Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Leave it to Badlands Golf Club general manager Eric Dutt to introduce a new term into the lexicon of golf.
Dutt, who helped The Badlands become the first local course to allow its customers to make tee times via the Internet, has developed a new concept called "heli-golf."
In conjunction with two local businesses, Sundance Helicopters and On Demand Sedan, The Badlands is providing helicopter/golf packages at the Johnny Miller-designed course at Peccole Ranch.
For a fee of approximately $200 per person, which includes transportation, greens fees and breakfast or lunch, Sundance Helicopters will pick up customers at their hotel, transport them to a terminal at McCarran Airport and fly them to The Badlands, where golf carts will be waiting near the makeshift helipad adjacent to the No. 9 green.
Once they have completed their round and finished lunch, the golfers will be whisked back to their hotel in one of On Demand Sedan's chauffeured Lincoln Town Cars.
"It's different," Dutt said about the concept, in which the soon-to-be-opened Mt. Charleston Golf Resort and Seven Hills Country Club in Henderson also will participate. "We try to do things that I would like to do and, to me, this is fun."
While Dutt acknowledged that heli-golf is targeted at the tourist golfer, he said the possible addition of courses in Mesquite and Pahrump may make it more appealing to local golfers.
"The next step, obviously, is developing packages for some of those outlying golf courses that would include some kind of lodging to make it cost-effective for the helicopter portion," Dutt said. "Instead of driving to Players Island (in Mesquite), you have a heli-golf room package where they fly you out, drop you off, and the next morning another chopper brings you back.
"Something like that could have tremendous local appeal, especially at certain times of the year. During the summertime, the golf course and the room discounts that we could give would make the package really affordable."
The 10-minute chopper ride from McCarran to The Badlands takes passengers up the Strip, around the Stratosphere Tower, over Red Rock Canyon and back to the course. Dutt said the heli-golf packages will be available beginning later this month. For additional information, call The Badlands at 242-4653 or contact its website at http://www.badlandsgolf.com.
Chip shots ...
* SENIOR CLASSIC: A pair of 1997 Senior PGA Tour winners, David Graham and Boulder City resident Bud Allin, have committed to play in next month's Las Vegas Senior Classic. Allin picked up his first Senior PGA Tour victory two weeks ago at the American Express Invitational in Sarasota, Fla., and is fourth on the Senior Tour money list with $202,344. Graham, a former U.S. Open champion, became eligible to play in the Las Vegas Senior Classic by winning the GTE Classic last month. He ranks second on the money list with $269,920 in earnings. The 1997 Las Vegas Senior Classic, presented by TruGreen-ChemLawn, will be played April 25-27 at the Tournament Players Club at The Canyons.
* UNLV UPDATE: The UNLV golf team will resume its spring schedule this weekend at the Golf Digest Invitational in Houston. The following week, the Rebels will compete in the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas. UNLV is ranked No. 1 in the Rolex Collegiate Rankings and shares the top spot with Oklahoma State in the Golf Week poll.
* WEBER STATE FUND-RAISER: Weber State University will sponsor a Gridiron Golf Tournament April 4 as part of a fund-raising effort for the university's football program. The 18-hole, four-person scramble will be held at Black Mountain Golf & Country Club in Henderson. The $75 entry fee includes greens fees, cart and lunch. Prizes will be awarded for longest drive, closest to the hole and best team score. Registration deadline is March 28. Call John Knight at (801) 626-6972 or Steve Hanrahan at (702) 363-6668 for additional information.
* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour remains in Florida this week for the $1.5 million Honda Classic at TPC at Heron Bay in Coral Springs. Tim Herron is the defending champion. The USA cable network and NBC will televise. ... The Senior PGA Tour is in Newport Beach, Calif., for the $1 million Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club. Las Vegan Jim Colbert won last year's event. ESPN will televise. ... The LPGA Tour will stage the $500,000 Welch's/Circle K Championship at Randolph Park North Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. Liselotte Neumann is the defending champion. ... The Nike Tour resumes this week with the Monterrey Open at Club Campestre in Monterrey, Mexico.
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