Cascata – prior to this round the greatest golf experience I have ever had…and now had again. And this time started out with IMO – world’s greatest breakfast burrito. Don’t even bother asking if it co... Continue »

Cascata – prior to this round the greatest golf experience I have ever had…and now had again. And this time started out with IMO – world’s greatest breakfast burrito. Don’t even bother asking if it comes with bacon, ham or sausage, it’s coming with melt in your mouth savory steak. This course is in my mind the “royal” treatment. Start to finish. Fantastic. Every golfer deserves to treat themselves to this at least once in their lifetime. Buzz through the private gate, greeted by Cascata staffers to valet your car and welcome you, proceed into the clubhouse with eloquent design and waterfall running through, be given a tour of the clubhouse, offered free cookies, muffins, tea and coffee, escorted to your private locker (includes your name on it). Then bag up in the Disneyland “Pirates of the Caribbean” like staging area, with your caddie for the day, the door opens to a paradise golfer’s playground of a practice facility. Play golf with your tour quality caddie assisting you every step of the way. Finish back where the ride started and continually be well serviced. Go to leave, your clubs are already in your car. Just totally pampered. In regards to the course, we played just a few days before they would be closing for overseeding combined with what has been an extremely hot summer in Vegas so the course was certainly dry in places. The greens were exceptional running at 12 speed, holding shots and smooth. The tee boxes excellent with some new re-sodded we played on the blue tees. The bunkers a little dry, and a few with some small pebbles but in general excellent overall (I was in many), the fairways lush with some patchy thin areas and the rough lush with a bit more patchy thin areas than the fairways but definitely not many. I’m convinced after Cascata overseeds it will be back to its normal immaculate shape in October and rest of its golf season. As far as layout, stunningly beautiful (although too bad the top water pump was out due to a recent lightning strike which negated some gorgeous water features), carved perfectly into the natural mountainside landscape that looks like what everyone aspires for with their rock garden. Now add in incredible vista views of the desert, well positioned hazards, doglegs and every hole fairly designed...about as good as it gets in my book. Granted I am a huge fan of desert golf and elevation changes. This was a perfect cap to an enormously fun two days of golf with GK’ers. I can’t wait to plan another. Thank you to everyone that came!

Day two of the GK outing in Vegas and was soooo looking forward to this day. Playing Cascata with Jerry64, dangerousbri, and MrKich and it was hard to believe I am there. I told Johnny GK before tha... Continue »

Day two of the GK outing in Vegas and was soooo looking forward to this day. Playing Cascata with Jerry64, dangerousbri, and MrKich and it was hard to believe I am there. I told Johnny GK before that I didn’t think I would ever play here and convince my friends to go. And BTW, a big shout out to Johnny GK for arranging this opportunity to play a couple of great golf courses! Despite the heat, smoke, humidity. It was a super couple of days.

Saw all of the other reviews and I really can’t add much more in the way of superlatives. It was just an incredible experience. Everyone was great. One would never expect to find a golf course where it’s located as it’s like entering into no man’s land as you drive up. And then there stands the clubhouse. Beautiful. Everyone reaches out to you there and to get a locker with my name on it!! Then jumping on the cart inside the club house going through the double doors out to the driving range. Where are we??? This isn't muni golf! LOL.

The course is immaculate. Everything was first cabin; fairways were perfect. The rough was thick but not so bad that you couldn’t get a club on it. Greens were perfect. Very quick and rolled as expected. You hit there, it went there. My only criticism was a couple of bunkers. Most were damp and hard but a couple were hard pan. Minor issue compared to the rest of the course. The views were also incredible. I spent a lot of time taking pictures.

I guess every foursome needs to take a caddy and I was so happy we got Mike. Incredibly high energy, motivating and was accurate. No one in our group hit a shot or hit a putt without his input on yardage or reading the greens. We wore him out! LOL. Seriously, he made the experience that much more enjoyable. If you are planning on coming out, take a few bucks with you for tips.

Sadly, I had to leave after the round and wish I could have stayed for lunch. In fact, I really didn’t want to leave at all. I am going to find a way to get back here one day.

