LinksMag | Golf Travel | Worlds Apart


Destination: Worlds Apart Just miles from the Strip, Lake Las Vegas offers a first-class resort experience in a serene environment
By Tom Dellner There’s no denying that over the past decade, Las Vegas has emerged as a legitimate, first-rate golf destination. There are dozens of excellent daily-fee courses within 10 or 15 miles of the Strip and—with the additions of Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio, the Venetian and many others—the accommodation and dining options are more varied and luxurious than ever before. Still, trying to mix in a few rounds of golf on a Vegas vacation presents some challenges. Once you take a few gulps of that oddly scented casino air, you begin to settle in to Sin City Time. It can be exceedingly difficult to answer the bell for your 8 a.m. tee time. Lake Las Vegas Resort, located 17 miles southeast of Vegas in Henderson, is a terrific alternative to the hectic pace of the Strip. Lake Las Vegas is a sprawling resort and private golf community located on a 320-acre lake with more than 10 miles of coastline. Lodging options present a can’t-lose bet. Choose between the Ritz-Carlton or the Hyatt Regency. Condominium suites are also available for nightly rental, and plans for additional hotels are in the works. The pace is glacial compared with that of the Strip, but there’s no shortage of things to do. Of course, there’s gambling in a number of intimately sized casinos, but there’s also an array of watersports (including kayaking, windsurfing and catch-and-release fishing), hiking, horseback riding and mountain-biking in the rugged desert hills and lake cruises (with or without singing gondoliers). The center for Lake Las Vegas nightlife—such as it is—is MonteLago Village, a Mediterranean-inspired walking village on the waterfront comprised of a collection of lakeside restaurants, bistros and boutiques. Como’s Steakhouse—operated by acclaimed chef Joseph Keller—is not to be missed and offers an exceptionally inventive menu. If you feel like a faster-paced night on the town, just take a limo to the Strip—you’ll be there in less than half an hour. Or if you have to get a bet down fast, it’s a seven-minute helicopter ride. There are three golf courses at Lake Las Vegas. SouthShore Golf Club is private, but resort guests can play the Nicklaus-designed Reflection Bay and the Falls, a three-year-old Tom Weiskopf course. The two offer extremely diverse golf experiences. The 7,261-yard, par-72 Reflection Bay is generous off the tee and more traditional in the sense that holes unfold in front of you; it’s all there for you to see, as they say. Each nine builds to a crescendo with dramatic lakeside finishing holes that have an almost tropical feel. Nos. 7, 8, 9, 17 and 18 all bring Lake Las Vegas into play, with the par-3 8hth and 17th requiring white-knuckle tee shots into peninsula greens. The Falls, located on higher ground south of the lake, is more visually intimidating off the tee (there’s more room than meets the eye, though) and is integrated seamlessly into the desert landscape. Holes climb and fall and make great use of dramatic rock formations. You’ll face some semi-blind shots, but there’s nothing tricked up or contrived about the 7,250-yard, par-72 design. The dogleg-left par-5 12th (the start of a particularly strong series of holes) climbs to the highest point on the course, where a panoramic view of the Vegas skyline is suddenly revealed. No. 13 is a short par-4 that drops 160 feet from tee to fairway, with an elevated green tucked to the right behind a spectacular rock formation. Course conditions are consistently excellent, and the greens are widely regarded as among the best in the region. It’s something that’s often overlooked—we tend not to notice course conditioning unless it’s substandard—but it really adds to the experience at the resort. That experience is only going to be enhanced with the addition of Rainbow Canyon Golf Club, a Tom Fazio design under construction in the rugged terrain along the lake’s northeast shore and scheduled to open in late 2007. With all this quality golf in a desert oasis setting only minutes from the action, Lake Las Vegas Resort is an increasingly attractive alternative to the madness of the Vegas Strip.

Destination:
Worlds Apart
Just miles from the Strip, Lake Las Vegas offers a first-class resort experience in a serene environment

By Tom Dellner

There’s no denying that over the past decade, Las Vegas has emerged as a legitimate, first-rate golf destination. There are dozens of excellent daily-fee courses within 10 or 15 miles of the Strip and—with the additions of Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio, the Venetian and many others—the accommodation and dining options are more varied and luxurious than ever before.

Still, trying to mix in a few rounds of golf on a Vegas vacation presents some challenges. Once you take a few gulps of that oddly scented casino air, you begin to settle in to Sin City Time. It can be exceedingly difficult to answer the bell for your 8 a.m. tee time.

Lake Las Vegas Resort, located 17 miles southeast of Vegas in Henderson, is a terrific alternative to the hectic pace of the Strip. Lake Las Vegas is a sprawling resort and private golf community located on a 320-acre lake with more than 10 miles of coastline. Lodging options present a can’t-lose bet. Choose between the Ritz-Carlton or the Hyatt Regency. Condominium suites are also available for nightly rental, and plans for additional hotels are in the works.

The pace is glacial compared with that of the Strip, but there’s no shortage of things to do. Of course, there’s gambling in a number of intimately sized casinos, but there’s also an array of watersports (including kayaking, windsurfing and catch-and-release fishing), hiking, horseback riding and mountain-biking in the rugged desert hills and lake cruises (with or without singing gondoliers).

The center for Lake Las Vegas nightlife—such as it is—is MonteLago Village, a Mediterranean-inspired walking village on the waterfront comprised of a collection of lakeside restaurants, bistros and boutiques. Como’s Steakhouse—operated by acclaimed chef Joseph Keller—is not to be missed and offers an exceptionally inventive menu.

If you feel like a faster-paced night on the town, just take a limo to the Strip—you’ll be there in less than half an hour. Or if you have to get a bet down fast, it’s a seven-minute helicopter ride.

There are three golf courses at Lake Las Vegas. SouthShore Golf Club is private, but resort guests can play the Nicklaus-designed Reflection Bay and the Falls, a three-year-old Tom Weiskopf course. The two offer extremely diverse golf experiences.

The 7,261-yard, par-72 Reflection Bay is generous off the tee and more traditional in the sense that holes unfold in front of you; it’s all there for you to see, as they say. Each nine builds to a crescendo with dramatic lakeside finishing holes that have an almost tropical feel. Nos. 7, 8, 9, 17 and 18 all bring Lake Las Vegas into play, with the par-3 8hth and 17th requiring white-knuckle tee shots into peninsula greens.

The Falls, located on higher ground south of the lake, is more visually intimidating off the tee (there’s more room than meets the eye, though) and is integrated seamlessly into the desert landscape. Holes climb and fall and make great use of dramatic rock formations. You’ll face some semi-blind shots, but there’s nothing tricked up or contrived about the 7,250-yard, par-72 design. The dogleg-left par-5 12th (the start of a particularly strong series of holes) climbs to the highest point on the course, where a panoramic view of the Vegas skyline is suddenly revealed. No. 13 is a short par-4 that drops 160 feet from tee to fairway, with an elevated green tucked to the right behind a spectacular rock formation.

Course conditions are consistently excellent, and the greens are widely regarded as among the best in the region. It’s something that’s often overlooked—we tend not to notice course conditioning unless it’s substandard—but it really adds to the experience at the resort.

That experience is only going to be enhanced with the addition of Rainbow Canyon Golf Club, a Tom Fazio design under construction in the rugged terrain along the lake’s northeast shore and scheduled to open in late 2007. With all this quality golf in a desert oasis setting only minutes from the action, Lake Las Vegas Resort is an increasingly attractive alternative to the madness of the Vegas Strip.