Low rolling:
Local rates plummet
at Las Vegas area courses

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

Las Vegas
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Feb. 8, 2003) -- Golfing in Sin City just became down right affordable; for locals that is. A strong sampling of Clark County's priciest courses are raising the white flag on triple-digit rounds for residents in an attempt to stimulate business and bolster local loyalty.

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Exactly what level of discounts can locals expect? The proverbial blackjack term "double down" comes to mind. Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson fleeced residents with a $300 greens fee upon opening in 1997. Now locals can play the nationally ranked course for between $75 and $125, depending on the time of day and day of week.

Primm Valley's two highly regarded Tom Fazio designed layouts are now available for local consumption for an eye-popping $50. And it's not just the area's high-end, semi-private and daily fee courses that are dropping local rates. DragonRidge Country Club, a snazzy private facility in Henderson, is open to the public until it sells all its memberships. For a limited time, locals can play the exquisite Jay Morrish designed track for $40.

Las Vegas Golf Course "On average, we are 30 percent cheaper than Scottsdale," Bill Walters, chief executive officer of Walters Golf, told LasVegasGolf.com last October. "We did a study that factored in airfare, lodging and the price of golf and we (Las Vegas) are more affordable."

Walters Golf owns and operates six local courses, and Bill Walters has been one of the primary forces in promoting Las Vegas as a golf destination over the past decade. Walters has lowered rates for locals at its Royal Links ($95, conditions apply), Stallion Mountain (private club, no resident rate) and Desert Pines ($58) courses.

Las Vegas courses
learn from Myrtle Beach

When it comes to golf, you've got to take care of your own. It is a lesson that Myrtle Beach area courses learned long ago, and it is a lesson that courses in Southern Nevada are learning now. Almost all of the Grand Strand's 120-some odd courses have a local rate that is anywhere between 30 and 70 percent lower than the rate for non-residents.

Until recently, Clark Country residents were stuck with $200 and $300 greens fees - a grave injustice considering that these people pay the taxes needed to fund the infrastructure that serves these high-end courses. Finally, with these recent cross-the-board rate reductions, justice has been served. A local casino worker with a local address and a driver's license to prove it can play Rio Secco Golf Club, DragonRidge Country Club, or Royal Links for less than $100.

Because there is no such thing as a "gambling season," Las Vegas always has reaped the benefit of a year-round tourism and convention market that is among the strongest in the world. But the high priced golf courses that initially were designed as amenities for the resorts and casinos are finding that there is indeed a peak and off-peak when it comes to the golf season.

I would not argue that Vegas area courses need to keep rates this artificially low year round. But to fill up your tee sheets in these shoulder seasons, you have to turn your attention to the locals (and not just the local gentry.) Considering that Clark County is still the fastest growing region of the Unites States, this dropping local rates and bolstering residential loyalty is a no-brainer. (SS)

Still, encouraging more local play and cementing Las Vegas' status as a true golf destination are two different animals. According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority figures, only 2 percent of the area's 35.8 million annual visitors come to Glitter Gulch to tee it up. By contrast, the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area receives approximately 13.6 million visitors annually, 4.3 million of which are golfers (31 percent).

Adding insult to injury, a recent Golf Digest ranking of America's best and worst metropolitan areas for golf rated Las Vegas 141 out of 314. Vegas also rated as one of the least affordable cities for golf in the U.S., ranking 249 out of 314 with an average greens fee of $144.43.

In Las Vegas' defense, the astronomical price for a round of golf is not the result of some conspiracy among developers and casino owners. The cost of building and maintaining an 18-hole golf course in Clark County is among the highest in the country.

Water costs are off the charts (Walters said the water budget alone at his Bali Hai Golf Club is over $900,000 annually). And courses often have to bring in truckloads of costly topsoil to support the growth of turf grass. Walters said it takes at least $2 million just to maintain an 18-hole layout in Clark County, a figure that deters mid-level golf course developers from getting into the fray.

If that figure is accurate, a new golf course would need to generate 40,000 rounds and charge $50 per round just to cover maintenance costs. Factor in salaries, insurance, and profit margin and it is no accident that the majority of courses to open in and around Vegas over the past 10 years have been of the $200- to $300-a-round variety.

Whether or not Las Vegas emerges as a golf destination with the same drawing power as Myrtle Beach, Scottsdale/Phoenix or even Palm Springs/Palm Desert remains to be seen. The quality courses are in place, but marketing efforts aimed at promoting the area as a golf destination are few and far between. Walters' aforementioned study indicated a latent demand of nearly two million golfers, and he believes every effort should be made to get those potential golf bag-toting visitors to town. Until he does, though, the locals have the run of the castle.