Well, I made it back out to Vegas for Thanksgiving, and of course I brought the clubs. I managed to get in three rounds. The sun is setting at about 4:30 this time of year, so you’ve got to get off by about noon or so if you want to get all 18 in. Every day it was about 72 degrees with no wind, even at Paiute. Made for a wonderful week.
11/24 – Paiute (Wolf) - $63
This was in terrific shape as always. I followed my opening double with a birdie, and so it went up & down for the rest of the round. It wasn’t too crowded when we teed off but it got bunched up on the back side as everybody was trying to finish before dark. We played number 18 mostly in the dark but managed to get it in. This was the first time that I’ve ever been to Paiute where there hasn’t been a stiff breeze, and it really made for a wonderful day.
Score – 85; Putts – 34; Birdied Holes - #2, 10
11/25 – Boulder Creek (Coyote Run/Desert Hawk) - $65
I hadn’t played here in a number of years, and had forgotten just how nice this course is. Everything was in great shape, and it was another perfect day. We played the Coyote Run and Desert Hawk nines (the third nine is Eldorado). It was surprisingly not busy considering the weather. The only thing that could have used dramatic improvement was my play. Truly one of the worst rounds I’ve played all year – limped home with 49 strokes on the Desert Hawk. Fortunately, everything else was so nice that I barely even cared.
Score - 92; Putts – 33; Birdied Holes - #7 (Coyote Run)
Boulder Creek - Desert Hawk #8
11/26 – Black Mountain (Desert/Founders) - $50
This was my first time at Black Mountain. It’s an old school (especially for Vegas) country club turned semi-private facility with three nines. I played the Desert & Founders nines. (I believe the Horizon nine was only open to members that day.) There wasn’t anything terribly impressive about this course. The Desert nine is a typical Vegas track, probably a bit tamer than many of the ‘desert’ courses in the area. I did appreciate the lack of housing on it, as it is kind of surrounded by the Horizon nine. The Founders nine is the original track, and most of the holes do have housing running along both sides. There’s not much elevation change on either nine, though there were some decent views of the valley from certain spots. All of that said, this was exactly what I was looking for on this particular day:
East side of town (check)
Reasonably priced (check)
Pace less than four hours (check)
It wouldn’t be fair to compare this with some of the higher-end courses in town, as they aren’t really attempting to compete with that. As such, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this course to tourists, but I’m going to keep it in mind as a decent enough course that is close and gives me a chance to sneak in a quick round. And they gave me the local rate because I was staying with family, which will always earn return business from me.
Score – 83; Putts – 35; Birdied Holes – None
Black Mountain - Desert #2
Not exactly the best playing from yours truly, but I was happy to be able to get out and enjoy it anyway. Unbelievably, I was able to get in one more (very cold) round after I got back, but the clubs are now sadly put away for the winter. Not sure if I'll get in a winter trip or not this year. (Sigh.)
11/24 – Paiute (Wolf) - $63
This was in terrific shape as always. I followed my opening double with a birdie, and so it went up & down for the rest of the round. It wasn’t too crowded when we teed off but it got bunched up on the back side as everybody was trying to finish before dark. We played number 18 mostly in the dark but managed to get it in. This was the first time that I’ve ever been to Paiute where there hasn’t been a stiff breeze, and it really made for a wonderful day.
Score – 85; Putts – 34; Birdied Holes - #2, 10
11/25 – Boulder Creek (Coyote Run/Desert Hawk) - $65
I hadn’t played here in a number of years, and had forgotten just how nice this course is. Everything was in great shape, and it was another perfect day. We played the Coyote Run and Desert Hawk nines (the third nine is Eldorado). It was surprisingly not busy considering the weather. The only thing that could have used dramatic improvement was my play. Truly one of the worst rounds I’ve played all year – limped home with 49 strokes on the Desert Hawk. Fortunately, everything else was so nice that I barely even cared.
Score - 92; Putts – 33; Birdied Holes - #7 (Coyote Run)
Boulder Creek - Desert Hawk #8
11/26 – Black Mountain (Desert/Founders) - $50
This was my first time at Black Mountain. It’s an old school (especially for Vegas) country club turned semi-private facility with three nines. I played the Desert & Founders nines. (I believe the Horizon nine was only open to members that day.) There wasn’t anything terribly impressive about this course. The Desert nine is a typical Vegas track, probably a bit tamer than many of the ‘desert’ courses in the area. I did appreciate the lack of housing on it, as it is kind of surrounded by the Horizon nine. The Founders nine is the original track, and most of the holes do have housing running along both sides. There’s not much elevation change on either nine, though there were some decent views of the valley from certain spots. All of that said, this was exactly what I was looking for on this particular day:
East side of town (check)
Reasonably priced (check)
Pace less than four hours (check)
It wouldn’t be fair to compare this with some of the higher-end courses in town, as they aren’t really attempting to compete with that. As such, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this course to tourists, but I’m going to keep it in mind as a decent enough course that is close and gives me a chance to sneak in a quick round. And they gave me the local rate because I was staying with family, which will always earn return business from me.
Score – 83; Putts – 35; Birdied Holes – None
Black Mountain - Desert #2
Not exactly the best playing from yours truly, but I was happy to be able to get out and enjoy it anyway. Unbelievably, I was able to get in one more (very cold) round after I got back, but the clubs are now sadly put away for the winter. Not sure if I'll get in a winter trip or not this year. (Sigh.)
