GolfNewsRI

I played TPC Las Vegas in the last week of October during my golf week adventure in Sin City. This was my third round of the week (I missed one scheduled round due to poor time management with that night’s U2 concert).

I played TPC LV one previous time this past February – which was ended after 9 ½ holes due to a freak snowstorm in the Vegas area.  This time I was hoping to play well and actually experience the second nine.

After my first round of the week, I realized that I should probably check my clubs in with the bellmen, so I didn’t have to carry my clubs through the entire hotel casino. During this round, I allowed plenty of time for my 9:00 AM tee time. 

However, I thought it would be more efficient if I called ahead from my hotel room with my ticket number. That made no difference as I waited just as long if not longer to get my clubs from the Bellagio storage.

As I have mentioned previously, the Bellagio is not Uber-friendly, so my MO has been to take an outgoing cab ride to my course of the day of play and take an Uber back to the hotel.  On this outgoing cab ride, the driver had no idea where we were going so we collaborated on the directions to the course.

When we arrived at the bag drop, I was warmly greeted and went into the pro shop and checked in.  TPC LV is right next to TPC Summerlin, but the differences are many. There are much fewer amenities at LV.

Certainly, the pro shop and clubhouse are much more utilitarian. The ranges are very different.  The Summerlin range is much nicer and practice ProV’s are available vs. the Pinnacles on LV.  There is no bottled water on the range here and no alignment sticks, no tees, etc… 

There is side storage on the carts for water and there is ice, but no water to be found.  LV does play music on the range which is a nice touch.  U2 is playing in the background ~ the Vegas band of the season due to their current residency at the Sphere.

TPC LV does have a nice electronic screen identifying the distance to the various colored flags.  It is a very nice touch and would be superb if everyone one of them wasn’t spectacularly incorrect.  However, this was a minor inconvenience compared to this past February in which we had a flash snow blizzard and the electronic weather monitor right outside the pro shop indicated a zero percent chance of participation.

After a very good long game warm up and short game session (TPC LV has very nice short game facilities), I checked in with the starter because my watch was off, and I wanted to be sure I did not miss my tee time. 

Apparently, I was one group ahead in my check in and the starter was very rude to me. 

I didn’t want to do this, but I had enough of ignorant starters this week, so I was nice and chatted up this starter a little bit and found out he has been there for 17 years so it’s probably not a training issue.  I finally baited him into asking me what I do, and I told him “I write golf course reviews for a golf publication.”  He instantly became a super nice guy and was very accommodating to me. 

I would have thought more of him if he remained a jerk.

However, my luck changes and I am matched up with four gentlemen visiting Vegas from Mexico City.  I say four because one did not play, but was there to ride in the cart.

They were a breath of fresh air as they easily changed from English to Spanish and golf etiquette is also a universal language as well.  I found out that they were visiting for the weekend from Mexico City mainly to see the U2 concert at the new Sphere.  I had seen that show two nights earlier and between that commonality and their good nature and good playing, I thoroughly enjoyed their company. 

Did you know 18% of the entire population of Mexico live in greater Mexico City.

The course is in very good shape.  

We play from 6,700 yards which was a lot for me, but I drove the ball very well and got better distance from the tight fairways and higher altitude.  The best thing that really helped my game is I took a 60-degree Vokey wedge with me that had a bounce more suited for desert golf. 

It helped me garner a lot of up and downs.  It was so helpful that I didn’t really pay attention to my total score until the end, and I shot 41-41 for an 82 which felt like an 88 to me.  I counted / rechecked the score four times and was delighted with the outcome.

I give the course conditions a B+.  The greens were much slower than TPC Summerlin and Bali Hai (at least the nine I played).  The layout is very nice but inferior to TPC Summerlin. 

The interactive hole map on each cart is extremely helpful and gives touch screen distances to penalty areas etc… it makes a big difference in my course confidence. 

TPC Las Vegas provided an enjoyable round of golf, but when you consider the lack of amenities for the current seasons hefty price tag ~ upwards to $350 per player, I found the value proposition a little weak. Based upon, similar surrounding courses, I feel the course is worth about $225-250 per player. 

For example, I can bring a guest to superior TPC Summerlin for $265.   When I return to the LV area, I will likely choose other courses.