A Golfer’s Guide To Las Vegas

As spring takes hold across the northern United States, Vegas weather and golf conditions are less of a gamble. The volume and quality make a trip to the desert a best bet.

Vegas offers something other desert golf destinations cannot: seemingly unlimited options for off-course amenities and attractions. Its reputation as Sin City may have golfers balking at early morning tee times and 36-hole days, but the course quality, proximity of options, and beautiful designs may have you extending your stay.

The average Vegas trip is estimated to last three days. The ideal Vegas golf trip should last five.

As the plane descends and the mountains and the Sphere come into view, the heat builds, and green oases boldly stand in contrast against the sand and rocky ground. Sin City even offers guests the opportunity to test their luck in the airport, with slot machines lining the way to baggage claim.

The first stop: the hotel of your choice. Something with a pool deck to help you acclimate to the endless sunshine and warmth is recommended. After an afternoon in the sun, a nice dinner and a few rounds at the tables, it’s time to rest for the rounds ahead.

Cabot—the owners of Cabot Citrus, Cabot St. Lucia, Cabot Highlands, and Cabot Cape Breton—are now managing two exceptional properties in the Las Vegas area. The former Rio Secco, site of professional tournaments, is under new management as Serket.

Serket winds through the valleys above the Strip. The course opens with a handshake—a straightforward par 4—but quickly shows its teeth as holes begin to dogleg right and left. The challenge comes early, with holes 2–5 serving as a gauntlet. This four-hole stretch has some of the narrowest driving lanes on the course, requiring shot shaping to find firm fairways. It also offers one of the best scoring opportunities, with a slightly downhill, drivable par 4.

The final two holes of the front nine offer a rare back-to-back par-five scoring opportunity. Hole 12 provides the greatest vista on the course. This relatively short par 3, measuring 170 yards from the back tees, plays over a large desert wash. The green sits slightly elevated, hidden from the tee box.

The finishing three holes provide a perfect end to the round. The par-3 16th is the first time water comes into play, followed by a reachable par 5 requiring a forced carry over desert near the green site. The final crescendo is a 440-yard par 4 playing back toward the clubhouse, where a large deck awaits victorious—or frustrated—players.

The drive back to the Strip is all downhill.

Well-rested after a night of licking your wounds and counting your remaining golf balls like poker chips, day two in Las Vegas calls for 36 holes. The shortest ride of the week is as much a trip across town as it is a step back in time.

The first stop is a Tour course famous for its role in Tiger Woods’ first PGA Tour win. Las Vegas National may be even more recognizable for the homes lining the left side of the first tee. Casino was filmed on the property and featured it more prominently than Tiger Woods’ even-par round en route to winning the 1996 Las Vegas Open.

A short drive to the gates of Las Vegas Country Club takes you through an older side of Vegas, past mid-century modern homes from the gangster era. The gates slowly swing open to reveal lush greens and a beautiful clubhouse that feels like a time capsule, surrounded by newer high-rises.

The FBI once made an unexpected landing here.

On October 12, 1981, while conducting surveillance on club members, FBI agents piloting a plane ran out of fuel and were forced to land immediately. Their best option was the pond left of the 10th green. In 2019, members replaced the Cessna 172, making it a permanent fixture in the pond.

In recent years, the club hosted a LIV Golf event in 2024 and a preseason event in 2026. This classic layout—featuring rolling fairways, white sand bunkers, raised and sloping greens, and mature trees reminiscent of the Midwest—offers a refreshing contrast to the surrounding desert and the city’s noise and lights.

The clubhouse features a large wooden bar buzzing with stories from both the course and the casino floor. The pro shop is well stocked with merchandise bearing the LVCC logo—a fleur-de-lis—alongside gambling-themed designs.

Established in 1967, LVCC is a par-72, 7,203-yard course originally designed by Edmund B. Ault and later refined by Ron Garl and Mark Rathert. The “12” on the Stimpmeter sign reads as a warning before heading to the first tee.

Out on the course, you’re greeted with lush rough, strategically placed bunkers, raised greens, and a surprising amount of water. The iconic 9th hole is a shorter par 5 that doglegs left to a peninsula green surrounded by water on three sides. Its large, tiered putting surface sits in the shadow of the clubhouse patio.

The 18th finishes in a similar fashion. This dogleg-right par 5 features bunkers along the turn, while the green is guarded by a large pond on the right and front. A waterfall flows gently into the pond under the glow of the Westgate Hotel.

Playing Las Vegas Country Club is a round you won’t want to end. The day feels like a step back in time—when Dean Martin and Frank Rosenthal walked both the fairways and the casino floor.

The final golf stop is a modern masterpiece of routing. Cascata bends the laws of nature in the mountains southeast of Vegas. Designed by Rees Jones, the course winds through canyons, carving ribbons of green into the arid desert.

The course feels truly remote. Originally built as a Caesars Resort amenity, there are no homes lining the fairways or greens. The opening climb carries golfers into the wilderness, where bighorn sheep may wander across the fairway.

The course rises nearly 1,000 feet into desert mountains and into a prevailing wind. Even on calm days, the fairways can feel narrow; when the wind whips through the canyons, those green ribbons can feel impossibly distant. After two climbing holes, the par-5 third tumbles downhill, revealing a basin stretching for miles. The vista is breathtaking.

The sense of wonder deepens as you take in the lush conditions set against such an inhospitable landscape.

No oasis would be complete without water. In addition to the stream and waterfall flowing through the clubhouse, four holes feature water hazards. The first hole includes a strong flowing stream, but the real test comes at the par-3 fourth, where the green is flanked by water left and a bunker right.

The collection of par 3s at Cascata is especially memorable. Two play uphill through carved desert canyons, while the others plunge downhill toward the valley below.

The constant visual stimulation at Cascata can be overwhelming—in the best way. To take the edge off, the club offers a taco truck at the turn. The carne asada tacos come highly recommended, though they occasionally sell out. A margarita pairs well.

The final stretch cascades back toward the clubhouse. A par-5, long par-4, par-5 finish presents both scoring opportunities and a final challenge. The 18th features the largest water hazard on the course, with a bifurcating stream feeding into a greenside pond. Palm trees dot the rough, signaling that the end is near.

As the clubhouse doors open and the cart rolls inside, there’s a sense of both relief and loss—relief at completing the round, and loss that there aren’t a few more holes left to play.

Carry that feeling with you to the tables, slots, or wheel.

It can’t get any worse.