Already spent your income tax refund check and can’t swing a luxurious golf trip to Las Vegas, Palm Springs or Scottsdale this year?
Well, don’t give up hope just yet for a memorable Southwest golf getaway in May or June when the temperatures are still bearable in a part of the country that has some of the game’s most distinctive designs and accessible public/resort layouts.
An inexpensive alternative to some of the more well-known destinations is Laughlin, the southernmost town in Nevada.
Situated along the Colorado River and sharing a border with Arizona and California, Laughlin is a relatively new location on the map. It was named for Don Laughlin, a Minnesota native who purchased 6.5 acres in the southern tip of Nevada in 1964. He opened what would become the Riverside Resort in Laughlin two years later, and more development followed as the area is now an ultra popular gaming and water recreation spot.
And golf here is a top-notch experience at a fraction of the cost of a Las Vegas or Arizona getaway.
“Laughlin itself hasn’t been around for too long, and in terms of golf destinations it’s undervalued because nobody’s really ever heard about it,” says Brian Oar, who began offering custom golf packages to Laughlin 15 years ago when he discovered its attractive portfolio. “There was a time where nobody had ever heard of Mesquite, Nevada, either and it’s 90 minutes north of Las Vegas just like Laughlin is 90 minutes south. There is no difference. In fact, Laughlin has more rooms and giant high-rise hotels and Las Vegas-style casinos.”
Laughlin, which draws more than 1.2 million visitors a year, has approximately 10,000 hotel rooms, featuring nine primary resorts, with the largest being the Aquarius Casino Resort with more than 1,900 rooms and Harrah’s Laughlin with more than 1,500 rooms.
Laughlin golfers will find five courses within 20 minutes of the resort strip and an additional group of high-profile layouts 45 minutes north toward southern Las Vegas.
The Laughlin area has natural scenery that provides for a spectacular golfing canvas.
“It’s rugged; it’s pretty mountainous,” Oar says. “Laughlin is basically at the bottom of a canyon with the Colorado River running right through the middle of it. It’s a really cool section of the country for golfers to play.”
Some golfers charter flights into nearby Laughlin Bullhead International Airport, but most fly into Las Vegas, rent a vehicle and drive down U.S. Route 95 through the Mojave Desert. The serene trek features Joshua trees, desert mountains and a dramatic, steep descent into the Colorado River Valley.
“It’s a very desolate drive, like being on the moon, but you end up going through kind of a cool ghost town called Searchlight,” Oar says.
Back to the good golf.
Laughlin Ranch Golf Club is ranked among the top 15 courses in Arizona, just a short drive from the Laughlin casino strip in Bullhead City, Arizona.
The David Druzisky design features dramatic elevation changes with expansive views of the Mohave Valley and surrounding mountains. The course, with a 142 slope from the tips, has won numerous industry awards, including the coveted America’s Best New Golf Course in 2005 by Golf Digest.
“Laughlin Ranch is just super entertaining to play,” Oar says.
The course also features visible remnants of historic gold mining as the area’s rich mining history is integrated into the course’s branding, offering a unique touch to an already visually stimulating layout.
Meanwhile, Mojave Resort Golf Club was the first design for the architectural team of Schmidt & Curley, who were given a sandy piece of ground on the banks of the Colorado River. The course winds through lowlands and gently rolling terrain with numerous water holes that offer plenty of risk/reward. The final three holes are often compared to TPC Sawgrass.
At $99 per round with cart there are few better deals in all of golf, says course director of sales JC Bacon.
“Sure, Laughlin is a little out of the way, but all I hear from golfers is it’s less expensive to come here — both for the golf and the rooms,” Bacon says. “And we have a casino right across the street from our course.”
Twenty minutes south of Laughlin is El Rio Golf Club, designed by Matt Dye, the nephew of famed golf course architect Pete Dye, with design features like his uncle that test your entire bag and skill level.
Coming in or out of Las Vegas from Laughlin, Oar recommends Boulder Creek Golf Club, which he says continues to “fly under the radar.” Golfweek magazine ranks it as the 12th best course in Nevada.
And if you’ve saved enough cash or hit it big in a casino on your Laughlin trip to splurge, the Rees Jones-designed Cascata Golf Club is close by, too. It is ranked among the top layouts in America by numerous publications.
“Laughlin is truly a hidden gem and a cool destination for inexpensive good golf, good casinos and a good variety of hotels,” Oar says. “It is also sort of old school — just a solid place to enjoy a golf vacation.”
“It’s growing and golfers are starting to find out about it,” adds Bacon. “We’re now getting golf groups that have gone to Mesquite or St. George and they’re trying Laughlin for something a little different.”
And if you choose to tee it up in Laughlin, there is a good chance you’ll get your round in without any showers. Nevada is officially the driest state in the U.S, averaging around 7-10 inches of precipitation per year, well below the national average of nearly 30 inches.
