22 replies to this topic

[dowsa]

Just finalising our 1 week vacation across the pond to las vegas in November and I need some advice regarding travelling to the 2 mentioned courses, Wolf creek first then paiute 2 days later..

1)  14 guys 14 sets of clubs travel to wolf creek,(8am depart) which is the best way to get there and back (leave about 6pm) to our hotel (ceasars) on the strip..
2)  17 guys 14 sets of clubs travel to Paiute,(8.30am depart)  which is the best way to get there and back (leave about 5pm) to our hotel (ceasars) on the strip.

Is it best to get a company with a large minibus to take us and then return to pick us up or hire vehicles and drive them ourselves???
Im trying to keep the travel cost down as the courses have not been cheap,..

We intend to play a 3rd course but will decide where to play when we are in vegas..
Any suggestions re the best way to do this,...hire companies, mini-bus companies,. expected costs etc,. would be most appreciated.
How are the courses at the moment,.(wolf creek, paiute wolf,) we are playing mid November

Edited by dowsa, 28 October 2012 - 04:23 AM.

[sabram]

When I plan trips like the one you describe we usually rent mini vans... one van per four players if we are using them to get to and from the airport with luggage and clubs. However, if you are only using them to get from hotels to golf courses with only golf clubs (no luggage) then you can easily fit 5 gents  per van with 5 sets of clubs. Hire rates per van in Vegas in November are about $60 per day per van including taxes. That's pretty cheap at about 8 GBP per day per player. If you add in the cost of petrol it will probably cost about 15 GBP per day per player to get back and forth to Mesquite and less for Paiute. You'll have to find vans with bench seats in the second row rather than bucket seats.   Three vans should be fine for the day you have 14 players, you may  need an extra compact car for the day you have 17 players.

I have never rented 12 or 15 passenger vans, but I did a quick internet search and found a company called State Van rentals that rents those for about the same price ($63 or 40 GBP per day) in Vegas. I would consider hiring two of those as long as you have a couple of guys who are comfortable driving a big vehicle on the right side of the road :-)

[That Bob Guy]

Check with your hotel concierge. They can make all those arrangements. Have fun!!

[Hateto3Putt]

Get a quote from this outfit.   LINK  They offer shuttle rental/service.

If you have any real "gamblers" in your group, talk to your casino host about limo service.

Have fun, you picked some great tracks.

[kg92lefty]

Get a private shuttle bus or party bus, will end up costing about the same as minivans but are nicer and you dont have to drive.

Just a heads up wolf creek is a dump right now, has been for months! (Even worse than it normally is).

Edited by kg92lefty, 31 October 2012 - 03:41 PM.

[That Bob Guy]

dowsa, on 28 October 2012 - 04:16 AM, said:

Just finalising our 1 week vacation across the pond to las vegas in November and I need some advice regarding travelling to the 2 mentioned courses, Wolf creek first then paiute 2 days later..

1)  14 guys 14 sets of clubs travel to wolf creek,(8am depart) which is the best way to get there and back (leave about 6pm) to our hotel (ceasars) on the strip..
2)  17 guys 14 sets of clubs travel to Paiute,(8.30am depart)  which is the best way to get there and back (leave about 5pm) to our hotel (ceasars) on the strip.

Is it best to get a company with a large minibus to take us and then return to pick us up or hire vehicles and drive them ourselves???
Im trying to keep the travel cost down as the courses have not been cheap,..

We intend to play a 3rd course but will decide where to play when we are in vegas..
Any suggestions re the best way to do this,...hire companies, mini-bus companies,. expected costs etc,. would be most appreciated.
How are the courses at the moment,.(wolf creek, paiute wolf,) we are playing mid November

If you want to treat yourselves, I found Cascata was a gem!!

[stage1350]

With that many people, you might be able to have the concierge arrange a shuttle bus.  Paiute is far enough away that you don't want to think about cabbing it.

[That Bob Guy]

dowsa, on 28 October 2012 - 04:16 AM, said:

Just finalising our 1 week vacation across the pond to las vegas in November and I need some advice regarding travelling to the 2 mentioned courses, Wolf creek first then paiute 2 days later..

