My friend got into town on Tuesday night and Rio Secco Golf Club was our Wednesday stop. I was especially excited about this golf trip because we had some premium courses lined up. Las Vegas isn’t one of those desert destinations that gets talked about much for golf considering all the other activities, but it has plenty of solid courses.

I’ll mention that the weather mostly cooperated this trip – at least comparing our week in Las Vegas to the next, when snow fell on the courses we played! It was crazy to see Instagram pictures of half the courses we played with a dusting of snow covering them. We got decent temps and no wind for our round at Rio Secco, which made for an enjoyable day. Unfortunately, it was cloudy most of the round.

Anyway, Rio Secco was one course we played thanks to a two-round golf package we booked directly through the course. Rio Secco is the sister course of Cascata – one that I’ve always wanted to play! Two rounds at both courses cost $319 this time of year (plus a caddie tip at Cascata) and when you consider that Cascata normally goes for $300+, our round at Rio Secco was a nice discount off the $109 rack rate.

Like many golf courses, Rio Secco has changed over the years. This was my first time golfing here, but years ago I read about the course’s “Million Dollar Hole-in-One Challenge”. I don’t know all the details, but I think if someone aced the 16th hole then they would get to come back and try to win $1,000,000.

Sadly, there was no mention of the Million Dollar Challenge when we played and from what I’ve seen that program has been discontinued. Still, as a golfer without a hole-in-one I’d take an ace, even without a chance at all that cash!

Additionally, the design at Rio Secco has changed some in recent years. The course is a Rees Jones design that opened in 1997. In 2017 Jones came back and re-worked parts of the course, making it more playable for the casual golfer. Also around that time that nines were flipped – meaning that the more dramatic and interesting nine is now the front nine.

We played the white tees (71.6/134/6552) and overall I thought Rio Secco was a good course. It felt like the course had a little bit of everything – some target golf, some friendly holes, elevation change, interesting greens, nice views, etc. I would like to see the nines changed back because the current back nine was a bit underwhelming (lots of homes) compared to the front, which is a wild ride!

The front nine is a canyon-style layout with a couple great looks of the Strip off in the distance. I’ll admit there is a little funk and local knowledge needed when trying to pick lines off the tees on the front, but the 2nd through the 7th is a fun stretch of holes through the rocks. For example, the 2nd is a long downhill par-4 with views of the Strip and trouble on both sides of the fairway. The 3rd and 6th are par-3’s with green complexes tucked into hillsides and are great-looking golf holes.

The conditioning at Rio Secco was solid with lush ryegrass fairways and dormant, quick greens. The fairways provided plenty of cushion and contrasted well against the yellow-colored bermuda rough this time of year. The only disappointment were the rocky fairway bunkers, however the greenside sand was good.

Like a lot of modern courses, I think all the homes surrounding Rio Secco take something away from the course. Still, I think it is one of the better public options in Las Vegas thanks to a great front nine. If you can play here on the package deal then the value increases. Overall, I’d recommend a round at Rio Secco.

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