Unveiling The Best Golf Course In Nevada: Top 12 Picks
Nevada, also known as the “Silver State,” is famous for its high-end resorts, lively nightlife, and, of course, its great golf courses.
For avid golfers, Silver State offers an array of golf courses that cater to every skill level, from beginner to pro. Nevada’s golf courses are designed to showcase the state’s natural beauty while providing an unparalleled golfing experience.
In this article, we have compiled a list of Nevada’s 12 best courses you won’t want to miss. So, let’s dive in and uncover the best golf courses Nevada offers.
12 Best Golf Courses in Nevada
Nevada has successfully expanded its appeal to golf enthusiasts by providing world-class golfing facilities that cater to their preferences. Here is a list of 12 public-access golf courses in Nevada state.
1. Shadow Creek
Shadow Creek, located in North Las Vegas, is renowned as one of the world’s most exclusive and prestigious golf courses. Designed by Tom Fazio, the course features a stunning and challenging layout, including rolling hills, water features, and plenty of bunkers.
With limited tee times available, Shadow Creek offers a truly exclusive and private golfing experience. However, this exclusivity comes with a hefty price tag, and access is limited to those staying at an MGM property.
Despite the high cost and exclusivity, Shadow Creek is considered to offer the best golfing experience in Las Vegas.
The course is designed to challenge even the most seasoned golfers, with each hole requiring precise course management and skill. Shadow Creek is not ideal for high handicappers and beginners due to its difficulty level.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: Low to mid handicappers
- Length: 7,560 yards
- Par: 72
- Type: Resort
- Access: Limited to guests of MGM Resorts
- Website: Shadow Creek
2. Cascata
Cascata, located in Boulder City, Nevada, a short drive from Las Vegas, is another exceptional golf course designed by Tom Fazio. The course boasts stunning mountain views and a challenging layout featuring elevation changes, water features, and large greens.
Cascata offers an exclusive golfing experience, with no development or highways to disrupt the round. The natural desert setting is well-contoured, with native flora and fauna. Water hazards can be found in a third of the holes, adding to the challenge.
The course requires golfers to make strategic judgments, such as evaluating whether the sloping ground will allow them to reach a par 5 in two shots. While play can be slow, the exclusivity of the golf club will enable players to take their time.
The lavish and extensive clubhouse features a practice area with a waterfall. Cascata is a top-tier golf course and is considered worth the high green fees, which are discounted for Harrah’s guests.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: Low to mid handicappers
- Length: 7,137 yards
- Par: 72
- Type: Mountain
- Access: Accessible to both resort guests and non-guests.
- Website: Cascata
3. Wolf Creek
Wolf Creek golf club in Mesquite, Nevada, is a challenging golf course renowned for its dramatic scenery, elevated tees and greens, and stunning rock formations.
Designed by Arnold Palmer, the course features deep canyons and true desert landscapes, making it a favorite among golfers looking for a unique playing experience.
The course was designed to put Mesquite golf on the map and has succeeded in doing so. With five sets of tees, Wolf Creek caters to players of all skill levels, and its crushed granite bunkers provide a distinctive feature. The second tee box is 11 stories high, offering golfers a fantastic course view.
- Holes: 18
- Playing handicap: All skill levels
- Par: 72
- Length: 6939 yards
- Type: Public
- Access: Both resort guests and visitors
- Website: Wolf Creek
4. Edgewood Tahoe
Edgewood Tahoe is a stunning golf course on Lake Tahoe’s shores, offering breathtaking views of the lake and mountains.
Designed by George Fazio and renovated by Tom Fazio, the course is challenging and scenic, with tree-lined fairways and well-manicured greens. It’s famous for hosting the American Century Championship, a celebrity-infused golf tournament that draws famous faces like Steph Curry and Charles Barkley to South Lake Tahoe.
The routing of the course features tall, stately pines and water hazards and nearly a dozen holes dogleg to the right, making it friendly for players of all levels.
Four holes offer beautiful views of the crystal blue lake, and the dramatic par 5-3-5 finish at holes 16 through 18 provides risk-reward scenarios coupled with unmatched scenery.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: All skill levels
- Par: 72
- Length: 7529 yards
- Type: Public
- Access: Public
- Website: Edgewood Tahoe
5. Wynn
The Wynn Golf Club is an exclusive course located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, available only to guests of the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore resorts.
Designed by Tom Fazio and Steve Wynn, the course features waterfalls, streams, and greenery, creating a beautiful oasis within the city. Despite its location, the course offers a formidable challenge with narrow landing areas, strategically placed bunkers, and water hazards in some holes.
The contoured fairways are lined with thousands of trees and shrubs, and the elevation changes make the lengthy course feel even longer. The Wynn Las Vegas golf course is a tough yet fair test that requires careful strategy and thought on every hole.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: low to mid handicappers
- Par: 70
- Length: 6722 yards
- Type: Public/Resort
- Access: Accessible to guests and public
- Website: Wynn
6. Coyote Springs
Coyote Springs Golf Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is a challenging and picturesque course located just north of Las Vegas. With over 40 bunkers and water features, the course offers a true test of golfing skill, while the desert landscape makes for a unique and challenging round.
At 7,441 yards from the championship tees, Coyote Springs is one of the long courses in the area, requiring optimal distance and accuracy for a satisfactory scorecard. Despite the beautiful scenery, the course offers many challenges, with water and bunkers awaiting golfers at almost every turn.
