Lake Las Vegas for Great Golfing
Two Public Courses Offer Both Challenges and Scenic Views
Although they share the same owneership, these Lake Las Vegas courses are significantly different as far as design and ambience are concerned.
At Lake Las Vegas, a duo of nationally ranked golf courses, Reflection Bay and The Falls, host big-money tournaments each year. Because they’re both public courses, visitors can enjoy playing them, too.
Reflection Bay
Frequently included by Golf Digest as one of the “Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play,” Reflection Bay opened in 1998. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, it’s a 7,261-yard, par 72 course that’s as scenic as it is challenging. While several holes play along a 1.6 mile stretch of the lake, holes 8, 9, 17 and 18 virtually hug the lake’s shoreline. Views from the course are stunning, with mountains as a backdrop and MonteLago Village across the water (par three, 199-yard eighth hole, is the course’s scenic stand-out)..
Host course for the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, which is televised nationally, Reflection Bay is also home base for The Golf Institute at Lake Las Vegas Resort. The Institute offers half- to three-day group sessions as well as private lessons . The half-day "short Game School" includes putting, chipping, pitching and bunker play with a 4:1 student to teacher ratio. The three-session program, which consists of three half-day sessions, involves full swing, short game practice procedures and video analysis.
The clubhouse, in keeping with Lake Las Vegas’ Tuscan ambience, is an attractive red building that looks transplanted from a Northern Italy hillside. Inside, MiraLago Café’s menu features traditional Mediterranean fare and the Golf Shop, traditional brand-name clothing.
The Falls Golf Course
The Falls Golf Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, opened in 2002. The course leads golfers from the desert floor’s front nine to a mountainous back nine, with panoramic views of the lake to the east and a distant Las Vegas Strip to the west. The 7,250-yard, par-72 course provides challenge in the form of both its elevation changes and numerous water hazards. Hole 12, with the top of the Stratosphere (on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip) at eye level, is considered the course's most picturesque.
Inside The Falls' rustic stone clubhouse, The Vineyard serves full course dinners along with dramatic views from the picture windows. The Golf Shop contains the same sort of merchandise as its twin at Reflection Bay. Both course clubhouses also contain beverage lounges, meeting rooms and outdoor terraces.
The Third Course
Lake Las Vegas’ third course, SouthShore Golf Club, also designed by Nicklaus, is a private course for homeowners. It’s also rated as one of the country’s top courses by golfing publications.
Under Construction
A fourth course, created by Tom Fazio and called Rainbow Canyon, is currently under construction. The new course is set in the rugged mountains on the north shore of the lake adjacent to Reflection Bay Golf Course and will stretch from the lakeshore to the Rainbow Gardens Geological Preserve. Views will include Lake Mead, Rainbow Gardens and Lake Las Vegas Resort. For further information, go to .lakelasvegas.
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