If you are in the Ft Walton/Destin area, put this course on your list of places to play. This course is a hidden gem in many aspects. I was originally going to play a few days ago and the experience began by meeting the pro when I checked in. The customer service was warm and friendly. Truly they live up to the motto "Where you are always treated like a champion". I only played three holes before having to stop due to a thunderstorm. Fast forward a couple of days and I redeem my rain check. upon showing up, the club pro remembered me by name no less and even got me out before a large group as a single.

On to the course. This is definitely a challenging track. On quite a few holes (I don't recall the exact holes) the layout plays about a half club longer than the yardage on my skycaddie. In retrospect, these holes were slightly and deceptively a tad up hill. Most of the fairways a wide enough you can hit driver but there are a few holes that require a shorter club off the tee. Hitting into the greens is going to require your best effort. The greens for the most part are pretty small so hitting to the middle rather than firing at the pin seemed to work out better for me in most instances. There were a few greens that were multi-tier so hitting to that portion was the better shot selection. You can easily see the layout of the green from your approach shot to aid in your shot selection.

The greens were very receptive; my ball was never more that a foot and a half from the ball mark. The ball marks weren't deep at all but that's due to the type of soil in the area. The greens rolled at a nice quick pace - not overly fast but definitely quick. They were true and smooth - just putt them as you read them as there weren't any tricky reads that I encountered.

Initially I was skeptical of what I was going to encounter as one of the neighborhoods you drive through before the course isn't that nice. However, they have put a lot of money into the course and it is definitely apparent. The driving range is pretty level and flat so finding a good spot to warm up was pretty easy.

The only knock against the place is the girl in the concession area. On both trips here she was pretty snotty and did not pay attention very well when orders were placed. Hopefully I will get back there to play at least once more while I am here.

This is a pretty fun track on the western side of the Florida Panhandle. They advertise water hazards on 14 of 18 holes and they weren't kidding. However, the water is not always in play and often times did not factor into shot making. On several of the holes the water parallels the hole so depending upon your shot shape off you may have a different experience. There are very few trees on the course and the rough is barely longer than the fairways so you won't get into a lot of trouble on this course. The course doesn't go back in towards the clubhouse at the turn. The day I played, the outward nine played into the wind but I was rewarded on the inward nine as I was with the wind on a lot of holes. Finding the 17th tee box was a challenge as it was a long way from the 16th green and not well marked. Just drive back toward the clubhouse on the cart path and you will eventually see it. The course itself was in pretty good shape. The fairways and greens were nice without many bare spots. The tee boxes were a little chewed up but passable. The sand traps were another story. The sand was wet so you need to take that into consideration as the club will bounce off the ground if you open it up. All in all, great track and I would definitely play it again.

This is a pretty fun course out in the Henderson area. It's a fun track that is out in front of you on every hole, just play it as you see it. The driving range was grass and in pretty good shape and the staff seems to take care to rotate the hitting areas so there is nice turf to hit from. The tee boxes and fairways we lush and easy to hit from. The greens had been aerated recently and although not terribly bumpy they are probably two weeks from being really healthy and smooth. They were very receptive and the ball stopped just fine but with the sand and holes they were rolling pretty slow.

Pretty good course and worth playing while in Vegas, probably somewhere in the middle of the pack in comparison to other courses available to play depending on the greens fees.

If you have not had the opportunity to play Rio Secco, you should put it on your lust of must play courses in Las Vegas. This is the home of the Butch Harmon school and "3 Tour Challenge". This is a deceptively challenging course. The fairways are wide and greens are pretty large. However there are a lot of subtle elevation changes that you will need to pay attention to when hitting into the greens.

The greens were quick and true especially above the hole. Surprisingly, the sand traps were not baked out and played like they should have. The bounce of the club would make the thump sound like you would expect.

The driving range is turf with a fair amount of slack in it. It was pretty spongy and lumpy so the warm up session can get a little frustrating. The starter was amazing. He recognized I was a single that had been paired up with a twosome that hadn't arrived. He asked if I wanted to get out early before a foursome went out.

You can hit driver on almost every hole with a mid iron to wedge left into the green. The fairways are pretty wide with generous landing areas.

This is a great course and the value is well worth it especially if you sign up for their email specials.