1)  14 guys 14 sets of clubs travel to wolf creek,(8am depart) which is the best way to get there and back (leave about 6pm) to our hotel (ceasars) on the strip..
2)  17 guys 14 sets of clubs travel to Paiute,(8.30am depart)  which is the best way to get there and back (leave about 5pm) to our hotel (ceasars) on the strip.

Is it best to get a company with a large minibus to take us and then return to pick us up or hire vehicles and drive them ourselves???
Im trying to keep the travel cost down as the courses have not been cheap,..

We intend to play a 3rd course but will decide where to play when we are in vegas..
Any suggestions re the best way to do this,...hire companies, mini-bus companies,. expected costs etc,. would be most appreciated.
How are the courses at the moment,.(wolf creek, paiute wolf,) we are playing mid November

Where are you's stayin'?

[dowsa]

We are staying at Ceasars Palace.. 17 regular guys, love their golf , love their beer etc etc.. no real big gamblers, if we dont win most of us we will be willing to loose about $500 - $1000 whilst we stay there for the week ( i dont think this is high roller enough to start asking for free shuttle buses etc ????...) Shame to hear the report from kg92lefty regarding wolf creek being a dump, this is the course the wrx'ers reccomended and the one i was most looking forward to from the pictures on the website etc...playing mid november, maybe it will be in better shape in a couple of weeks time...

Edited by dowsa, 01 November 2012 - 02:05 PM.

[dowsa]

your right bobguy...just been looking at the pictures of cascata on the website and it looks impressive...we intend to play a third course while we are there (already booked into wolf creek and paiute) but intend to talk to some of the fellas over there to find out which one is worth playing...cascata looks a good possiblity.

[dannytmc]

I'm surprised to hear that Wolf Creek is in poor condition.  I've made the trip in all seasons and it is THE course to play in Mesquite.  I would ring the course up and ask them for an honest assessment.  Hopefully, they'll be upfront with you.

Alternatives to Wolf Creek might be the Chase at Coyote Springs (about 55 minutes from the strip).  This has been reviewed quite well.  Another might be Conestoga Golf Course, also in Mesquite.

If you're looking for a 3rd course, I would not hesitate to recommend the Rio Secco - the course where Butch Harmon has his school and is headquartered at.  Always in fabulous condition.

[kg92lefty]

dannytmc, on 01 November 2012 - 10:10 PM, said:

I'm surprised to hear that Wolf Creek is in poor condition.  I've made the trip in all seasons and it is THE course to play in Mesquite.  I would ring the course up and ask them for an honest assessment.  Hopefully, they'll be upfront with you.

Alternatives to Wolf Creek might be the Chase at Coyote Springs (about 55 minutes from the strip).  This has been reviewed quite well.  Another might be Conestoga Golf Course, also in Mesquite.

If you're looking for a 3rd course, I would not hesitate to recommend the Rio Secco - the course where Butch Harmon has his school and is headquartered at.  Always in fabulous condition.

dowsa, on 01 November 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

We are staying at Ceasars Palace.. 17 regular guys, love their golf , love their beer etc etc.. no real big gamblers, if we dont win most of us we will be willing to loose about $500 - $1000 whilst we stay there for the week ( i dont think this is high roller enough to start asking for free shuttle buses etc ????...) Shame to hear the report from kg92lefty regarding wolf creek being a dump, this is the course the wrx'ers reccomended and the one i was most looking forward to from the pictures on the website etc...playing mid november, maybe it will be in better shape in a couple of weeks time...

The course had a water pipe break over summer and had no water for an extended time.  Due to that the greens have never recovered.  I have talked to golfers that have recently played wolf creek and they walked away very dissapointed in the condition of the course but mainly the greens.  Ill admit the views are great but the course in its prime season is still not anywhere near as good condition as coyote springs, paiute, cascata, rio secco.

[stage1350]

If your play can't get you action on Cascata, see if you can get on Rio Secco.  It's part of the Caesars group.

Secco has great views and always has challenging wind.

[cdnrockies]

It's a shame that Wolf Creek is struggling with conditions as it truly is a unique and challenging course. I've played it multiple times and it has the capability to bite you....repeatedly. My buddy (a 4 handicap) made 6 birdies....and still shot 82...lol.

