Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1997 | 11:15 a.m.
BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His golf column appears Tuesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]
Nestled in the extreme southwest corner of Las Vegas, the new Rhodes Ranch Golf Club may be the best-kept secret in the valley.
Opened less than three weeks ago amid virtually no fanfare, the Ted Robinson design won't keep its low profile for long once word gets out about this 6,885-yard championship course near the corner of Warm Springs Road and Durango Drive.
At first glance, Rhodes Ranch appears a pushover for the better golfer: From the back tees, the course measures a modest 6,855 yards; it's 6,397 from the blue tees and 6,003 from the whites. Figure in the generous fairways and large greens and one might expect a career round at the course's expense.
Robinson, however, has incorporated some serious mounding, numerous fairway bunkers and plenty of water to bring challenge to the layout.
"It's player-friendly, but from the back (tees) it's a pretty good test," head golf professional Steve Butler said. "We have a lot of water -- we have eight lakes -- and we have a lot of sand traps, so that makes it more difficult. It's on 135 acres of turfgrass, so there's a lot of area to land your errant drives ... but you get some uneven lies because there's some mounding."
And, Butler cautioned, once the greens mature and speed up, Rhodes Ranch will become even more of a test.
"The greens will be really fast come March and that will make a big difference," Butler said. "The greens are receptive and I think they're the best-built greens in the whole area. That was our goal -- to have the best greens in Las Vegas, and Ted oversaw that whole process."
Although the golf course is the centerpiece of the 1,500-acre Rhodes Ranch master-planned community, it will remain open to public and resort play. Clark County residents can play the new tract for $48 through December with a coupon running in local newspapers. After the first of the year, the resident rates will go up to $65 Monday through Thursday and $75 Friday through Sunday.
Rhodes Ranch also will offer a player access card ($200 annual fee) which will entitle locals to play for $48 seven days a week and $30 during the summer.
Although it has been open for less than a month, Rhodes Ranch is in near-immaculate condition and is extremely playable without some of the nuisances (i.e., kicking up gravel on fairway shots) that are inherent with many young courses.
The secret is out.
Around the green
Primm Valley Golf Club, the Tom Fazio design at the California-Nevada border, has been named one of the Best New Upscale Public Courses by Golf Digest magazine. The 6,945-yard tract, which actually is located in Nipton, Calif., was ranked eighth among new courses charging $50 or more. ... The Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association is holding three tournaments in coming weeks. The first is the Thanksgiving Junior Classic on Friday on the Cloud Nine Course at Angel Park Golf Club. On Dec. 17, the Las Vegas chapter of the Professional Golfers Association and the SNJGA will hold a pro-junior tournament at The Badlands Golf Club. On Dec. 29 and 30, the Greenspun Inc., Holiday Tournament will be staged at Black Mountain Country Club in Henderson. Entry forms can be obtained through the SNJGA at 433-8905.
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