I mentioned some drama in my last post about the round at Paiute, so here it is: After my round on the Wolf I was cranky from the cold and wind and just wanted to be done with golf for the day.

We signed up for the 36-hole rate of $179 (paid at the beginning of the day) and I hoped the proshop would be able to refund me $50, ultimately just charging me the $129 rack rate for the Wolf course. I asked them and they said they’d refund $30 but no more. I understand the business case behind their reasoning and the original agreement to play two rounds, but that experience still left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

I played the Snow Mountain course about ten years ago and remembered enjoying it so it made sense to tough out another round in the cold and wind. I blasted the heater in the car for a half hour to warm up and then headed back out for another round in the frozen tundra. Needless to say, I was very happy when my day of golf was over.

Besides my grumpiness and the constant wind I liked the Snow course just as much my time second time playing it. In fact, I’d rank it well above the Wolf course, which seems to get all the attention at Paiute. I would even go as far as saying that Snow is one of my favorite Pete Dye courses – and that comes from someone who isn’t a huge Dye fan.

While Wolf seemed to have some gimmicky holes in the wind, I don’t think there is a bad hole on Snow. Sure there are some difficult ones (the seven water holes for example), but I even found those playable in the wind. The green complexes and fairways are less contoured on Snow, which is reflected in the rating of 70.4 and the slope of 122 from the championship tees – 6,645 yards.

In addition to the better playability, I thought Snow was superior to Wolf in other ways as well. Snow has a more interesting collection of holes (think more doglegs), better views and some clever eyelash bunkers that have Dye’s famous railroad ties on display. Snow is positioned closer to the expansive desert and the views of the mountains seemed clearer compared to Wolf. Unfortunately, the cloud cover didn’t allow for the best lighting but you should be able to get an idea of the desolate landscape nearby.

I mentioned the water holes and those are probably the best holes on Snow. The 4th is a 154 yard par-3 that forces you to play along the edge of the water. The wind was gusting into us (causing whitecaps in the water) and the tees were back so it was a nasty par-3 when we played it!

The back nine has the interesting par-4 10th and Snow’s signature hole, the par-3 16th. The 10th is 381 yards and doglegs left around a hazard. It is easy to drive the ball through the fairway and the water creeps in close to the green. The 16th is 182 yards and is out at the edge of the property, with nice views. You’ll have to carry the water and the green complex is tricky to chip around if you bail to the right on the tee shot.

Like Wolf, the conditions on Snow were very good. Apparently the courses at Paiute have rights to water so everything can be kept lush and green. With the cooler temperatures this time of year the grass had a paler look, but I’m sure once it warms up the turf shines.

I think Snow is a great course and I’d rank it among my personal favorites in Las Vegas. It is not hard to see why Snow is one of the best public courses in Nevada. If I lived in the area I’d play Snow maybe seven out of ten times and the other three on Wolf. I haven’t played the Sun Mountain course so I’m not sure how that compares but hopefully one day I can add that to my collection!

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):