It has been a while since I submitted a review and in particular, a review about Las Vegas National. However, after the experience we had on Sunday (July 13th) I felt compelled to inform the Greenskeeper.org community.

I am normally not an overly critical person. I very rarely get upset by slow play and I typically can brush off less than optimal golf course conditions. That said, this Sunday at LV National I came about as close to losing my cool as I ever have on a golf course. The crazy part is that I have played LV National many times in the past two years and it is normally a great golfing experience. The course has consistently been in very good to great shape and the staff is always super friendly and very attentive. They are also always on top of tee times and I don't think we have ever tee'd off late in 15+ rounds there. That all changed on Sunday and I am not sure why.

My playing partner and I had a 5:40am tee time that we booked a couple weeks in advance since he is a player card member. This typically means we will tee odd second, and usually a few minutes after 5:30am. I arrived at the course around 5am to give me time to pay, check-in and stretch before we tee off. From the minute I pulled in I knew it was not going to be a good day. The parking lot was more full than normal and there was a group of guys yelling loudly as they walked into the clubhouse. I followed them and found my place in line to pay. I was the third person in line. The group of 7-8 loud and obnoxious guys were standing in a circle to the right of the pro shop throwing in cash and talking about pairings. My golf partner paid right before I did and then I walked up to the counter. The guy working the counter asked for my tee time and I said the name and time. He then asked for my ID. I have golfed for a couple years at the course and have never been asked for my ID to get the local rate. I explained that I leave my wallet in my car so that I don't run the risk of losing it and asked if it was really necessary to run out and get it. He gave me a "snippy" response and said "Get your ID or pay the full price." I of course conceded and ran to the parking lot.

When I returned, the clubhouse had emptied out, which seemed unusually quick since I did not see any of the guys pay, but I brushed it off. I showed my ID, paid the local rate and heading out toward the range. When I arrived at our cart my golf partner immediately said that he thought something was up because a group of guys just came running out and over to the first tee yelling the entire time. I realized who the guys were and we both agreed that something was fishy because we should have been the second group off. We approached the started and he just said to putt around and he will get us off when he can. My partner and I were furious now, but we were not going to let it get to our game. We headed to the practice area.

At a little after 6am the starter called our group and we were paired with a nice local couple. They had a 6am tee time and the four of us tee'd off a little after 6:10am (30+ minutes after our scheduled tee time. From here things only became more frustrating. The course let off 6 groups in front of us and we were supposed to be the second group off. The group immediate in front of us were horrible. Not only were they bad players playing from the tips when they should have been playing from the front tees, but they had no respect for the course, driving past the no-cart signs, right next to greens and back-and-forth down the fairways. By the 3rd hole they were one hole out of position and by the 6th hole they were two full holes out of position. Our group waited on every tee shot. To make matters worse, the group in front of us constantly left clubs and other crap on the previous hole and needed to come back to retrieve them.

On the 14th hole the nice couple playing with us finally had enough as it was getting hot and they decided to leave. My partner and I were not about to leave as we both had good scorecards (how ironic). We continued to hit and wait, hit and wait. And then we had two things happen that were the icing on the cake. On the 15th hole we flagged down the marshal/ranger to see what the story was and he suggested/blamed the first group off that morning. He also said that the guys in front of us were in the proper position. Now if you have ever played LV National you know that from the 15th fairway you can see the 17th green. As we waiting on the 15th fairway to hit our approach shots we could see the group two ahead of us walking off of the 17th green. There were now over two holes ahead of the group behind them. This would have been bad enough, but when we finally got to 18th tee we saw the same marshal/ranger on the tee with the group in front hitting one of their drivers, clearly a group of friends or regulars.

Needless to say, the round was the most frustrating round I have played since I took up the game and the crazy part is I shot several strokes better than my handicap, which should have made it a very good day. I have calmed down a lot since Sunday and so my review is far more reserved than it might have otherwise been. I am not sure I will ever play LV National again and my playing partner is going to try getting a refund for the player's card he recently purchased. I would also have a hard time recommending the course to others, which I frequently did in the past. I don't know if LV National's owner/manager will read this review, but I would advise him/her to check the receipts for July 13th. I don't have any hard evidence, but I would suspect that cash money changed hands in the clubhouse or with the started to bump several groups back to fit a large group of regulars without tee times in between a bunch of groups. This would be very disappointing if it was the case.

Finally, if you are going to venture out to LV National any time in the near future I recommend avoiding the bunkers at all costs. I would guess that 1 in 3 of them were infested with wasps/hornets. A couple times we allowed free relief and left balls in the bunkers because it was a bit too dangerous to swing with all of the wasps/hornets in there. The worst was the left green-side bunker on #2.

My apologies to the community for the long-winded review, but I think it is in everyone's interest to report less than ideal playing experiences. Know Before You Go.

On Saturday, February 15th, I played Las Vegas National Golf Club with GK-jeroethel . We had a 7:40am tee time and the weather was nearly perfect for February. By the time we tee’d off it was already in the high 50s and would eventually climb into the low 70s by the time we finished.

The club has a very attentive outside services staff that promptly meet you at your car, set you up with range balls and ensure the groups move off the first tee in an efficient manner. Of course, the nicest thing they do is fill the water bucket with warm water, which is great for the early morning tee times :)

LV National continues to be in very good condition with well-manicured fairways and lush rough. The greens were a bit firm and about average speed so lower trajectory approach shots tended to release. The only noticeable change from earlier in the winter was that the bunkers appeared to have been recently turned over and in many of them the sand was very deep. This made for several buried sand shots and a few times required more than one shot to successfully exit the bunker.

