over 6200 yards but a jump to 137 on the slope. It didn't seem to make since, but I opted for the Blacks. I quickly understood the difference as the blacks were set back enough to make all trouble and narrow areas of the fairways come into play.

The tee boxes were narrow and well used, with many areas of divot damage. Some were not level.

The fairways were in great shape and were very lush. The rough was great as well, full and about 3 inches.

The bunkers were full of fresh sand and well maintained. Although I didn't spend much time in the bunkers, when I did I felt they were exceptional.

The greens were small and well maintained. Many undulations in the greens and they were rolling true and consistent. The speed was medium/fast. Ball mark damage was a little more then what I would expect. (Come on people fix your divots!)

The beverage/snack cart was first seen on hole 10 and I believe we saw it twice more. Prices were a little bit higher then average.

I booked this tee time on GolfNow and received a really good deal.

I found it difficult from the blacks and the trouble from the tees coupled with the small greens made for a tough round. But seeing that I usually play at or just above 6000 yards I opted for the Blacks but next time my game might be more suited for the whites. I play to a 9 handicap but I'm in my mid fifties and don't hit the ball as far as I used to. Next time I will know.

This was a great experience and I mentioned above I had never played here and had no expectations. I would certainly return and look forward to that time.

Played Saturday 5/14. 1st off, so PoP was just over 3.5 hours. It would have been easily under 3, but we caught up with a shotgun tourney that went off the back on 15, so we played the last 3 holes a... Continue »

Played Saturday 5/14. 1st off, so PoP was just over 3.5 hours. It would have been easily under 3, but we caught up with a shotgun tourney that went off the back on 15, so we played the last 3 holes at a crawl. The staff was great & played with a couple of locals who made for great company. Short course at +/-6,300 from the tips, but the real defense is the narrow fairways & large, undulating, fast greens. Most of the pin placements were very tricky, with a few being downright diabolical. I've read some reviews that say this course is easy. It is most certainly not. The course is in fantastic shape. Immaculate conditions for all of the fairways, greens & tee boxes. The fairways overall are very narrow & there are plenty of lakes, streams & bunkers to make life interesting. I was very impressed with the layout: lots of interesting hole designs which promote using strategy from the tee. I used a variety of clubs off the tee from Driver to 7 iron on the par 4s, rather than just hit driver. I'm a huge fan of that. I have played a few courses in Vegas over the years & this was the best one to date, hands down. I pre-paid for the round on the Desert Pines Website & the price of the round was $68. Great deal for a great round of golf.

Played here in a shotgun tourney at 9am on Wednesday, 2/11/15, on a sunny breezy day. Wind wasn’t too bad but needed to be considered downwind or upwind, and many holes alongside water seemed to be cr... Continue »

Played here in a shotgun tourney at 9am on Wednesday, 2/11/15, on a sunny breezy day. Wind wasn’t too bad but needed to be considered downwind or upwind, and many holes alongside water seemed to be crosswind.

Overall the course is in good condition. Greens are thin and firm, but generally held shots and rolled well at medium speed. The putting green had some thin/bare spots but I really didn’t notice any on-course. Saw very few unrepaired ballmarks. Course is fairly short and narrow – green contours and size are some of the course’s main defenses. Many greens slope away in back or to the sides – repeated plays are necessary to get the nuances.

Fairways were tight, thin but gave good lies, and pretty firm. Rough is dormant and cut short and is generally very playable, but lies can be chancey. Tees were flat and somewhat narrow, and only the par 3s showed damage. Sand was firm and the playing layer was thin, but with good coverage.

Saw the cart girl several times – she had no problem driving up or leaving when we were hitting. Lots of water in play affects POP – today was 5+ hours (!). The course was recently rerated to better reflect shorter distances than advertised – back tees dropped 500+ yards, women’s tees dropped 1200+ yards(!). Like that giant Vegas lobster!! No GPS, but a yardage book is available. Tee markers are currently wrong and sprinklers, etc. should be taken with a grain of salt – bring your own yardage tools.

OK for a casual round.

Played on Saturday, 11/22, with a 8:10 tee time with John_T. Paid $45 (which included a warm up basket at the range) through the course website, an absolute steal. Course was empty when we arrived. Ba... Continue »

Played on Saturday, 11/22, with a 8:10 tee time with John_T. Paid $45 (which included a warm up basket at the range) through the course website, an absolute steal. Course was empty when we arrived. Bags were picked up and ready on a cart after we checked in. All the employees were friendly and talkative, and drink cart was around about 4 times. Water coolers were placed in various spots throughout the course. DP has a two tier driving range with mats and a small putting and chipping area. Carts were basic, no GPS, no cooler, just what you need to play a round. Played as a 2some, caught a 4some around 6, played through at 10, and finished in 3:30. Course was in great shape. Tee boxes were OK, in great shape but many had crowns that made you look for a flat area. Fairways were fantastic. Overseed came in great, no thin or brown areas, and very lush. Rough is dormant Bermuda, still long and the ball settled down, making a difficult shot out. Sand in all the bunkers was light and fluffy, not typical of many Vegas courses. Greens were fast and smooth, relatively damage free. All the greens are very undulating, and very tricky to read. Many putts will break at least twice. Overall, I loved the course. 1st time I played and will definitely go back if they keep the great rates. Course is squeezed in an area just east of downtown, on a site which was a nature park when I was growing up. The only complaint I have is it seems they try to make it like the course is longer than it actually is. Par 3s, fairway sprinklers, and 150 markers were accurate, but the tee box yardage markers were way off from the GPS readings on 2 different devices, from 20 to 50 yards. We played the middle tees at 6494 yards, but it felt like it was closer to 6000. Bring your GPS.