Vegas (golf) and Phoenix (golf) ... mostly

Vegas

Stay: Imperial Pallor. Remodeled room was decent, the howl from Carnaval Court could not be totally drowned out by air conditioner noise.

Notable eats: Nora’s. As reported by others, very good “basic†(and that’s not a slam) Italian fare. We wolfed down a commendable Chateaubriand at the Pallor’s steak joint. It’s not Charlie Palmer Steak but more importantly it’s not Great Moments Room. Viva Mercado’s was markedly indifferent for lunch, which is the first time I can say that after a dozen or so visits. Could it be related to the pending move? Gotta give props to the Pallor's room service folks.

Play: Badlands (Diablo/Outlaw) – 89 from the tips; Troon Golf is running things at Badlands now and the change is bordering on phenomenal. On the crapper side, re-routing to accommodate the condo-towers on Desperado’s 9th remove the teeth from that once-stellar par 5 and return a Dentugrip-grade mid-length par 4 in their place. Also, a very bad decision on Diablo’s 4th (if someone buying a house on a course doesn’t see the course they deserve a few stucco-dings) puts the champ and back tees in an unplayable chute amidst the foliage … play that one from the added “pro†tee. LV National – no idea what I shot since it’s run by American Golf Corp. so that means after 4.5 hours plodding around the course I quit after 15 with four groups queued up ahead of us on 16. Paiute Sun Mountain – an ugly 41/54 = 95. I suck.

PGA Fall Expo: The move to Mandalay Bay’s conference center was a plus. But the show’s a dud and I doubt I’ll make it a three-peat next year. But I am quite impressed with the total line of goodies from Bridgestone.

Gambling: Played several hours of Jacks at MSS and LVH. Good beers at the former, one octogenarian cocktron sighted exactly once at the latter. $100 profit. Played a couple hours of vodka-hazed blackjack at the Pallor, scoring a small profit, then watched my bud toss the dice for 40 minutes w/o break.


Valley of the Sun

Stays: Westin Kierland and Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club. Hard to leave both places.

Notable eats: In-villa dinner prepared by Supe Mt. executive chef. Dinner brought to villa by line chef. The Good Egg at T-bird and Scottsdale. Roaring Fork ... 'nuff said about that place. The Kierland grub was pretty good.

Play: Kierland (Acacia/Ironwood) – 91. The Golf Club of Scottsdale – 84. Private Jay Morrish/Dick Bailey course between Troon and Rio Vista. It’s a “core†course meaning no houses and one you’d never tire of playing. An AZ top 10 easily. Just for giggles try the 500-yard par-4 18th from the tips. Superstition Mountain (Lost Gold) – 92. The LPGA-used Prospector track closed for overseeding the day we arrived. But after playing Lost Gold and driving Prospector, the pros should switch courses, methinks. Great members courses and I can’t remember a more driver-friendly Nicklaus design anywhere; he kills you on the greens.

Other fun stuff: Kierland has a three-part golf-improvement program with fitness training, clubfitting and instruction by top-drawer instructors Mike and Sandy Le Bauve. LeBauve (Mike) now has me (trying) to swing on an entirely new plane, I grunted my way through a session with the trainer (and could barely walk for two days) and I loved the fitting session. As for the latter, though I’ve gone through a number of such sessions, this had the advantage of launch monitors, green grass, course access and no single-manufacturer affiliation. Long-story short Ping appears to have fitted me properly for irons/wedges, I overload and overspin both stock drivers I play with (Ping G2 and TM R7 460), my fairway wood is ill-suited and I need longer, stiffer, higher-kick shafts in my hybrids. The driver session was most interesting because I could hit, say, a Nike Sasquatch with three different shaft/loft combos then do the same with Cleveland, etc., and long-story-short, I spec best into a 9.5* Callaway FT-3 draw-biased Tour head with a Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 73g 45†x-flex shaft. As for T, she went spa crazy.

Shopping: We both bought a ton of stuff (Vegas outlets, Nordy Rack and Nordy for me, Arizona Mills and Kierland Commons for T).

 

ken, ken, ken,
What ever happened to the hiking jag you and Terri were getting into?
It's sounding more and more of the same for you - good booze, good food and golfing. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

Damn, Andy, don't go bustin' a guy's chops when he's on the clock. Like I have any control over my assignments??????

 

so is it pretty safe to say that golf is now back to being expensive in vegas now that summer is gone? I used to be able to play for 40.00 bucks, anyone got some deals they want to share?

 

Where have you been playing???

OK, couple tips ...

1. Stand-By Golf
2. Craig Ranch. Until the city of NLV turns it into a park some time next year, nothing competes for price, and for less than a Jackson I am more than happy to "put up" with the course.
3. Durango Hills. Least talked about/best exec-length course in town. Bar none.
4. Boulder City
5. Boulder Creek.
6. Casablanca and Palms in Mesquite.
7. Mojave Golf Resort.
8. eBay/EZ-Links.
9. Paiute. Yes, Paiute. Dollar-for-dollar it has no equal at the top end.
10. Join a Club Corp of America club, buy the Signature Gold membership and play Canyon Gate and Bear's Best for cart fee-only.

 

well, when I go to Vegas, the guys and I like to drink the night before, so we wake up and play golf late the next day. I was getting great twilight rates (25.00 at SilverStone!) but now even the TW rates are crazy! I think well be trying out Craig Ranch, thanks!

 

Silverstone is one of those typical Vegas overrated/overpriced suckjobs. But at 25, I can hang with it. LOL

Craig is a goat-patch. Seriously. It's bare-bones but I love the no angst/no bullshit way about it and there are a couple driveable par 4s, and that's ALWAYS a good thing. And you can walk it for 19 bucks and that just doesn't happen up there. But it is b-bones. Back to the positive side of the meter, it ain't LVGC or National.

When Craig goes away, get familiar with the two courses owned by Boulder City, Durango and Stand-By.

 

Club Corp Offer

Ken,

Where can I get information on the Club Corp offer you wrote about three messages ago? That sounds like it could be a real good deal.

The best deal I ever have found in Vegas is the following:

I found a package for two foursomes at Rio Secco for $800 in late May two years ago from Vegas for Locals.

The other great deal I have found was winning an internet contest two years in a row from Revere Golf. That has saved us $195 per person two years in a row!

Thanks anyway Ken2V

 

Sorry, Wild, I meant it as a bit of a joke. Mostly because I'm pissed I gave up my membership and lost the perks. But long story short ...

... You'll need to join one of CCA's private clubs, which means paying the initiation, the monthlies and all that crap, and upgrade to Signature Gold Golf or Signature Gold Unlimited. Sig Gold entitles you to two rounds/month for cart-fee only at associate clubs outside your immediate area. In the case of Vegas, that would be Bear's Best and Canyon Gate, one of Ted Robinson's better designs. It's a GREAT program for players who travel a lot 'cause CCA has a couple hundred courses in its portfolio.