February 22, 2010 (Las Vegas, Nevada)—Golfers flock by the thousands to play fabulous Las Vegas golf courses every day of the year. It’s the same with professional golfers, many of whom now call Las Vegas home. Take TPC Las Vegas for instance. In the past few weeks, no less than a dozen Tour players have either taken time out to work on their game on the range or played this resort Las Vegas golf course.—By Bill Bowman
Those players include Bill Lunde, Rickie Fowler, Alex Cejka, Alex Prugh, John Mallinger, Bob May, Won Joon Lee, Jeff Gallagher, Ernie Gonzalez, Bob Byman, Kevin Na, Charley Hoffman and Scott Piercy. With more than 30 PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, LPGA Tour and Champions Tour players roaming the Vegas fairways, there’s a great chance you’ll run into one or more on the tee or the practice area of TPC Las Vegas. "Golfers see all of the players' bags in the golf shop and ask if they ever come out to play,” said Todd Hajduk, TPC Las Vegas’ head golf professional. “The guests definitely feel a connection when we tell them that they can see these players as they go past the No. 2 tee. As part of the PGA TOUR, we pride ourselves on welcoming these players to our property and giving them the opportunity to prepare themselves for the upcoming season."
TPC Las Vegas was designed by PGA Tour Design Services Lead Architect Bobby Weed with consultation by World Golf Hall of Fame member Raymond Floyd. This Las Vegas golf course is true desert golf as holes play nicely through the desert terrain and around deep canyons (hence the former name TPC at The Canyons). The course is always in PGA Tour condition and up until a couple of years ago was used in the rotation when the PGA Tour stopped in Las Vegas.
The second hole at TPC Las Vegas gives players an excellent idea of what to expect during their trek. It’s an island green, but without the water. The green is perched some 20 feet above the desert floor. Hit the green, no problem. Miss it and you’re reloading because hitting from the desert floor isn’t your best option. On most holes at TPC Las Vegas, accuracy is at a premium. At 7,063 yards it’s still got plenty of bite, but finding fairways and avoiding the pitfalls of the canyons that come into play early and often is the key to good scoring. Add in an impressive two-ended practice facility, one of the best-stocked pro shops around and a grill that serves up a wide variety of entrees and you’ve got a world-class golf facility. Play here once and you’ll see why the pros keep coming back.