Played in the GK Review Guru outing on Thursday, 8/18. Conditions are very nice overall. Greens were mostly smooth and medium-fast to fast. (The practice green was so pure and fast, but obviously on-c... Continue »

Played in the GK Review Guru outing on Thursday, 8/18. Conditions are very nice overall. Greens were mostly smooth and medium-fast to fast. (The practice green was so pure and fast, but obviously on-course greens weren't quite as pure.) Full shots stopped quickly. Fairways were great except for a few dry spots. Same for the rough, which is understandable considering they're closing for overseeding in just a few days. Tee boxes were good but inconsistent from one hole to the next, with a few recently re-sodded. Bunkers were good.

I had a great time and really enjoy the course. However, my caddie experience was severely lacking this time compared to the last time I played here. That time, we were just a twosome. This time having one caddie for four players just gave him too much to do. I'd be much more inclined to return here if they did away with mandatory caddies, but if I did return I'd consider splurging for one caddie for every two people instead of four. I don't think my clubs were ever even cleaned off after hitting a shot all day this time, until after the round. I just didn't find there was much value in having one caddie for four people.

Overall, a wonderful day at a very special course, even with some threatening skies overhead coming down the stretch. Here are 45 photos in my Flickr photo album: https://goo.gl/PWcN7p

Played 8-18-16 with the GK guru bunch, teeing it up with Mark, Vince, and Alex for a fun day of golf. As everyone has stated costumer service is over the top from the time you arrive until you leave. ... Continue »

Played 8-18-16 with the GK guru bunch, teeing it up with Mark, Vince, and Alex for a fun day of golf. As everyone has stated costumer service is over the top from the time you arrive until you leave. Overall course conditions were very good. Tee boxes were level and mostly lush with a few looking like they had been recently sodded. Fairways were lush and nice to hit from. Rough was not very long with some minor patchy areas but nothing that really effected play. Was in three greenside bunkers all of which were a little on the firm side and had small pebbles in them. Greens were in great shape rolling pure and fast. Nice layout going up and down the canyons with a lot of elevation change.

What an incredible GK Review Guru deal Johnny was able to get, with rounds at Rio Secco and Cascata (plus a night at Bally's) for a ridiculous price! Thanks again for the courses having us out, even t... Continue »

What an incredible GK Review Guru deal Johnny was able to get, with rounds at Rio Secco and Cascata (plus a night at Bally's) for a ridiculous price! Thanks again for the courses having us out, even though they are both preparing to overseed very soon and conditions weren't quite perfect. The service experience at Cascata is the best I've ever had at any golf course, rivaled only by the Sea Island Resort in Georgia. It's a bit like visiting the Willy Wonka factory. You make a secret left turn when you get off the highway, then pull up to a fairly simple gate. Then you go up to the road to the stunning clubhouse and are pampered from there on in. Valets take your clubs and car. The greeter walks you into the locker room with your personalized locker name plate. There's a waterfall running through the clubhouse. The practice area is magnificent. The caddies are great. Everything is so top notch, it is surreal. Then there's the course, which is also quite dramatic and spectacular. I enjoyed my round with bsparks1961, Tobster and kg1791 (along with our forecaddie, Dean). The layout is somewhat repetitive with most holes being either directly uphill or directly downhill. The uphill holes really play long with such steep elevation changes. Overall, though, it's a fantastic design and a gorgeous setting for the course. The conditions were definitely below par for Cascata, which still means they were excellent by any other measure. Last time I was here (which was also in August a couple years ago), the place was nearly immaculate. This time, it was a little rougher around the edges. Tee boxes great. Fairways mostly perfect with just a few minor weak spots here and there. Rough was not as consistent, but still pretty good. Bunkers were great. Greens were fantastic—easily the highlight of the course. Receptive and rolling smooth and quick on putts. I'm not the demographic to pay full rack out here in peak season. I've been very fortunate to play Cascata with really great summer deals, but for those who are willing to shell out the dough, you probably won't be disappointed with the incredible Cascata experience that goes beyond just a great golf course.

CASCATA - Where does one begin in adding to the reviews of such a tremendous club. Everything here from the opening of the private gate to the time you leave is superior to any course I've played, and... Continue »

CASCATA - Where does one begin in adding to the reviews of such a tremendous club. Everything here from the opening of the private gate to the time you leave is superior to any course I've played, and that includes heavy weights in OR, BC, WA, CA, AL. Special thanks to Mike our caddy for his great reads on some very slick and tricky greens. Nothing bad here to even think of picking at in my thoughts about the course.

