Sadly, my trip is over. Had a great time as usual. The Entrada special that I mentioned is a pretty good deal, however it is based on double occupancy. Since none of my family could fit it into their schedules, I substituted Coral Canyon in its place. For those that are interested, or perhaps just for my own amusement, I'll summarize all of the courses that I played. Warning - this could get lengthy, I was out there for 11 days!
7/11 - Spanish Trail Contry Club ($39 - Twilight, thru GolfNow) - This is a private club but they are allowing non-members to play if you book through Golf Now. It meanders through an older (for Vegas - 1980's) high-end housing development, but isn't too tight & there are many beautiful homes to gawk at. I played the Sunrise & Canyon nines (there is a third nine - the Lakes - as well). Conditioning was very good; the greens were lightning fast on the Canyons nine. They let me book it as a single, and there weren't many others on the course. Shot an 83. Overall a good day.
7/12 - Paiute Golf Club - Snow Mtn. Course ($59 - Twilight) - Wanted to play Sun Mountain, which is the only one of the three that I haven't played, but it was out of the rotation that day. So I played Snow, which is a really fun track. True desert golf, no houses - what's not to like? Played from the blue tees, which at 6645 yds. is a little long for my length-challenged game, but I was on fire and carded a 79. I'll get to the Sun Mtn. course one of these days.
7/13 - Sand Hollow ($35 - Twilight) - This was everything that I hoped it would be. The front nine is wide open with lots of strategic bunkers, all of which are filled with the red sand that is natural to the surroundings there - very scenic. The back nine is incredible. The stars are holes 12 - 15, which run alongside a ridge overlooking the valley. But I also thought that 10, 11 and 17 were fantastic holes. Shot a 78 from the white tees. Great golf course.
7/14 - Coral Canyon ($40 thru GolfNow) - I played with an 82 year old man, who was pretty good company and still had game. The course is fairly scenic, and the conditioning was fine. I played it well, carding an 81. Problem: many of the other golfers here didn't have game and the pace slowed to a standstill. We teed off at 9:18; finished at 2:15. If you ever wanted to be in a parade, this was comparable. Don't get behind the elephants (or horses).
The plan was to play 36 this day, catching Conestoga on the way back through Mesquite. After grabbing a quick bite I called them to make sure that was feasible, and they informed me that their last tee time of the day is at 2:00. Mesquite is an hour behind St. George, but at that point I wouldn't have made it. So I improvised & went back to where I had so much fun the previous day.
7/14 - Sand Hollow ($35 - Twilight) - I had played the white tees the first round here since I'm not a very long hitter. Because I had scored so well (anything nearing 80 is usually pretty good for me), I decided to try the blue tees (6893 vs. 6462). As expected it made for some long approaches, and essentially turned the longer par 4's into par 5's. But it was fun to get the different perspective, and I still managed an 86. Fun course.
7/15 - Coyote Springs Golf Club ($28 thru GolfNow) - Wasn't planning another lenghty drive after my Utah excursion, but when I spotted this rate I couldn't grab it fast enough. This is a fantastic course in the middle of nowhere, and I believe there were only 2 or 3 other groups on the course. I played the white tees here last year, so like the previous day at Sand Hollow I decided to try the blues (6807 vs. 6215). I struggled quite a bit on the front but got rolling a bit on the back - shot an 89 (47/42). They aren't calling this 'The Chase' anymore, I was told because new management didn't care for the name. A marshal told me that work has begun on a second course out there, which was news to me. Although one of the clubhouse guys said all that amounted to was putting stakes in the ground thus far, so who knows. I guess I'd be surprised if it happened, but I thought it was interesting that they are still discussing it.
7/17 - Rio Secco ($50 - Local Rate) - Had family along so they gave me the local rate, which is appreciated. I've always liked this course, despite the odd back-to-back par 5's to close it out. Course was in decent shape, but the pace staggered on the back side as we got behind a large group that were "guests of Caeser's". After a few holes I was begging to wonder if they had begun their round during Caeser's reign, but I digress. There are some really fun holes on this course, and some beautiful views of the valley. Shot an 87.
7/18 - TPC Las Vegas ($69 - Twilight) - Also played this with family, but did not get the locals rate as with Rio Secco. Didn't matter to me though, as I would have only saved $9 on the twilight rate. I enjoy this course immensely, and have probably played here as often as anywhere in Vegas. The run of holes around the canyon (12-15) is always a treat, but I think I enjoy the run from 2 through 6 just as much. Shot an 85.
7/19 - The Legacy ($40) - Wasn't planning on playing this day as I had to fly out late afternoon, but when I saw that I could play for under $50 mid-morning I decided to get in a final round. In retrospect, this was a bad decision. I was swinging tired & weak (shoulders felt like hamburger), and had zero touch around the greens. For some reason (perhaps the same rate that enticed me?) this place was packed on what was a fairly humid day for LV. We teed off at 10:08, and I finished at 3:15. Emphasis on the word 'I', as our group still was waiting to tee off on #18. I simply didn't have any more time to spare. Giving myself a par on 18 (I deserve it for surviving this death march) I still easily broke 90 in the wrong direction (carded a 94). To be fair, this is a decent course, and the staff has been really nice the couple of times that I've played here. I'll likely return sometime, but doubt that I'll try it in the a.m. again anytime soon.
That's a lot of golfing (and a lot of typing). My apologies if you've actually read through all of this nonsense. I'll have to hit Conestoga on another trip, and I regret not getting down to Primm at some point, but there are only so many rounds that you can play even on a long visit.