After the first couple holes the pace of play was a little slower than normal as we were about the sixth group off, but we still finished in just under 4 hours, which is always nice on a Saturday morning.

If you are a local Vegas resident or are just visiting the area you should add LV National to your list of places to check out. The rates for locals are very reasonable and the rates for tourists are competitive, considering how close the course is to The Strip.

On Thursday, February 13th I played Spanish Trail Country Club with GK-jeroethel and a member of the club. We had a 10:45am tee time and played the Canyon 9 and then the Lakes 9.

As always, the outside services staff was great. They met me at my car in the guest parking lot, picked up my bag and offered me a ride to the practice range. Spanish Trail has a very robust practice facility with a driving range, chipping green and putting green and there are plenty of golf balls available for all golfers (members & guests). The only small issue was that the driving range only had the mats open so I limited my practice swings.

We tee’d off right on time and played at a good pace for the first 9 holes. On the Canyon 9, the course was in very good shape. The tee boxes and fairways were nearly perfect and the greens rolled very true, although they were extremely fast (it was nearly impossible to stop a downhill putt). The bunkers were well manicured and in my limited experience they were easy to navigate. The course also played a bit easier than normal as the rough is dormant this time of year.

Our back-9 was played on the Lakes course and again the course was in very good shape. The rough is not dormant on Lakes at this time of year so it was a bit more of a challenge, but the greens appeared to be a bit slower so putting was easier than on the Canyon 9. The only two negatives about our Lakes experience was that: (a) the pace of play slowed as we ran into a couple slower twosomes in front of us; and (b) our electric cart ran out of juice. Apparently, this has been a problem for the club in recent months and the member we played with mentioned it happened to him during one of his last rounds. We called the clubhouse and they quickly sent out a new cart for us to finish our round so at least they are very attentive to the problem.

Overall, if you have a chance to play at Spanish Trail I highly recommend it.

Last Sunday (1/26) I played the Palm course at the Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, CA. Every year I manage to make one or two trips to the Palm Springs area and always stay at the JW Marriott to play at one of the resort’s two courses. If you are looking for a great place to stay with several nice restaurants, pools and a top tier SPA to compliment your getaway I highly recommend this resort.

My tee time was the first one of the day at 6:54am and I was a single. I arrived 45 minutes early and it was still dark, but the outside services staff was very pleasant and had me set-up within minutes of arriving. The same was true for the golf shop staff, which quickly got me out to the first tee. The range, which is conveniently located next to the first tee, was just opening so I only had a few minutes to get in a dozen swings before it was time to play. The starter asked if I would mind pairing up with another single and sharing a cart to accommodate a large tournament they had in the morning that required a large number of carts. We tee’d off about 10 minutes early just as the sun was coming up.

The course was in some of the best shape I had ever seen and I have played in the winter, spring and fall. The tee boxes and fairways were perfectly manicured and the rough was lush with very few bare spots. I was only in a couple bunkers, but the sand was groomed and very easy to navigate. Far and away, the greens were the best I had ever seen them. They were consistent and very true. I made several putts outside of 10 feet and my advice to anyone playing there is to not over read the break. There is not as much there as it may appear.

We were the first group off so pace of play was not a problem. With it being early on a Sunday morning there was limited active maintenance so we moved quickly and finished in a little less than 3 hours, just in time for breakfast.

Overall, I would give the resort and course a high grade. The only black mark I would give my entire experience is that the rate available to guests of the hotel or to Marriott Rewards members was very disappointing. I tried booking my round through my hospitality coordinator and the best rate I could get was $160. After spending a few minutes online I was able to find the same tee time on the same course for only $89. I raised this with both the hotel staff and the golf shop staff, but nobody seemed to be concerned that the resort treats it frequent guests worse than somebody just looking for a single round of golf. At $160 it is not a bad round of golf, but I highly recommend looking for an online promotion rather than booking directly at the resort.

Yesterday morning, my weekend golf partner and I played the Arroyo course at Red Rock Country Club. We had an early morning tee time (8:10am) and the weather on the west side of the Las Vegas valley was a little cold (40 degrees) with a sustained wind.

As always, the outside services staff was very friendly and had the groups moving ahead of the schedule. The foursome ahead of us had a member running behind so we did not tee off early, but we were on time. The first few holes were slow since we played as a threesome and we typically play fast, but eventually the rangers helped push along some of the slower groups. By the back-9 we were playing close to our normal pace and finished the round in less than 4 hours (always a good thing).

The course was generally in very good shape. The tee boxes and fairways were completely filled in and the greens were smooth. There was some variability in the speed from one green to another, but this could have been due to the earlier tee time and the wind throughout different parts of the course. The good news is that most of the course was open to carts, which is not always the case on the Arroyo course. There were a couple places roped off, including the first half of the fairway on 18, but other than that the course was very accessible. There was one bunker on 18 that is under construction and was marked as GUR, but this did not affect any of the players in our group. According to one of the staff members, the bunker is being reduced to build a better walkway from the cart path to the green.

Overall, playing at Arroyo is a very enjoyable experience and they offer good rates for locals or Player Card members. I recommend playing the blue tees at 5,904 yards instead of the black tees, which are 6,433. This may seem too short for a player with a handicap under 20, but it makes for a much more rewarding round and it helps maintain a good pace of play.