The par-5 second hole is particularly memorable, with bunkers at the second landing area requiring careful thought. Additionally, Coyote Springs boasts one of the largest practice facilities in the country, including 13 target greens and a short game area for pitching, chipping, and bunker practice.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: Low handicappers
- Par: 72
- Length: 7471 yards
- Type: Resort
- Access: Both visitors and guests
- Website: Coyote Springs
7. Reflection Bay at Lake Las Vegas Resort
Reflection Bay Golf Club, located in the luxurious Lake Las Vegas community, offers golfers a stunning course with beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus in 1998, the course is the only one in Nevada designated as a prestigious Jack Nicklaus Signature Design.
Reflection Bay has received numerous accolades, including hosting the PGA Tour’s Wendy’s 3 Tour Challenge. The course features waterfalls, sand bunkers, and well-manicured greens, providing a challenging yet picturesque round of golf.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: Low-mid handicappers
- Par: 72
- Length: 7261 yards
- Type: Public/Resort
- Access: Both visitors and guests
- Website: Reflection Bay
8. Incline Village (Championship)
Incline Village Championship Course is a picturesque golf course located in Incline Village, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., offering stunning views of the lake and surrounding mountains.
The course is challenging yet scenic, with tree-lined fairways, water features, and large greens. Its slope rating of over 140 will test even the most skilled golfers.
The course underwent a facelift in 2003 by golf course architect Kyle Phillips, costing nearly $5 million.
With two courses – the Championship and Mountain courses – Incline Village offers something for golfers of all levels and boasts outstanding service, conditioning, and top-notch practice facilities, making it a must-visit for a High Sierra golf vacation.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: Low, mid, and high handicappers
- Par: 58
- Length: 3527 yards
- Type: Resort
- Access: Both visitors and guests
- Website: Incline Village
9. TPC Las Vegas
TPC Las Vegas is a favorite golf course located in Summerlin that was designed by Bobby Weed and Raymond Floyd. The course boasts stunning desert landscapes, water features, and plenty of bunkers and is known for its challenging layout and fast greens.
As the premier PGA Tour facility in Vegas, it’s a popular destination for both professional players and casual golfers. The course offers scenic views of Red Rock Canyon and the surrounding mountains, contrasting lush greens, and rugged desert terrain.
The layout is challenging, especially on the back nine, with the par-4 13th hole, known as “Death Valley,” being a standout risk-reward opportunity. While the greens can be difficult, the fairways provide some margin for error, making TPC Las Vegas a must-play for golfers of all skill levels.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: Low, mid, and high handicappers
- Par: 71
- Length: 7104 yards
- Type: Public
- Access: Public
- Website: TPC Las Vegas
Golf Courses at Paiute Golf Resort
Each course at the Paiute Golf Resort offers an unforgettable golfing experience. All the courses have unique features and are designed by legendary golf course architect Pete Dye. With stunning views, challenging layouts, and exceptional design, these courses are a must-visit for anyone looking to play golf in Las Vegas, Nevada.
10. The Wolf
The Wolf course is a challenging and visually stunning layout with water features, desert landscapes, and elevated tees and greens. It is the newest of the three courses at the Paiute resort, measuring an impressive 7,604 yards.
The isolated course offers a beautiful scenery that can leave even experienced golfers in awe, with drives that can end up lost in the desert. Despite its distance from the city, it is a popular choice for locals and visitors looking for a high-end course. Also known as the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort – Kwetoo-Unuv Course.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: All skill levels but challenging for the higher handicapper
- Par: 72
- Length: 7604 yards
- Type: Resort
- Access: Visitors and guests
- Website: The Wolf
11. Sun Mountain
The course offers a more forgiving layout than the Wolf course at the same resort, with wider fairways and fewer hazards.
The course features stunning mountain views and rolling terrain, creating an almost links-style design. While straying from fairways can put you in fescue grass, it is not the ball-gobbling fescue one might expect from Dye. The course is still challenging, with bunkers that golfers will remember and lose sleep over.
The course makes good use of the vast Paiute landscape, with huge desert areas between the holes giving each hole a sense of isolation. Sun Mountain is suitable for golfers of all levels and is a highlight for those seeking a high-end golfing experience in the Vegas valley.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: mid to high handicappers
- Par: 72
- Length: 7112 yards
- Type: Resort
- Access: Visitors and guests
- Website: Sun Mountain
12. Snow Mountain
Snow Mountain is one of the three courses at the Paiute resort. It features well-manicured greens, water features, and stunning desert landscapes with signature railroad-tie bunkers.
This course is the original of the three courses at the resort and is 7,146 yards long, with water coming into play on seven holes. Its risk-reward layout is renowned for having the best par-3s, particularly the 16th hole, which offers a panoramic view of Sheep Mountain and requires a long carry of water.
However, a bailout area to the right allows for an easy up and down, and the greenside bunkers are rarely a problem.
- Holes: 18-holes
- Playing handicap: All skill levels
- Par: 72
- Length: 7146 yards
- Type: Resort
- Access: Visitors and guests
- Website: Snow Mountain
Other noteworthy courses in Nevada
While we have highlighted the Best Golf Course in Nevada, many other courses are worthy of mention. Some of these include
- Clear Creek, Carson City
- The Summit Club, Las Vegas
- Conestoga, Mesquite
- Rio Secco, Henderson
- Bear’s Best, Las Vegas
- Toiyabe Golf Club, Washoe Valley
- Falcon Ridge Golf Club, Mesquite
Our Take
With course rankings consistently placing Nevada courses among the best in the country, it’s no wonder golf enthusiasts flock to the state for their tee time. With its challenging layouts, stunning views, and unique features, Nevada has something for everyone.