Played this course as the second round of a GK outing in Las Vegas. What an amazing place! From the second you drive in to the valet to the second you leave you are treated like a member at one of the... Continue »

Played this course as the second round of a GK outing in Las Vegas. What an amazing place! From the second you drive in to the valet to the second you leave you are treated like a member at one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Practice areas are amazing with a large chipping green and multiple practice putting greens.

The course itself is an outstanding piece of design that uses the lay of the mountains to its advantage in both routing and to help defend itself. The forecaddies are a huge help in finding the proper line and know the greens like the back of their hand. I don't believe there is one "flat" hole on the course so be ready to account for elevation changes and beautiful views galore.

The fairways and greens are standout features ... if you can say anything is a standout feature. The greens were running 12 on the stimpmeter the day we played and were in very good shape for being prepared for the upcoming overseed. The putts broke very true and I was only interfered with by an old ball mark on 3 putts. Sadly, they were all birdie putts in what I consider "make" range on greens that pure, but that is golf. The fairways were a bit soft in some places for my own liking (3 mud balls including backing up a driver 2 feet from the divot left in the fairway). Granted, I am a big fan of hard and fast conditions, so you might prefer the slightly softer conditions off the tee.

As with the other course we played in the area, the sand in the sand traps was the only real negative to the course. A thin layer of crust with hard pack (wet) just under it. In a couple places, the bunker base material was visible and had me thinking twice about the choice of shot I would choose. In fact, I think I set a record for the course as the first person to play the course and find their ball in a footprint left behind by a previous group in a green side bunker. Our poor caddie saw where I was and I think he was a bit embarrassed. It happens... no major worries from me, but it did get to up my bunker shot count for the day to 8 total. The over/under was set at 10, so I guess I won the under bet. I was informed that the bunkers were due for some major repair work to bring the bunkers back into outstanding playing condition during the upcoming overseeding, so in late September I would assume the bunkers to be back in top shape.

If you get a chance to come out and play this course, I wouldn't think twice about jumping at the opportunity! I am going to do everything I can to make another trip out as soon as I can get the time, the money, and permission from the wife. The views, the people, the course, and the chance to play in this setting is not something to be missed!

Played in the GK Guru group also. Took Johnny's advice and arrived early to get the whole experience. It was worth it. Greeted at the door, hand your keys to the valet then escorted in to the locker r... Continue »

Played in the GK Guru group also. Took Johnny's advice and arrived early to get the whole experience. It was worth it. Greeted at the door, hand your keys to the valet then escorted in to the locker room and shown to your locker with you name on it was amazing. As for the golf I thought the course was in great shape. I was a little worried when we told they were shutting down in 3 days to overseed. Most courses let the grass dry out but Cascata was still very lush. Won't go into course conditions, but will say they are very good to excellent.
Played with Brian (bsparks1961) Tobi and Keith (sixpex). You won't find a nicer group of people to play a round of golf with. While Brian found our forecaddie to be very valuable, I found him to be the complete opposite for me. I could write a couple of paragraphs on why but I don't want to spoil the overall experience I had.

Played on 8/18 with the GK crew. I'm going to break this into 2 parts, the golf and the experience.

Golf: Being told they were closing in a few days for re-seeding "planted a seed" in my mind that... Continue »

Played on 8/18 with the GK crew. I'm going to break this into 2 parts, the golf and the experience.

Golf: Being told they were closing in a few days for re-seeding "planted a seed" in my mind that we were not getting Cascata at it's best. If it's better than the condition we played, than it'll be incredible. Overall, everything was pretty excellent. A couple of bunkers had some small stones, a couple of white tee boxes were shaggy, a few thin areas, but I'm being very picky. The greens were the best I've ever seen. Running at 12, they were still receptive to shots. Not super firm like I expected, almost soft under my feet.

Experience: You definitely get what you pay for. The whole thing felt surreal. Ring a buzzer to gain entry. Valet parking, a guided tour while be escorted to the locker with your name plate, comp muffins/coffee and cookies and iced tea, and your clubs waiting in your trunk with the car parked at the doors when you're ready to leave. Excellent food in the restaurant and decent drink cart prices along with coolers of water bottles along the course. Dan the caddy was invaluable. Kept it simple for me, just told me what yardage to hit to. On the greens, just trusted him on where to hit it, even though the putt looked opposite of what he said.

Cascata has been a bucket list course for me and it lived up to expectations. Definitely worth the price of admission.