On Thursday my friend and I started our golf day at TPC Las Vegas, which is a course that I’ve heard plenty of good things about over the years. We ended up playing both of the TPC courses in Las Vegas in one day so that was pretty cool! My TPC Summerlin review is next in line in case you’d like to read that one too.
TPC Las Vegas is located in the upscale Summerlin area, not far from the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley. The course is in the middle of town (close to the Summerlin Parkway) so you won’t get the views of the rugged desert landscape, but the views of the nearby mountains are quite impressive. Ultimately, the urban feel is the only flaw that I could find with TPC Las Vegas. Everything else about the place was top-notch!
The course – which opened in 1996 – was designed by Bobby Weed and Raymond Floyd. TPC Las Vegas is usually ranked among the top public courses in Nevada and has hosted numerous PGA events, including PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions events. The PGA Tour stopped playing here after the 2006 event so it has been a while since the pros have competed here. Some courses end up dropping in quality after the pros leave, but that is not the case with TPC Las Vegas.
My friend and I paid $80 each for our green fee and for that price TPC Las Vegas turned out to be a great value – and that is in a town which isn’t know for much reasonably-priced golf! Most of the turf (tees, fairways and rough) was overseeded and lush, providing great lies. The greens – dormant bermuda – were quick (a theme on this trip) and smooth. The sand was a bit rocky and could scratch a club.
I thought the design was also good as well. To me, the course gave off parkland desert vibes. TPC Las Vegas was previously called “TPC at The Canyons” and the canyons part of the old name is a great way to describe the golfing experience here. Early on in the round you get a taste of the canyon theme on the 2nd hole, the course’s signature hole.
The par-3 2nd tops out at 193 yards and is 184 yards from the blue tees, where we played. The green sits on the other side of a small canyon and has an island-like quality to it, just in the middle of the desert. You need to carry the ball to the green and the only spot to miss is out to the right. If you go left at all it is a steep drop down into the desert. I wasn’t too upset with my bogey because of the nervous tee shot so early in the round!
The rest of the front nine at TPC Las Vegas is solid (not spectacular though), however the back nine is unique and more interesting. The par-3 12th has another island-like green in the desert and kicks off a stretch of holes along a deep wash/canyon.
The 14th, at 326 yards is a clever short par-4 where the canyon cuts in front of the green. The fairway is hidden from the tee so we just guessed on the line and tried to hit the tee shots about 200 yards. That worked out well and opened up a view of the green. The green angles with the canyon so distance control on the approach is important.
From the blue tees the course has a rating of 72.3 (par-71), slope of 136 and the distance is 6,699 yards. I thought the toughest part about playing TPC Las Vegas was putting the greens. The putts seemed to break towards the Strip, but I never caught on to that piece of advice. As a result I was clueless on the greens and turned an annoying number of potential pars into bogeys.
Overall, I’d put TPC Las Vegas towards the top of what I’ve played in Las Vegas so far. Besides the 2nd hole, the course won’t “wow” you, but for a modern residential design I thought it was very well done. So, it is one I’d suggest checking out if you are in the area and looking to golf.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):