Conestoga is only 2 years old but worth a look. I played it on Monday and it is in very good shape. Most courses should be coming into their own after overseeding.

The Chase is a puzzler for me still. I've also played there several times and while the service and the layout are very good, especially for something they constructed in the middle of nowhere, I've found the greens and setup to border on unfair. Playing with a caddie obviousy helped, but they no longer offer their caddy program as they don't have the traffic.

As mentioned, Rio Secco is very good and reasonable. It is a Caesar's course, but their guest that I played with paid the exact same $139 that I did, so I'm not sure if there is a perk to playing one of their courses (I stayed at Bellagio).

[kg92lefty]

cdnrockies, on 03 November 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

It's a shame that Wolf Creek is struggling with conditions as it truly is a unique and challenging course. I've played it multiple times and it has the capability to bite you....repeatedly. My buddy (a 4 handicap) made 6 birdies....and still shot 82...lol.

Conestoga is only 2 years old but worth a look. I played it on Monday and it is in very good shape. Most courses should be coming into their own after overseeding.

The Chase is a puzzler for me still. I've also played there several times and while the service and the layout are very good, especially for something they constructed in the middle of nowhere, I've found the greens and setup to border on unfair. Playing with a caddie obviousy helped, but they no longer offer their caddy program as they don't have the traffic.

As mentioned, Rio Secco is very good and reasonable. It is a Caesar's course, but their guest that I played with paid the exact same $139 that I did, so I'm not sure if there is a perk to playing one of their courses (I stayed at Bellagio).

Wolf creek is all about fairways, if you can do that you can destroy that place. If you spray it you will struggle (like your buddy most likely did).  Just use a 3 or 5 wood and you are good.  Coyote Springs (the chase) did away with the caddies when they got away from the ultra high end rates.  Play is greatly increasing out there, the summer remains dead (as is every place in vegas).  The greens there are not unfair, just got to know how to putt.

[dowsa]

I contacted Wolf Creek by phone yesterday and spoke to a lady called Sue, I expressed my concerns regarding recent reports of the course being in poor shape and stated that i did not want to travel 5068.525 miles (exactly) to play the course and be left disapointed..She assured me that the course was in terrific shape now after the earlier burst pipe problem,.. I asked if the green fees were any cheaper as i had also been hearing that they had reduced them because of the course's condition,..she stated they were back to $175...I hope she was being honest, anyone played WC in the last couple of days and can shed a little more light on the condition.. It is about 10 days till we play..

[sabram]

Go for it!



Wolf Creek - #17 from #2 tee_edited by tewiespix, on Flickr

[kg92lefty]

dowsa, on 04 November 2012 - 04:03 AM, said:

I contacted Wolf Creek by phone yesterday and spoke to a lady called Sue, I expressed my concerns regarding recent reports of the course being in poor shape and stated that i did not want to travel 5068.525 miles (exactly) to play the course and be left disapointed..She assured me that the course was in terrific shape now after the earlier burst pipe problem,.. I asked if the green fees were any cheaper as i had also been hearing that they had reduced them because of the course's condition,..she stated they were back to $175...I hope she was being honest, anyone played WC in the last couple of days and can shed a little more light on the condition.. It is about 10 days till we play..

They have been in "terrific" shape and we have had guys call us while they are on the first few holes of wolf creek to see if we had tee times in an hour at our course (an hour for the drive time).
I talked with a number of golfers a few weeks ago and they said it was in poor shape, no news lately.

[cdnrockies]

kg92lefty, on 04 November 2012 - 01:00 AM, said:

Wolf creek is all about fairways, if you can do that you can destroy that place. If you spray it you will struggle (like your buddy most likely did).  Just use a 3 or 5 wood and you are good.  Coyote Springs (the chase) did away with the caddies when they got away from the ultra high end rates.  Play is greatly increasing out there, the summer remains dead (as is every place in vegas).  The greens there are not unfair, just got to know how to putt.

I assume you're enjoying your break from playing on Tour?

