Bear’s Best a golden collection of great golf holes

Bear's Best is exactly what its name implies, but it is all but unknown to most local golfers. A collection of favorite offerings from Jack Nicklaus' three-plus decades of golf course design, this 7,194-yard course features a little bit of everything, from the tee-to-green water hazard of La Quinta's PGA West track to the striking black sand of Montana's Old Works Golf Club.

Until the current recession, it focused primarily on the high-end resort market, making its greens fees out of reach for many residents. Like many other elite courses, Bear's Best has adjusted to the economic times, providing local golfers an excellent opportunity to play this spectacular course at an affordable price. In fact, through its inexpensive membership program, players can lock down a very attractive rate that doesn't end with the summer heat.

As one might expect from a resort-style facility, Bear's Best features an ample practice facility, a first-rate clubhouse and GPS-equipped golf carts. What it doesn't include is the pretentiousness often associated with luxury golf clubs. From the first tee to the 19th hole, the staff is attentive without being stuffy, making for a thoroughly relaxing day on the links.

Bear's Best opens with a dangerous 413-yard par 4 that bends to the left around water, which is in play on both the first and second shots -- and any subsequent swings, for those who fail to hit a few preround drives on the range. With no bunkers in play from the tee, the fairway's right edge is a fine target. While that strategy lengthens the approach to the elevated green, it also reduces the likelihood of finding water or one of the three bunkers that guard the green's left side.

After a couple of holes that feature more sand than Copacabana Beach, golfers get their first look at the feature most commonly associated with Bear's Best, the massive and indisputably cool black sand bunkers at the 229-yard, par-3 fourth hole. Despite its intimidating appearance, the "BP" hole plays shorter than the listed yardage and offers a huge bailout zone.

Those who do find the bunkers will find them surprisingly light in texture and easy to escape. The wide putting surface can be tricky to navigate as the green's contouring and the natural slope of the mountain vie for control of the ball; this little physics tussle applies to all of the greens.

No. 8, the front side's second par 5, features a sliver of a fairway lined on both sides by a scattering of young pines. While there are no bunkers in play off the tee, tree trouble abounds. However, prodigious drivers can reach this 599-yard hole in two because it plays downhill toward the valley. The approach must be precise, as deep bunkers front and back can turn an eagle opportunity into a scramble for par in a hurry.

The back side opens with a short but perplexing par 4 featuring a split fairway that is hard to discern from the tee box. The right lane is quite narrow until deep in the zone but offers a very clean look at a well-bunkered green. Left is an easier drive but sets up an approach that must carry a large bunker and avoid two more positioned left and deep of the green.

Perhaps the course's most beautiful and dramatic vista unfolds from the tee box of the 15th hole, a downhill 230-yard par 3 that demands a substantial carry over desert but provides a deceptively generous bailout zone short of the putting surface. Bunkers bracket both edges of the green; take particular care to avoid the cavernous trap on the left, which can be difficult to escape.

For his closing hole, Nicklaus selected PGA West's final offering, a 463-yard par 4 featuring a 200-plus yard ribbon of bunker along the right edge that separates grass from water. Any who attempt to reach the green in two from this bunker are more than foolhardy -- they are Darwin Award-worthy. There is plenty of room left for a safe miss; those facing longer approaches should consider laying up just short of the left greenside bunker and playing for the up-and-down par. Hardly an assertive way to end a round, but this hole can be a round-wrecker.

Avid players who have not yet had an opportunity to play this course should take advantage of the rates and walk in the footsteps of golf's greatest champion. Bear's Best Golf Club is located at 11111 W. Flamingo Road. For information or to reserve a tee time, visit www.bearsbestlasvegas.com or call 804-8500.