Las Vegas has a world-class collection of golf courses, many showcasing the beauty of the surrounding desert ecosystem. Just like the city’s resorts and restaurants, golf comes in a wide range of price points, and some are harder to book than others, or give preference to guests of particular hotels, requiring advance planning. Even more seemingly confusing is the array of stay and play packages, multi-round or replay packages, and brokers specializing in discounted “last-minute” tee times. The good news: All this variability can work in your favor—and within your budget—if you’re willing to do some research and are flexible.
Accessing top golf courses
Most Las Vegas golf courses, even highly rated ones such as Cascata, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort and TPC Las Vegas, offer booking calendars on their websites for 2-4 months out—just click and go. In high season you need to plan much further out, especially for weekend play, while in off-season you can often book a day or two before.
Exceptions to this rule are Wynn Golf Club, which takes tee times only by phone and gives priority (but no discount) to hotel guests, who can book up to 90 days out, and MGM Resort’s Shadow Creek, primarily an amenity for high-rolling gamblers. It is available to paying customers on a limited basis, and only if staying at one of the higher-end MGM properties. In addition, specialty golf travel outfitters such as Las Vegas-based VIP Golf Services offer access to otherwise private clubs, including Las Vegas Country Club and South Shore Country Club, which do not directly take public bookings.
When to visit for golf
Spring and fall (March-May and September-November) are peak season for Las Vegas golf, with the highest prices. The hotter summer months, June-August, and heart of winter, December-February, are off-peak. However, almost all Las Vegas golf is played with a cart, featuring built-in shade, less physical exertion, and plenty of water along the way, so if you don’t mind the summer heat you can save a lot on greens fees. Off-peak rates are typically almost half the price of peak times, 35-45% off.
When to play golf
Almost as important as when to visit is what day and time to play. Almost all public courses offer midweek discounts (Monday-Thursday). Any day of the week, morning tee times, from opening until around 11AM, are priciest, dropping from around 11AM until early afternoon, usually 1-2PM. Then they drop again to “twilight” rates, with some courses starting as early as noon. Mid-week rounds are usually 10-15% less, and twilight rates can be 25-30% off morning prices. To put this in perspective, a premium course charging $300 for the most desirable morning, weekend time in peak season could be as little as $100 for an afternoon, midweek, off-season tee time. In addition, at almost any time of year it is possible to save even more with “last minute” deals.
How to book tee times
In most cases, especially if you are just playing one or two rounds during your visit, you will find the best rates through individual course websites. Many also offer online daily specials, as tee times become worthless to a golf course once they go unsold, and “dynamic pricing” (last-minute discounts to get something rather than nothing) has become the norm. If you don’t have your heart set on a particular course, this is a great option.
There are also booking websites compiling last-minute or “flash” deals, 24–72 hours in advance. The biggest are Golfnow (golfnow.com/lasvegas) and TeeOff (teeoff.com), both affiliated with The Golf Channel. For a true golf vacation lasting several days, VIP Golf Services (vipgolfservices.com) represents more than 50 local courses, including some private clubs, and customizes packages of two or more days, with increasing discounts for more rounds.
For golf gluttons, some Las Vegas courses offer discounted replay rates for a second round the same day, or multi-round rates for returning more than one day. These are especially common at multi-course facilities, such as Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, the biggest with three Pete-Dye designed eighteens, 36-hole Revere and sister courses Cascata and Rio Secco.
Stay & play packages
There are several partnerships between hotels and courses for discounted Stay & Play packages, which can be booked through course or hotel websites. The TPC Las Vegas course has a relationship with the adjacent The Resort At Summerlin. Cascata and Rio Secco have discounted stay and play packages with an array of major Strip casino resorts. Reflection Bay, the Jack Nicklaus course at Lake Las Vegas, has packages with the onsite Westin and Hilton hotels. The 54-hole Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort has a partnership with MGM Resorts for discounted packages that can be booked up to four months ahead, combining golf with rooms in Aria, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Vdara or The W. MGM owns the top ranked course in Nevada, and Top 10 in the country, Shadow Creek, available only to guests of one of these higher-end MGM properties. Shadow Creek is a fabulous once-in-a-lifetime bucket list golf experience but is also generally considered the most expensive tee time in the nation at over $1200, not including the room. It does not offer typical seasonal or midweek discounts.
Getting there
Most top courses are in the suburbs, and transportation costs can add up. If you do not have a car, for a single round it is often most convenient to use a rideshare app. For multiple days of golf, you may save money by renting a car, as rates are often low in Las Vegas, but figure in hotel parking fees, if any. Exceptions that are quite close to most lodging are Wynn Golf Club, Angel Park near the airport (36 holes), and Bali Hai on the south end of the Strip, while Desert Pines, Las Vegas Golf Club and Las Vegas National—where Tiger Woods won his very first PGA Tour event—are all relatively close. Alternatively, staying in Summerlin, Green Valley or Henderson, all of which have good golf, is another option.
Practice and beginners
For less skilled or new players who want to try some Vegas golf without the expense and transportation, TopGolf and Atomic Golf are non-traditional options on the Strip. These entertainment facilities are sort of mash ups of golf driving ranges and high-tech video games. They are also good opportunities for more avid golfers to get some practice, even after dark, before the main event.
