best golf course las vegas

2009-12-15T23:56:00.000-08:00

Reflection Bay at Lake Las Vegas -- Jack Nicklaus had a chance to let his imagination run wild in Sin City and it took him to Florida. Seemingly straight out of Palm Beach, Reflection Bay merges desert golf surroundings with a beach golf look and feel. It plays over the natural contours of the Lake Las Vegas property. The arroyos, waterfalls and palm trees make for an interesting blend of Southwest meets Southeast.

Not to be dismissed as eye candy, Reflection Bay uses slight elevation changes and tactical bunkering to add to the overall experience and challenge. Nicklaus' design includes some split fairways and peninsular greens, but much of the course's beauty and challenge can be attributed to the lake itself. This is where Reflection Bay separates itself from other Nevada courses. Nicklaus knows how to use water. On most of the lake holes, Reflection Bay has sand along the fairway as if the chance of going into the lake wasn't enough. So even when you think your safe from the water, you aren't safe from the beach.

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The Wolf Course at Paiute Resort -- The most difficult of the three Pete Dye-designed courses at Paiute, the Wolf Course is currently the longest course in Nevada. At 7,600 yards, this layout isn't for the faint of heart.

The greens at the Wolf Course hold shots about as well as a buttered tabletop. Bring an arsenal of wedges with your clubs, because it will be difficult to stick anything with more than an 8-iron. Unless you crush it off the tee, some of the par-4s might as well be par-5s.

The course's finishing hole illustrates this point. At 476 yards, any wind will put your shot down much sooner than you'd like. Any hint of a slice could send your ball into the lake that borders the hole's entire right side.

Snow Mountain at Paiute Resort -- Snow Mountain calls itself a kinder, gentler Pete Dye design. There are still all the pot bunkers you can throw a club at, but this course does have wide fairways and larger greens. The Resort, owned by the Paiute Indians and built on the reservation, is among the most complete Las Vegas golf vacation destinations.

The massive purplish-gray mountains that provide the backdrop for a course designed with the resort player in mind. More scenic and less menacing than the resort's Wolf Course, Snow Mountain has a secluded feeling that can't be found at many other Las Vegas golf courses.