The third and final round of the Vegas trip was at Anthem Country Club on Wednesday. This is allegedly one of the higher end CC’s in the Vegas area... » More

The third and final round of the Vegas trip was at Anthem Country Club on Wednesday. This is allegedly one of the higher end CC’s in the Vegas area. I will be as open minded as possible during this review and my comparison will be against other high end public courses in the area and not against the Uber elite Southern Highlands CC which I played the day before playing Anthem.

I’ll start with the layout. Anthem has some of the widest fairways I have ever seen. It really begs a grip it and rip it attitude. Plenty of room for error in the landing zone with only the occasional bunker to disturb a tee shot that lands anywhere in the same zip code. Stray way way off path and your ball is in a creek or bare desert terrain separating the course from the surrounding houses. Plenty of modest elevation changes throughout the course but most holes are pretty straightforward. The course has a number of water hazards, but most are behind the green. Overall it was a decent layout similar to that of Serket or the two courses at The Revere Golf Club.

Greens at Anthem were very large. They had moderate undulations and rolled at a nice medium-fast pace. Fairways had some of the weirdest grass I’ve ever seen on a golf course. On the surface it looked fine but it had the tendency to grab your club in the worst way. On the other hand the rough was great. Only about 2” deep but lush and predictable.

Overall, Anthem is a nice course. Nothing super fancy but definitely enjoyable with decent playing conditions. I would put it on the same level (or a touch below) that of Serket.

Regarding recommending the course, I’d say there are better options (especially if you have to pay the ridiculously high “holiday week reciprocal fee” but if you get invited by a member who wants to treat you, don’t turn it down.
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I’ll start things off regarding the name change. Rio Secco is now officially called Serket. I talked to the head pro regarding the name change and ... » More

I’ll start things off regarding the name change. Rio Secco is now officially called Serket. I talked to the head pro regarding the name change and he clarified the course is still under the same ownership along with Cascata. Apparently they paid a licensing fee for the old name so instead of paying the increased fee and passing that along to players, they opted to change the name. I’m good with that.

For all the times I’ve played Cascata, I’ve never played here before. We tee’d off on Monday with a mid/late morning tee time. Weather was absolutely perfect. Course layout was fun with a number of elevation changes. I would have liked to have seen some more water features but there were some other forced carries to make up for it. Conditions were very nice all around. Fairways were great. There had been a lot of rain the previous few days so it was CPO which was a drag as it slowed the round down to over 5 hours. Other than a couple of plugged tee shots, the fairways weren’t bad at all. Definitely plush and easy to hit off of.

Greens were also on par with the level of this course. They rolled smooth at a medium pace and had what I would call a normal amount of undulations. Enough to challenge you, but nothing overwhelming. Tee boxes were level. Sand traps were a bit thin from time to time but overall ok. Customer service was excellent from the pro shop attendee’s to the waitress in the restaurant. Bag drop and club cleaning afterwards to ensure you get the complete service.

If you do the Double Down or whatever they call it with the Cascata package this is a great second course at a very reasonable price. In fact, I actually liked Serket better than Anthem Country Club which we played a couple days later and paid a WHOLE LOT more to play.
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Bob and I joined SDF at Tehama Friday morning to kick start an upcoming week of great golf. Well at least great golf courses. The way I’m playing is... » More

Bob and I joined SDF at Tehama Friday morning to kick start an upcoming week of great golf. Well at least great golf courses. The way I’m playing is an entirely different story. Anyway, we caught the first day of some glorious weather. This course is always in top notch condition and today was no exception. Even after a week of rain the course was only CPO on about 3 holes. Very few wet spots on the course which is mainly due to the severe slope and elevation changes on every hole. It also makes a for a fun and challenging track. Definitely a far cry from a flat parkland been there done that layout. Also, the stunning views of the ocean (from afar and high up) and the mountainous terrain on the back give this place a surreal and quaint vibe. The only house you will encounter is Clint’s house which has a driveway that goes through the middle of the course!

Greens at Tehama are the fastest in the business. Lightening fast in all directions. Including uphill against the grain. Just wicked. Rough was tough. Longer than usual due the recent rain which has kept them from mowing in a while. Everything was lush and green as expected. Customer service was great as always. One minor drawback is the lack of GPS in the carts.

Well, it’s a bike ride tomorrow then off to Vegas to see if I can double down on some pars and maybe find an Ace I can keep!
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I played. Del Monte on Tuesday with a late morning tee time. Conditions are very nice all around. The small greens roll true at a nice fast pace. ... » More

I played. Del Monte on Tuesday with a late morning tee time. Conditions are very nice all around. The small greens roll true at a nice fast pace. Fairways were lush throughout and the rough was very manageable. The sand traps were a perfect 10. Super fluffy sand throughout. This is a very easy course to walk so it was great to get out and stretch the legs after my MTB ride the previous day. The downside of the tight parkland setting is the greens are very close to the next tee box. Great for transfers when walking, not so great when things backed up and you had two groups waiting on the tee box, chatting away while you’re lining up a birdie putt. POP was ok for 10 holes then got horribly slow. The layout is so so but the conditions are up there with the big three.
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Out for my monthly round at Spanish Bay with Bob. We tee’d off at our normal 9ish time in another beautiful day. No fog all day and about a 1 club... » More

Out for my monthly round at Spanish Bay with Bob. We tee’d off at our normal 9ish time in another beautiful day. No fog all day and about a 1 club wind on the last 6-8 holes. Course remains in great shape tee to green with the greens being maybe a touch better than last month.

We were paired with a 10 year old (soon to be 11) phenom!! Her name is Teagan Tudla and she is the real deal. She’s won several titles in the under 10 category and next week will be her first tournament in the big girl class (11-13). Teagan and her parents were absolutely wonderful people to be around. My game stunk to high Heaven but it was so awesome watching Teagan tear up the course. She came within a few inches of a hole in one on #8. I can’t wait to tee it up with Teagan again. But next time she’s giving me 5 strokes a side! And if we ever do another GK Cup team event, well sorry Peter, but I know who my new partner will be!!

As far as the course goes, each month there’s more and more talk about what the new design will be like. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information. At least not from a reliable source. If Jeff (head pro) does know, he’s not telling us.
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