After our round at TPC Las Vegas my friend and I headed over to TPC Summerlin, which is basically across the street. My friend was able to get us out here (the course is private) thanks to a perk through his Mastercard. I’m not sure all of the details, but Mastercard and the TPC courses run a promotion together allowing cardholders the ability to play.
Our cost was $140 a person, but for an active PGA Tour course it seemed like a good deal. We got there a little early and observed the private life before teeing off on the 10th hole. We saw a couple UNLV bags and it looked like the place where a few tour pros might hang out. I usually feel a bit out of place at an upscale private course, but the staff here was very accommodating to us. So that was nice!
As I mentioned we started on the back nine (the more interesting nine) and made it around quickly. We played in 3.5 hours and felt like we had the course to ourselves, at least until our final holes when we caught the morning groups. We started our round at 12:40pm and I was worried that we wouldn’t finish before dark, but the timing worked out just fine.

Even though we finished the round on the less dramatic front nine, we still got to experience the excellent closing holes at TPC Summerlin. After years of watching the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on television it was exciting – as well as frustrating thanks to my current golf game – to play the last four holes here. The 15th through the 18th usually create some drama when the pros play them and for good reason!
The 15th is a driveable par-4 (around 300 yards) that kicks off this fun stretch. The layup area is semi-blind and gives you a poor angle into the green so it tempted me to hit driver. If you’ve watched the PGA coverage you’ll know that the green is perched high above deep bunkers and chipping areas. My drive ended up behind one of those greenside bunkers and I had a terrifying pitch shot across it.
Then, the 16th, 17th and 18th all have water in play. The 16th is a reachable par-5 for the pros with water short of the green. I lost two balls in that pond and another one in the water on the par-3 17th, ugh. The 17th is the hole where Jonathan Byrd won the playoff in 2010 with a hole-in-one. Pretty cool! Then the 18th is a tough closing par-4 with trouble to the left.

Compared to the back nine the front nine felt underwhelming to me. It still plays through the houses and while it has a couple good holes the excitement just wasn’t there for me. The 3rd and 5th are those good holes on the front. The par-5 3rd has a split fairway with a canyon guarding the green and the 5th is a par-3 that plays downhill to a green placed into a hillside.
We played a combo set of tees which are 71.3/136/6601 and I thought the course played tougher than it looks on TV. Granted the pros make the game look easy, but it was tough to control the ball with firm and fast conditions. We had multiple “good” shots end up in trouble, including drives that landed on the left side of a fairway and rolled off the right side.
The fairways were painted dormant bermuda (think tight lies) and the ground was hard. It would have been nice if the rough was left longer to catch some shots. The greens were also dormant bermuda and super fast. I’m sure the membership loves the speed of the course, but I enjoy a more lush look myself.
Ultimately, TPC Summerlin fell a little short of my expectations. I left the course thinking I would have enjoyed it more if we played when the bermuda was growing. Still, I’m happy we were able to play here and would suggest a round if you get the chance. There are some fun golf holes and I thought the course had a Texas Hill Country vibe, with beautiful trees throughout the property.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):