Shadow Creek Golf Course

Shadow Creek Golf Course is a Private 18 hole golf course located in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

Shadow Creek Golf Course first opened for play in 1989. The course was designed by Tom Fazio and Andy Banfield.

Although a private course, guests at an MGM MIRAGE property in Las Vegas can gain entree to Shadow Creek Golf Course. Just add about $500 per round to your hotel tab.

Shadow Creek has been ranked as one of the top courses in the U.S. by Golf Magazine's panel of experts. Despite its infamous $40 million price tag -- in 1989 dollars -- Shadow Creek is much more than lipstick on the desert.

This is not a desert style course my any means. The design has a Carolinas feel with tree lined corridors with rises and falls. But what you get for your five notes is one fine hole after another until you reach a show-stopping finale at Nos. 17 and 18.

The strong holes actually begin at the fourth, an eye-catching par 5 that curls around a lake, followed by a 206-yard par 3 at whichwhere your tee shot is played across the roof of a mini-forest.

Shadow Creek is a symbol of what you can do with flat desert if you have an unlimited bankroll. It's also great golf.

Par for the course is 72. From the back tees the course plays to 7239 yards. From the forward tees the course measures 6701 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 16, a par-5 that plays to 617 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 17, a par-3 that plays to 164 yards from the back tees.

Watch out for # 6, a 476 yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole is # 11, a 327 yard par-4.

Shadow Creek Golf Course has no UGSA handicap or slope rating. Reason: because it's designed to be a match-play track. This is Vegas, after all, home of the $1 million Nassau.