We had some time to spare before sunset and decided to check out the Links Course, which I didn’t play when I was at the resort in 2009. We kept the same carts and paid $35 in the proshop before heading out to play. I’m not sure that $35 is any sort of deal for a nine hole course, but it is probably less money than we would have lost in the casino back in Mesquite. So, it kept us out of trouble!
The wind started to pick up right as we teed off which made the Links Course brilliant fun to play! I played the black tees which are 3,687 yards. If you played it twice the rating would be 73.2 and the slope would be 126, so it has some teeth for a nine hole course! Like the front nine on the Championship Course, The Links Course is set on a flat part of the property. It is actually on the other side of the condos that are being built, between those condos and State Route 7. If you like to walk, then you certainly could do that here.
The Links Course has similar features as the Championship Course, including large, sloping fairways, sagebrush bunkers and top-notch scenery! The routing is more simple with most holes heading out or in from the area where the 1st tee and 9th green are located. There is a rock wall that you play over a couple times, but no real fancy design features. It is just you and the desert out there. Only the par 3’s play across the section of the property where the course is located. I suspect that has to do with the usual winds, because when we played most of the holes were either downwind or into the wind.
I’d say that the course played like a links course is supposed to play, which made it so much fun! Winds of 20+ mph and firm ground had me forgetting about yardages and trying different shots! I was just off the green in two on the 580 yard 3rd (par 5) and hit driver and an 8 iron on the 486 yard 7th (par 4). Then I hit a waist high hybrid and driver off the deck on two of the into the wind holes! Trying shots I don’t normally play is what made the Links Course so much fun for me.
I thought the conditions on the Links Course were better than the Championship Course. The fairways were fuller, there were fewer divots and the greens were faster. I’m assuming this gets less play, so it is probably easier to keep it in sharper condition. My only grip about the Links Course is that some of the greens, specifically the 4th and the 8th, were a bit silly with their excessive slopes and breaks. Is the Links Course worth playing by itself? Probably not, but I think it pairs nicely with the Championship Course.
#1 (373 yard par 4):
#2 (418 yard par 4):
#3 (580 yard par 5):
#4 (187 yard par 3):
#5 (464 yard par 4):
#6 (148 yard par 3):
#7 (486 yard par 4):
#8 (449 yard par 4):
#9 (582 yard par 5):
