Rhodes Ranch’s player-friendly design keeps ’em coming back

Ted Robinson, widely acknowledged as one of the world's most respected golf course architects, has a relatively simple design philosophy. First and foremost, the course should be versatile enough that high handicappers can play with their single-digit friends if they choose the right set of tees. Second, it should be visually appealing and improve as the vegetation matures. Finally, it should be memorable enough that players can recall individual shots on specific holes long after the round has ended.

Rhodes Ranch Golf Club meets all of those criteria, and the result is a course that players seek out again and again. Opened in 1997, this championship-length track serves as the centerpiece of a well-appointed but egalitarian residential community. There is a mildly frustrating tendency among some elite golf course designers to create courses based upon the skill sets of scratch golfers, despite the fact that the typical amateur golfer's score exceeds 100. (While the average handicap is 15.2, players who actually track that statistic tend to be more dedicated and skilled.) With a nod to weekend golfers, Robinson demands few forced carries, generally provides a bailout zone when water is in play and contours puttable green complexes.

That is not to say Rhodes Ranch is easy; there is plenty of trouble to be found for those who go pin-hunting on every hole. However, it is a course that can be enjoyed by both accomplished players and those whose scores rarely descend into double digits.

Case in point is the opening hole, a par 4 that plays only 379 yards from the back. While fairway bunkers bite at both edges of the fairway, the hole's modest length allows players to hit a fairway metal instead, laying up short of trouble but still allowing for a midiron approach. The green is protected by a large bunker front left and a less obvious one along the right, steering some into exactly the trouble they were trying to avoid.

After a substantially longer par 4 comes the first of Rhodes Ranch's scenic par-3 tests, a nasty bit of work that stretches 227 stressful yards over water. While there is a generous bailout area left of the green, aiming at any portion of the putting surface will involve landing between the lake and a trio of bunkers backing the green. This is not a hole to be trifled with; anything short or right is dead, while blasting downhill from the rear bunkers toward water requires a preshot drink.

Although the 435-yard, par-4 sixth hole rates as the course's toughest, it's hard to see why. Sure, the fairway narrows to the width of a driveway deep in the zone, and the hill left of the landing area can create some comically uneven lies, but there aren't any lost-ball possibilities. Landing an approach in the sticky greenside rough is worse than finding one of the bunkers, so accuracy is a must.

The front side closes with an easy but potentially dangerous par 5 spanning 571 yards. The most critical swing here is the first one, as water lurking along the fairway's right edge threatens to turn a birdie chance into a bogey. From the short grass, long hitters can give it a lash with a fairway metal in the hopes of running it onto the green for a peek at eagle. The rest of us just play for the wedge approach.

Following a straightforward par 4 to open the back nine, it's time for a gimmicky but fun 321-yard par 4 at No. 11 that is theoretically drivable, but only for the foolhardy. Water is in play along the right from tee to green, nibbling at the front edge of the putting surface. The more prudent approach, which offers just as good of a chance at birdie with far less risk, is an iron or hybrid to the left side, followed by a pitch approach from a safe angle.

The second of back-to-back scoring chances, the 510-yard, par-5 15th is the easiest of the long holes, its wide fairway begging players to swing for the fences with impunity. While there are bunkers along both sides, it takes a fairly wild swing to find them. Those who attack the green in two must avoid the bunker barricading the front left edge but, even from the sand, up and down for birdie is not an unreasonable proposition. If ever there was a risk worth taking, this is it.

After handing out scoring chances left and right, Rhodes Ranch looks to take one or two back with its finishing hole, which at 441 yards is the longest par 4 on the course. However, the downhill gradient and wide landing zone encourage an aggressive swing off the tee. While the boulder-strewn creek fronting the green makes the long approach intimidating, there is ample landing room for those who take enough club. Blasting from the pencil-thin greenside bunker on the left, however, is like swinging inside a phone booth. Par at the finish is a fine score.

Although scratch golfers may lament the ease with which this course can be navigated, there are a lot more of us than there are of them, so point them toward the nearest Pete Dye track and enjoy a relaxing round on a well-manicured, exceptionally fair course.

Rhodes Ranch Golf Club is located at 20 Rhodes Ranch Parkway, just off Durango Drive south of the Las Vegas Beltway. For more information or to reserve a tee time, visit www.rhodesranchgolf.com or call 740-4114.