ALERT: (Projected Overseeding/Aeration Alert)
From 7/1 – 10/17 the Lakes Course will be closed for greens renovations. The Desert Course will be aerating the greens and overseeding 9/15 – 9/18 reopen 9/19.
* Please note that although we put a great amount of effort into forecasting course maintenance, we still recommend you contact the golf course to confirm this information.
Primm Valley is a 36 holes facility one exit West of the CA/NV border For those of you who have or will be driving the oft-traveled I-15 corridor from the greater Los Angeles area to Las Vegas, it’s the green oasis on the North side of the highway. Featuring 2 world-class Tom Fazio designs, Primm Valley is one of those rare facilities that rises above its remote location. Once you’re on the property, it's easy to forget that you’re in the middle of mostly uninhabited desert, save for the few times you can see Buffalo Bill's and Whiskey Pete's off in the distance.
The Desert is the second-born of these virtual twins, built and opened shortly after the adjacent Lakes course. It is the longer of the two at 7,131 yards from the longest of the four sets of tees (6,540, 6,085, 5,397). While the courses both play very similarly, they are adorned with much different scenery and window-dressing, and this is immediately evident standing on the first tee. The Desert course has a more tropical feel, featuring palm trees, waste areas where the Lakes relied on grass collection areas, and other types of foliage. While most of the reviews and publications honoring the resort name the Lakes as their choice for rankings, I personally preferred the challenge and the more open scenery of the Desert course. Many will disagree with that choice but at the end of the day I’m certain the group of golfers who have played both courses will be very near split on which is their favorite.
Though they are each good holes, I found the out/back 1-2 start to be less than desirable, but the fact that they are each good holes spares this feature from too much criticism. The par 5s on the desert course are excellent, and shockingly (in a good way) they do not resort to water hazards in order to make them so – just good, solid holes. Unfortunately, there are no short, borderline driveable, gambling par 4s, but with solid representation for par 3s, 4s, and 5s, this won’t be missed too badly.
While the Desert is the more difficult of the two courses, I still would not classify this among the tougher golf courses I’ve played – it's still forgiving in the right places while pinching you in a few strategic spots if you get a little loose (the 10th tee, the 18th tee for the big hitter who tries to get greedy on the last hole as I found out the hard way)
The Desert course is in very nice condition. The bentgrass greens look as if they were about a week away from being fully recovered from the last aeration cycle, yet despite the tell-tale "dots", they still rolled very nicely. July in the desert is brutal on golf courses, and understandably the groomed and green fairways were on the soft side, robbing you of roll from the tee. The sand and the rough were both excellent, and if they’d mow the tee boxes down a bit more, I could reasonably say that the Desert course is doing well in every facet of summer conditioning.
Tom Fazio has a reputation for building playable and visually striking golf courses, and that’s precisely what you’ll find here – two very attractive layouts that make great use of surprisingly rolling land (manufactured, I presume), and won’t eat every last one of your golf balls like some desert courses.
Primm Valley, at just 40 minutes from the Strip, is every bit as close to the action as many of the courses that eagerly pitch themselves as Vegas-area layouts. With 36 world-class holes of Tom Fazio golf, beautiful desert and mountain views, and excellent course conditions that are certain to give you a great shot at playing a round of which you’ll be proud, Primm Valley is a great choice for a venue for a mini roadtrip from southern California or a day-jaunt the morning after a big night in Sin City to get some fresh air on the links.
