My Slice of Golf (John B): March 2013

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Bear`s Best Las Vegas NV (02/13/2013)

Spectacular Jack Nicklaus golf in Las Vegas

Great golf in Las Vegas is easily found at Bear’s Best. Located in the upscale, exclusive Ridges neighborhood of the master-planned community of Summerlin, Bear’s Best is a high-end daily fee, public Las Vegas golf course focused on providing the best possible Las Vegas golf experience for all our guests.

To design our course, Jack Nicklaus selected 18 holes from his more than 200 course designs worldwide and put them into one extraordinary round of Jack Nicklaus golf. Enjoy our incredible Las Vegas golf course on your own or with a group. We can make any golf event with any number of guests a unique, memorable and seamless experience for you and your guests. Bear’s Best is the golf club Las Vegas golfers are sure to enjoy and share with their friends.

In addition to our unique Las Vegas golf course, we have one of the best practice facilities in the Las Vegas area, featuring all-grass tees year-round, two practice greens, short game area, three-tiered driving range, Bushnell yardage for precision targets and Titleist NXT range balls set up in a pyramid style. This Jack Nicklaus golf course is designed from the start to give you a premium round of play. Bear’s Best Golf Club is the apex of great Las Las Vegas golf courses.

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Course Details

Tee Marker

Hole Pictures

Hole # 1

Hole # 3

Hole # 8

View of Strip from # 8

Hole # 9

Hole # 10

Hole # 12

Hole # 15

Hole # 17 Panorama of strip

Hole # 18

The day I played the course was a little windy however warm and sunny. I played with a couple from California. I played the whites with a rating of 68.3 and a slope of 122. They played 6043 yards. I shot a 43 on the front and a 48 on the back for a respectable 91.

Stallion Mountain, Las Vegas,NV (02/8/2013)

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Clubhouse

View of Stallion Mountain from course

Chipping Green

Scorecard

Tee Marker

Canadian Golfer Offer

Unfortunately did not get to take any pictures of the course, so I borrowed some shots from the courses photo gallery.

Hole # 5

Hole # 6

Hole # 10

Hole # 18

I played with three local members, Clyde (68 yrs), Marcus (63 yrs) and Frank (78 yrs). I shot a 45 on the3 front and a 49 on the back for a 94. A respectable score. Course was in great shape.

Sunday, 3 March 2013

Rhode's Ranch GC., Las Vegas,NV(02/6/2013)

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Located just minutes from the World Famous Las Vegas strip, Rhodes Ranch Golf Course has become a meaningful leader in golf in the Las Vegas valley. The Golf Course is in Great Condition! This is Las Vegas Golf at it's Finest and now with ALL INCLUSIVE, it is the Best Deal in Town!

Masterfully designed by legendary architect Ted Robinson, Sr., the layout presents a one of a kind mixture of challenge and playability to golfers of all levels. You will be faced with several Risk/Reward situations where you will need to really test your ego.

Highlighted by a collection of par threes which Robinson calls the very finest that he has ever designed. This 6,909 yard course will envelop you in its rich tropical environment as well as providing you with a world class golf experience.

Opened for play in November of 1997, Rhodes Ranch Golf Course has matured into one of the best conditioned, well known and most playable courses in Las Vegas.

The multitude of water features, varying elevations, stunning city and mountain views with gentle rolling fairways that spread out over the 162 acre property provide a wonderful setting for a day of golf.

Hole by Hole Layout

Scorecard

The Clubhouse

From the Course Photo Gallery (Inc. my pictures)

Hole # 3

This a beautiful par 3 signature hole. It was a windy day, the hole was playing about 175 yards. I hit a 5 iron toward the second bunker which faded in giving me a 16 foot put. Parred the hole.

Hole # 8

Hole # 9

Hole # 12

Hole # 16 (Bogeyed the hole)

Hole # 17

Hole # 18

This course was in fantastic shape.We played the whites which is 6000 yards. Played with Hank and Jack whom I had met at another course and they invited me to play with them again. Great guys who have served their country well in the military.
I shot a 46 on the front and 44 on the back for a 90. A respectful day on the course.

Palm Valley, Summerlin,NV (02/01/2013)

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Palm Valley is Summerlin’s longest and most challenging course. Mature, gently undulating fairways are generous enough to allow most players to hit with the driver all day, but the deceptively rolling bent grass greens make every two-putt testy. Pine trees line many of the fairways, and 68 bunkers also tighten the course. (par-72, 6,849-yards, rating/slope 71.6/123)

Course Layout

ScoreCard

This course is quite challenging and plays long. This happened to be a day where I should have stayed on the driving range. Could not hit a ball straight and 3 putted 4 holes. So far, worse game of the year. Shot 100+ and stopped scoring after 16 holes. Just one bad day on the course. Looking forward to playing this course again. Started off badly, and did not capture the beauty of the course with my camera.

Here are the hole by hole layout captured from Golf Logix. Source

Saturday, 2 March 2013

Sea Mountain Resort, Punaluu Big island Hawaii

Punalu'u Beach Park is the most famous black sand beach on the island. This black sand beach is the most expansive and most accessible black sand beach on the Big Island. This is a perfect place to enjoy the scenery, explore the black sand beach, watch the sea turtles, and swim or snorkel. You can also spread out a blanket under a towering coconut tree for a midday picnic or afternoon siesta, or sit for hours watching the action in the park's beautiful freshwater fish pond. The white tips of cresting waves against the deep blue Pacific are beautiful, but it's the astonishing black sand beach that will take your breath away. Punalu'u Beach Park is located off Hwy 11 on Puna district's south shore, south of the town of Hilo. This quiet beach is a perfect spot for people who want to do nothing but just relax. Punalu'u is also famous for the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles who frequent this beach, sunbathing on the warm sand. Come and view these wonderful turtles, but please don't touch them or scare them. Please don't take any of the black sand and don't distress or even touch our beloved turtles - keep a wide berth between you and the turtles! They are endangered species and the bacteria transferred to them via our human skin can kill them as they have no immune system for it.
The waters here are protected by the small cove and the black sand is soft and welcoming. Tall palm trees ring the beach area providing some shade at the outer edge. There is a large, paved parking lot with full facilities nearby.

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Black Sand Beach

Sea turtles sunning at the beach

Nap time

Posing for the tourists

Do not disturb the turtles

Real close up

Even closer!

Too hot ! Heading back to where it is cool and there are no gawkers.

Sea Mountain Golf Course, Pahala, Big Island

This rugged 18-hole, 6,416-yard course located about an hour west of Hilo in the small town of Pahala, may lack country club playing conditions, but makes it up with uniqueness and natural beauty. After your round, head down to Punaluu Black Sand Beach to cool off before heading back to town. The course went into receivership several years ago and is not in great shape however is playable. For $35 and a cart you can play all day. There are great scenes of the ocean and Mauna Loa volcano from the course.

View of Sea Mountain course from condos