We're both single digit handicaps and putt just fine thank you. I stand by my comments on the Chase. We both agreed that it would not be a course that mid to high handicappers would enjoy. I've played much more difficult courses (ie. Whistling Straits or Pacific Dunes) and not had the opinion that their greens are set up poorly like at the Chase.

[kg92lefty]

cdnrockies, on 05 November 2012 - 04:36 PM, said:

kg92lefty, on 04 November 2012 - 01:00 AM, said:

Wolf creek is all about fairways, if you can do that you can destroy that place. If you spray it you will struggle (like your buddy most likely did).  Just use a 3 or 5 wood and you are good.  Coyote Springs (the chase) did away with the caddies when they got away from the ultra high end rates.  Play is greatly increasing out there, the summer remains dead (as is every place in vegas).  The greens there are not unfair, just got to know how to putt.

I assume you're enjoying your break from playing on Tour?

We're both single digit handicaps and putt just fine thank you. I stand by my comments on the Chase. We both agreed that it would not be a course that mid to high handicappers would enjoy. I've played much more difficult courses (ie. Whistling Straits or Pacific Dunes) and not had the opinion that their greens are set up poorly like at the Chase.

Hit more greens!! Easy as that. You do not putt as good as you think if they are unfair.  They have large slopes and hidden breaks but only ever get as fast as the high 9s! Of course mid and high caps would struggle there because the area where most golfers don't practice is the area that The Chase tests, the short game.  The greens out there are not what most people are used to seeing but that does not make them unfair.  Explain to me what is set up so poorly about them?

[oliversax]

Any updates on conditions at Wolf Creek?

I'm flying into Vegas and playing there tomorrow and wondering if I should cancel and play another course in Mesquite, like Falcon Ridge.  Thanks.

[myronm]

cdnrockies, on 05 November 2012 - 04:36 PM, said:

kg92lefty, on 04 November 2012 - 01:00 AM, said:

Wolf creek is all about fairways, if you can do that you can destroy that place. If you spray it you will struggle (like your buddy most likely did).  Just use a 3 or 5 wood and you are good.  Coyote Springs (the chase) did away with the caddies when they got away from the ultra high end rates.  Play is greatly increasing out there, the summer remains dead (as is every place in vegas).  The greens there are not unfair, just got to know how to putt.

I assume you're enjoying your break from playing on Tour?

We're both single digit handicaps and putt just fine thank you. I stand by my comments on the Chase. We both agreed that it would not be a course that mid to high handicappers would enjoy. I've played much more difficult courses (ie. Whistling Straits or Pacific Dunes) and not had the opinion that their greens are set up poorly like at the Chase.

Amen to that about the Chase (coyote Springs) being unfair to higher handicap golfers.  It's got several holes that are everything totally unfair about the 18 handicap golfer.  A par three that is 205 from the white tees (at least this summer it was), with a green that is pointed at a right angle (45-60 degrees) from the tee, with water carry and water all down the left side.  In fact, to avoid the 180 yard carry you have to hit either a big slice or hit down the left away from the green.  With the average driver carry of 200 for 18 handicap, how many 18 handicap players can truly play this par 3.

I'm a single digit with strength in the short game and putting (no long game to speak of any more though) and walked off the course after 9 holes as I disliked the layout that much.  First and only course to ever walk off due to disgust with design and fairness of course.

Typical Nicklaus must hit fade into green concept.  Geens putted fine for me, but one person (a scratch golfer) had lots of trouble reading them.

Great course if you're good golfer but I wouldn't recommend it to any golfer over 14-15 handicap.  Could be very very long day.

[oliversax]

Just played Wolf Creek last Sat. Fairways in great shape, new white sand in bunkers on front 9 only, back 9 has same old lumpy dirt sand that used to be on both 9s, new greens very shaggy, slow, a bit bumpy, like you're putting on carpet.

I just gave myself gimmes inside 10 feet, except for birdie putts. Golf experience is as spectacular as always. I thought I was the only one crazy enough to make the drive up every  time I come to Vegas, but I met a 4-some from Indiana who do the same thing.  It's totally worth it.

As a bonus, the pro gives every player a $25 gift certificate for use in golf shop or restaurant to offset the slow greens.  Classy move.