That seems to be the guiding ideology of Las Vegas, where no indulgence - golf or otherwise - is too extravagant. After all, it's the home of a million-dollar golf package , as part of the high-roller festivities surrounding the return of Formula 1 racing to Sin City in November 2023.
Believe it or not, the golf course involved in that crazy package - Wynn Golf Club - is not even the most expensive in Las Vegas. That distinction goes to Shadow Creek, which recently extended its lead as the most expensive tee time in America by raising its standard per-person green fee from $1,000 to $1,250, according to a recent Casino.org story . golf caddy cart
Shadow Creek, host of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play since 2021 and the PGA TOUR's CJ Cup in 2020, was originally the private domain of casino magnate Steve Wynn, but it eventually became an amenity for VIPs of select MGM properties, with a $500 green fee that was eye-popping by late-20th-century standards - inclusive of food, drink and limo transportation to and from the course though it was.
It could be said that the cost to play Shadow Creek's Tom Fazio-designed golf course, built in 1989 at eight-figure expense, did not keep up with inflation until recently. As late as 2019, the green fee was $600 - a steal compared to the new going rate, which will take effect when the course reopens after its annual overseeding on October 19. But by hiking it to $1,000 in 2021 amid golf's pandemic spurred global resurgence in popularity, and then raising it another $250 (a sum that covers the green fees at 99% of public-access courses in the United States) for the upcoming season, it's a signal of increased demand for one of the game's most extravagant experiences in Las Vegas' crazy economic climate.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR - Pinehurst No. 10 , a brand-new Tom Doak design, is set to open April 3, 2024, a couple of months before the resort's famed No. 2 course hosts next year's U.S. Open. [LINK: Pinehurst.com ]
NEW DESIGN FIRM LAUNCHES - Thad Layton, a golf course architect who for more than 20 years was part of Arnold Palmer Design Company, has announced the formation of his own firm, Thad Layton Design. Layton moved from Florida to Colorado in 2019; he recently completed a bunker renovation of Teton Pines Country Club in Wyoming as well as Peninsula Papagayo Golf Club in Costa Rica. [LINK: Thad Layton Design ]
THREE-YEAR RENOVATION COMING - Cantigny Golf , a 27-hole public facility outside of Chicago that hosted the U.S. Public Links Championship in 2007, will be undergoing a three-year renovation starting in 2024. Each year through 2026, one of its nines will be closed for renovation by architect Todd Quitno, with all 27 holes opening back up in 2027. Cantigny is a perennial Golfers' Choice selection for the state of Illinois . [LINK: The Golf Wire ]
HONG KONG COURSE TO BECOME PUBLIC HOUSING - The government of Hong Kong plans to build 12,000 public housing units using nearly 80 acres of Fanling Golf Course, which was originally built in 1911. [LINK: Bloomberg ]
NEW NAME - The Trump name will no longer be attached to Ferry Point Golf Links in New York City, after the contract to operate it was bought out by another company. [LINK: ABC News ]
GOLF-ADJACENT - "An older man who appeared to be acting confused" drove a golf cart through the window of the pro shop at an Oklahoma golf course. [LINK: KOCO ]
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