 Las Vegas Paiute Resort,
Las Vegas
Since opening in 1995, The
Las Vegas Paiute Resort has been known for excellent golf, beautiful
conditioning, and the only place in Nevada
where you can play Pete Dye golf courses.
The Wolf Course at Las Vegas Paiute Resort -- The
most difficult of the three Pete
Dye-designed courses at Paiute, the Wolf
Course is currently the longest course in Nevada. At 7,600
yards, this layout isn’t for the faint of heart.
The greens at the Wolf
Course hold shots about as well as a buttered tabletop. Bring an arsenal
of wedges with your clubs, because it will be difficult to stick anything
with more than an 8-iron. Unless you crush it off the tee, some of the
par-4s might as well be par-5s.
The course’s finishing hole illustrates this point. At 476
yards, any wind will put your shot down much sooner than you’d
like. Any hint of a slice could send your ball into the lake
that borders the hole’s entire right side.
Snow Mountain at Las Vegas Paiute Resort -- Snow
Mountain calls itself a kinder, gentler Pete Dye design.
There are still all the pot bunkers you can throw a club at,
but this course does have wide fairways and larger greens.
The Resort, owned by the Paiute Indians and built on the reservation,
is among the most complete Las
Vegas golf vacation destinations.
The massive purplish-gray mountains that provide the backdrop
for a course designed with the resort player in mind. More
scenic and less menacing than the resort’s Wolf Course, Snow
Mountain has a secluded feeling that can’t be found at many
other Las Vegas golf courses.
A 552-yard, par-5, No. 3 requires a solid tee shot or you
might have to lay up in front of the water-guarded green.
The 342-yard 13th is a short par-4 that offers a chance to
shoot over a waste area and cut down the hole’s distance.
Hit it solid and you should find a small landing area 50 feet
in front of the green. Snow Mountain offers this type of risk-reward
golf that won’t leave the bruises of other Dye courses.
Sun Mountain at Las Vegas Paiute Resort -- No Las
Vegas golf vacation would be complete without a stop at
Las Vegas Paiute Resort. One of three Pete Dye designs here,
Sun Mountain is a lush, rolling course that will make you
take out every golf club in your bag. Sun Mountain is also
named Tav-ai Kaiv by the Paiute Indians who own the resort
and the reservation its built on.
The greens here are softer and more undulating than at the
Snow Mountain tract. Four lakes come into play on four holes.
On most holes there are generous landing areas, but only if
you can get over the water or fairway bunkering. Dye uses
water and sod-faced bunkers almost interchangeably to test
golfers approach shots. You’ll see some of Dye’s trademark
railroad ties on the par-4 sixth. They line the bunkers to
create thin, sand-filled lanes waiting to funnel any ball
into the sand
The scenery at Sun Mountain matches its desert style and
location. Yucca and Joshua Trees and native flowers run alongside
most holes. This unembellished beauty is capped off by the
views of the Sheep Mountains you get from many tee boxes.
RAVE
OF THE DAY, from TravelGolf.com
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