Played Sunday afternoon 2PM on 3/21/10, on an overcast, breezy day with only a dozen cars in the parking lot. The course has spent a lot of money on landscaping and infrastructure and it shows – the ... Continue »

Played Sunday afternoon 2PM on 3/21/10, on an overcast, breezy day with only a dozen cars in the parking lot. The course has spent a lot of money on landscaping and infrastructure and it shows – the holes and surrounds have a very finished and mature look, and grasses in the fairways, greens, and rough are well-established after only about 2 years from opening here.

Mounding separates the holes so you almost never see players on adjacent holes; the course plays down these shallow arroyos and will (may) eventually have homes perched on the tops of the ridges. There’s lots of trouble potential with sand and water strategically placed –there are LOTS of bunkers on this course. Greens are generally angled to the fairways, are fairly wide but not that deep – you need to approach the greens from the correct angle to be able to keep the ball on them. Course is in excellent condition – always had good lies in the rolling, heaving fairways ; lots of uneven lies, especially if you get away from the primary playing surfaces (i.e., if you aren’t hitting it very good!)

The fairly firm greens were quick and rolled great; many subtle undulations, and some with more severe mounding. Some greens are uphill to plateaus, perched above bunkers; the false front on #14 really killed me. I spent a lot of time in the bunkers, there’s lots of them – they are in great condition, with plenty of fairly heavy sand. Lots of water available; the course is still in toilets in portable trailers with bathrooms under construction, but the trailers did have lights, running water, etc. We hit into a lot of trouble and played as a 2-some in ~4.5 hours – never saw anyone behind us (I think we were the last group of the day), but never really caught the 4-some in front of us until #15.

This is a first-class operation. They’ve spent as lot of money on the drainage ways and amenities surrounding the holes for erosion control and visual character – however, stray off the grassed areas and you are in sandy waste, lost in the abundant vegetation, or in small rocks that swallow balls. I did manage to get a ‘rockie’ by punching out of one of those areas and making a curling 20-footer for a par, but my wedge begged me to never do it again.

This was to be the first of several courses and a mini-town development with up to 40,000 residents as a bedroom community commuting to Las Vegas. However, with the planned housing developments in the area collapsing and uncertainty regarding the future timing of planned development of the area, I’m not sure how long the course can stay viable – it’s a 2-hr round trip from Vegas and can’t be getting that much play. The gas carts are a little annoying and likely will be replaced when (if) the area develops more and the infrastructure for electrical power is available. The Clark County resident twilight rate of $70 without the forecaddie is very reasonable for a course of this quality in the greater Vegas area. Play it before the owner has to walk away. Recommended.