February 10, 2010 (Las Vegas, Nevada)–If you’re coming to Las Vegas, chances are you’re going to gamble. And if you’re playing golf at one of 50 Las Vegas golf courses such as Rhodes Ranch Golf Club, you’ll have chances to gamble on the golf course as well. Click now to view the official website of this Las Vegas golf course that is nestled in the southwest corner in Las Vegas’ golf mecca. Rhodes Ranch, a Ted Robinson design, offers several risk/reward options.–By Bill Bowman.
It’s a design Las Vegas golf course that attracts both locals and visitors and Tate Stull, General Manager, says the course itself is the main reason for repeat play. “We really push course conditions, value and it’s close to The Strip,” he says about the course where golfers travel through an oasis with white-sand bunkers, deep blue ponds and streams, and massive palm trees lining the fairways. “And it’s very playable. The last thing people want when they are playing golf is to get beat up on the course. Here, they can come out, enjoy the round and then get back to the rest of their trip.” Rhodes Ranch’s website offers locals and visitors the chance to sign up for e-club memberships to get all the latest and greatest deals.
It’s a couple of risk/reward Las Vegas golf holes on this par-72 design that will give players the option to gamble on the course. Playing around 320 yards from the tips, the par-4 8th hole and par-4 11th hole are both driveable depending on conditions, but water and bunkers guard the fairways and greens perfectly and add to the test. Feeling lucky? Here’s your chance to prove it. “Both holes are very intimidating,” says Stull. “Both of them are almost 100 percent carry and if you push either tee shot to the right, there’s a lot of trouble with water and desert area. There is bailout are to the left on both holes.”
The four par 3s are some of the finest. On the third, 14th and 16th holes, beauty and challenge collide. The third plays a whopping 227 yards from the tips with a pond guarding the right side and bunkers behind. The undulations make this no easy two-putt should your tee shot find the green. On the 14th, water front, back and left make club selection key. The 16th sees a stream feeding across the fairway to a pond on the right so carrying water with your tee shot is a must. This is the final par-3 in what Robinson calls his finest selections of par 3s. After playing these, you’re likely to agree.
“Players need to take an extra minute to make sure they’ve got the correct yardage,” Stull says. “With water lingering around these holes, they are very challenging. It’s best to just aim at the center of the green and forget about where the flag may be tucked.” And that's good advice for many of the golf holes at Rhodes Ranch as the greens, which roll true, are undulating and will test even the best putter in your group.–Bill Bowman is a contributor to GolfLasVegasNow.com and the former Editor of VegasGolfer Magazine, and is a committee member of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame.