 May 3, 2007--Stephanie Louden has earned more than $475,000 playing golf on the LPGA Tour, but her golf story starts many years ago at Las Vegas Golf Club, affectionately known as "Muni". The course is Las Vegas' oldest, and is the place where the true local--and sometimes the lucky visitor--plays. It was built in 1945 and was designed by Casey O' Callahan, and has been played numerous times by any Las Vegas golfer who has game including current PGA Tour stars Robert Gamez and Craig Barlow, former PGA Tour player Edward Fryatt, and aspiring PGA Tour pro Scott Piercy. And Stephanie's husband, Mike, a pro himself who now caddies for her. "I grew up over at Muni, and there were always a bunch of kids, mostly guys, about 10 of them, who would show up on Saturday morning," Louden recently told VegasGolfer Magazine writer Matt Jacob. "We were about 10 years old, and we'd just hang out all day on Saturday, golfing around, chipping over the hedges, anything to keep ourselves occupied. And we all got better and became pretty good friends."
The club was once operated by Champions Tour star Jim Colbert, but is now run by the American Golf Corporation. The course is a traditional layout with back-to-back fairways, plenty of trees, reachable par fives, and plenty of history. Other Las Vegas golf courses operated by the American Golf Corporation include Painted Desert Golf Club, Las Vegas National Golf Club and Desert Rose Golf Club. Any golfer can find good value by playing Las Vegas Golf Club, but due to its popularity, tee times are tough to come by at times, but it's worth the effort to get one. Going through the official website is a good way to get a starting time. Official Las Vegas Golf Club website and tee times The course is also known as the "front yard" of Siegfried and Roy. Every once in awhile, a roar of a tiger can be heard alongside the fairway of the 15th hole. Across the street that lines the course sits the Siegfried and Roy compound, complete with several animals living in the backyard. And the course was the site of Las Vegas golf's most notorious course record. The legendary Monte Money (only in Vegas, right?) shot a 14-under par 58, and swilled about that many beers while doing it. PHOTO: LPGA.com |