This is a course I have had in the back of my mind to play for quite a while traveling to Vegas. I found a pretty good rate from an online tee time site. All in all, this course was pretty challenging. Many of the greens on the front nine are elevated and play about a half club longer when hitting into them. The fairways are pretty generous and offer a wide target to hit into. For the most part, you can hit driver off of almost every tee with only a couple of exceptions. The greens were in really good shape and rolled quick and true. Pay attention to where the Stratosphere Casino is as your putt will slightly break in that direction, just enough to move outside the hole. I played in the afternoon after a tournament had finished and didn't have anyone in front of me the whole day so the pace of play was not an issue. Each cart is stocked with bottled water which makes up for the few coolers that are around the course. Although I haven't played any of the courses the holes are modeled after, this is a great course on it's own. It will definitely challenge you especially when the wind kicks up. The back nine seemed to play a lot easier than the front nine. There is a drivable par four, both par 5s are reachable with a good drive and the first par 3 is really short. The approach shot into 18 will give you all you can handle with and huge 2 tier green. The front nine like I said played a bit longer into the green and I had a tough time judging the yardages.

The only knocks are that the driving range uses a long strip of turf that is lumpy. It looks like chewed bubblegum and finding a flat spot to hit from was near impossible. The greenside bunkers were also really hard and baked out. They were so hard the bounce of my wedge would skid across the top regardless of how much or little the club face was open.

I want to play this course again as it presents one of the better challenges I have seen in Vegas. Lastly, the houses that surround the course are amazing almost to the point of being distracting. Some of the most incredible architecture I have ever seen.

This is a pretty fun course. Up front, I want to tell you that most of the holes are driver, wedge or short iron so it won't tax your game management. That being said the conditions were incredible. The fairways were lush and green, the tee boxes for the most part had plenty of well kept areas to tee your ball, and the greens rolled true and were receptive. The greens were a little on the slower side but definitely not sluggish, just not quite as quick as I had anticipated. All in all, it was a fun track to play and I would play it again for the right price. The pace of play was good, I got around it in just under 3 hours although I was a single going out at 7:30 on a Friday morning. Definitely one to consider if you are visiting Las Vegas and want to play a course that you will enjoy on your vacation.

This course is one of my favorites to play when in Las Vegas. Troon Golf took ownership a few years ago so that in my mind is a guarantee the course conditions will be incredible and they were. The greens rolled quick and smoothly. Although many of the greens read as though there will be some break to them, they generally don't so just putt it at the hole. The pace of play was great and we didn't wait on any shot. However, it was a Monday afternoon and 110 degrees so that probably contributed to the faster pace of play. The only drawback with this course is the greens fees are high. If you look around on the online discount tee time websites you can get a pretty good deal. I found a rate of $15 and there were generally at least $50 at other times during the day. I would definitely recommend this course. It's very playable and forgiving and a lot of fun. There isn't a lot of hidden trouble, in fact it's only on holes 3,14,16 and 17. If you don't have a GPs with the hole description, each cart comes with a yardage card.

Lastly, I was only in one bunker and my playing partner was in a few. There wasn't a lot of sand and the club would skid across the surface so you have to keep that in mind.

Enjoy

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This course is a gem in the middle of nowhere and will surely challenge everyone who plays it. The fairways and tee boxes are in incredible shape. The greens seemed a little beat up--there were spike marks everywhere and it there were ball marks everywhere. However, the greens rolled incredible true despite the visual condition. The starter told us they were quicker rolling to the east and slower to the west and he was right. You will be punished if you miss on the wrong side of the cup. The fairways are full of undulations and paying attention to the elevation changes into the green is a must. Be prepared to hit every club in your bag but if you play smart you can post a good score. That being said, I think this is one of the most challenging courses I have played during my trips to Vegas and can't wait to play it again.

Best of luck.

I played this course the morning I arrived in Las Vegas. When I arrived, the marshal told me there was an amateur tournament going on and that the place of play was slightly behind but should pick up an hour or so after my round started. The staff was really helpful and extremely polite. The starter got me out about 20 minutes early and was really accommodating. The course was in phenomenal condition. The tee boxes and fairways were really lush and green and the greens were very receptive but a little bit on the slow side. The elevation changes definitely factored into shot selection. The pace of play never really picked up and we finished right at about the 5 hour mark and waited on almost every shot. That's really the only knock on this course is the pace of play. We never saw the marshal. I would definitely list this as a hidden gem and add it to a must play list in Vegas.