Shadow Creek named one of nation’s top courses again

The latest platitudes came from Golfweek magazine, which named Shadow Creek the top course in the nation owned or operated by a casino for the second straight year. The course is owned by MGM Resorts International.

There was little change on the magazine’s top 50 choices from last year, though Bali Hai entered at No. 49.

The best casino courses was the final list released in Golfweek’s massive amount of categories, and Shadow Creek can be found all over the 2020 rankings. It’s No. 7 on the list of the nation’s top 100 courses you can play, No. 11 on the best modern courses in the country and No. 1 on the best courses you can play in Nevada.

Shadow Creek has held a place of mystery for golfers, including Southern Nevadans, for many years. Some of that intrigue was lifted in October when the course hosted the CJ Cup, a PGA Tour event that allowed the public to see what experts have been raving about for years.

Two other Nevada courses are on the top 100 you can play list: Cascata Golf Club in Boulder City at No. 77 and Wolf Creek in Mesquite at No. 90.

Clear Creek Tahoe in Carson City was the only other Nevada course on the top 200 modern courses, at No. 89.

Southern Nevada courses dominate the list of the state’s 15 best courses that are open to the public. The list:

1. Shadow Creek (North Las Vegas);

2. Cascata (Boulder City);

3. Wolf Creek (Mesquite);

4. Edgewood Tahoe (Stateline);

5. Conestoga (Mesquite);

6. Reflection Bay (Henderson);

7. Coyote Springs (Moapa);

8. Incline Village, Championship (Incline Village);

9. Paiute, Wolf (Las Vegas);

10. Paiute, Sun Mountain (Las Vegas);

11. Rio Secco (Henderson);

12. Paiute, Snow Mountain (Las Vegas);

13. TPC Las Vegas (Las Vegas);

14. Genoa Lakes, Ranch (Genoa);

15. Bear’s Best (Las Vegas).

The list certainly takes liberties of what is meant by courses you can play. Shadow Creek is next to impossible to get on and requires a stay at an MGM property and a limo ride to the course. Expect to break the bank if you get the opportunity to play, not only at Shadow Creek but also several other courses on the list.

A check of available tee times for this week show rates as high as $499 per round on a few of the courses. The bargains? Coyote Springs at $45 to $80, any of the Paiute courses at $60 to $75 for Clark County residents, or Reflection Bay at $80 to $88 for residents.

Chip shots

— The 2021 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open will be played from Oct. 4 to 10 at TPC Summerlin.

— Riana Mission and Yana Wilson won a playoff to capture a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball sectional qualifier last week at Las Vegas National Golf Club. They shot a 6-under 65 to match Tiffany Le and Kate Villegas, who become first alternates as a result of the playoff. Kristin Angosta and Ellie Bushnell were one shot back. Mission and Wilson advance to the championship in April at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.

— Jackson Parrish, a senior at Coral Academy who plays for Liberty High School, is signing a letter of intent to play college golf at Colorado School of the Mines in Golden. Parrish has had a stellar junior golf career with multiple wins, including this summer’s LV City Challenge at Dragon Ridge and last summer’s College Prep Junior Championship at TPC Las Vegas.

— Sergio Garcia’s positive COVID-19 test forced his withdrawal from the Masters, ending the current longest streak of consecutive majors played by a player at 84. Former UNLV star Adam Scott is the new leader with 76. The all-time mark is held by Jack Nicklaus, who played 146 straight majors from 1962 to 1998.

— As an offshoot of last month’s CJ Cup, Justin Thomas won a closest to the pin contest at Rio Secco Golf Club, beating five other pros to earn $10,000 for St. Jude’s Ranch for Children in Boulder City. The Team Troon Challenge put players on a floating island in the water at the 16th hole at Rio Secco, 145 yards from the pin. Thomas’ shot landed 51 inches from the cup to defeat efforts from Matt Fitzpatrick, Matt Kuchar, Alex Noren, Gary Woodland and Cheyenne Woods.

— Tim Meads and Jeff Brickner won the title at the Legacy Men’s Club’s annual member-member tournament.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.