Legacy Golf Club – Scottish Links in Las Vegas

One of my favorite places to play golf is Las Vegas – not for the gambling in the casinos, but the gambles I take on all the great courses the city of sin has to offer. I’ve played at probably 10 courses in Vegas, and liked most of them, but one of my favorite courses is Legacy Golf Club in Henderson.

A links-style gorgeous golf course designed by award winning architect Arthur Hills, Legacy is the annual home to the United States Open Qualifying Tournament and the American Junior Golf Association event, and the recipient of a number of well deserved rewards:

• Nevada’s ‘Top 10 Courses You Can Play’ (Golf Digest)

• Best course in Nevada (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

• No. 1 public course in Las Vegas (Las Vegas Business Press)

Although technically, it doesn’t meet the criteria to receive a top 50 or 100 Golf For Women award, I found it to be a great course for players of all skill levels and very women-friendly.

My husband and I were teamed with a local gentleman, Tom, a good golfer who knew the course well and was indispensible for keeping us out of trouble. And there is definitely some trouble on this course, but that just makes it more fun to play right?

Before we get to the holes that grabbed my attention, here are a few things you should know…

There are houses are the course, which normally I don’t like, but some of them are just amazing. I actually didn’t have any private properties come into play for me, but my jaw dropped when I saw some of the mansions on this course, especially this one overlooking the green on the par 3, 6th hole. According to Tom, this is the home of Harrah’s CEO .

The carts didn’t have a GPS (but with Tom’s local knowledge and our range finder we were okay). The bottles of water and ice in the cooler were very welcome, but the one wet towel for the two of us ended up in a tug-of-war contest between me and my husband. 😉 Not sure if this was an oversight or if they are a bit stingy with their towels.

Speaking of stingy, I think all golf courses should offer unlimited range balls to players, but like many other courses in Vegas we layed, Legacy offered just a small warm up bag. However, that being said, Legacy was better “value for money” than a lot of courses we’ve played in Nevada with green fees between $75 – $120 depending on the season.

The practice area was good – it had everything we needed – good range with grass tees, chipping, sand and putting practice areas as well. We were surprised at how fast the practice greens were. They gave us a good feel for what we were about to find out the course.

I’m not sure if it is always this way in that area, but boy was it windy! A few times, it almost blew me over. But it was a warm sunny day, so how can one complain about a cooling 30 mph breeze 🙂

Okay, on with the course itself…

Some of the holes are cart path only (such as the 1st hole), so beware of that on your tee shots. I tend to favor left to right shots anyway, so on the first hole it wasn’t a problem to be “cart path friendly”. And since the solitary bunker was on the left of the green, it was a good place to be for the approach.

The 3rd hole was the #1 handicap hole – a very long par 4.

There is a large fairway bunker that comes into play for all tee positions and I felt fortunate to walk away with a bogey on this hole.

The 5th hole is the first par 5 on the course. I liked this hole as it wasn’t a problem for me to get a GIR, but be careful for the bunkering around the green – brutal!

The 8th hole was a long par 4 dogleg. Trouble abounds on this hole with a fairway bunker to catch you if you try and cut off the corner and water on the right new the green if you go the safe route and take the longer way around. No wonder it is the 3rd hardest hole on the course.

Now the 10th hole is either gimicky or perfect Vegas golf, depending on your point of view. The tee boxes are shaped like the 4 suits in a deck of cards. I thought it was fun – hey, when in Vegas…right?

Now the fun begins…holes 11 – 13 form what is called “The Devi’s Triangle”.

The 11th hole is a long par 4 with the wind was in your face. You have to carry the ball off the tee, but that wasn’t really the problem – it was the bunker that ran along the right side of the fairway.

The 12th and 13th look pretty safe, given their short yardage, but accuracy is critical on these two holes. 12 is a dogleg par 4 that is easy to reach in two, but then you find yourself facing some of the toughest putting on this course – very undulating. 13 is tempting for long drivers, but we heard from Tom that many of them end up in a hidden bunker behind the green. I felt pretty good with bogies on these 3 holes.

The closing hole is a lovely, short par 4 that lets you leave the links with a smile on your face.

I highly recommend you give Legacy Golf Club a try. I loved the rolling fairways, generous, but very fast greens, rugged natural terrain with lava rock, natural grasses, desert flora and mountains in the background.

The course was in fantastic shape in April when we played it, and while we sipped our cocktails in the bar after our round, we were on the phone trying to change our flights to the next day so we could stay and play it again. I guess that means we liked it. 🙂

Let’s put it this way…I’m already checking out the best deals to go back!

Golfgal