Desert Pines Golf Club

Desert Pines Golf Club is a Public 18 hole golf course located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Desert Pines is extremely convenient, located less than 10 minutes from downtown and less than 15 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip.

The Desert Pines Golf Club Golf Course first opened for play in 1996. The course was designed by Perry Dye.

Nearly 4,000 mature pine trees, imported white sand and abundant water features make Desert Pines feel like a course cut right out of the Carolinas. The Dye Designs layout plays 6,810 yards from the back tees. Pine trees shade the roughs on virtually every fairway, water comes into play on half the holes and more than 60 bunkers -- many framed with Pete Dye's trademark railroad ties -- really tighten up the course. Greens are further protected by their smaller size and severe greenside undulations.

The layout is reasonably wide open off the tee, but has a lot of sand and water, and narrow approaches to the greens complexes. Bunkers (more than 60 as well as desert outcroppings), water (four ponds and streams bring water into play on nine holes) and trees (thousands of pines line the fairways) provide challenges from start to finish. However, Desert Pines is also a fair course -- whether you're a beginner or a scratch player -- with many scoring chances. The scoring chances start with the opening tee shot on each nine. #1 and #10 both play less than 375 yards and are straightaway par 4s, so par and birdie chances are there.

#9 and #18 are two of Vegas' better closing holes. Both are very long par 4s (467 yards on the ninth and 466 yards on the 18th) with water lapping up to the greens (to the right on the ninth and the left on the 18th). Drives on both holes need to avoid perfectly placed fairway bunkers to give players long-to-mid irons into a pair of large greens. Two putts are not a given, so par on both is a good score.

The four par 3's measure 156 to 252 yards. The green on the 180-yard eighth hole is half surrounded by a lake right and bunkers front and left; so there's little room for bailout. The three par 5's are not lengthy, but they're all tight. The 535-yard third hole plays slightly downhill, so it's reachable in two; but there's a white sand waste area all along the left side on the drive, and from 150 yards out, a pond on the right stretches all the way to the green, where a bunker left can swallow bailouts.

The par-4 holes offer the full gamut of tee shot options. Three of the par 4's measure 341 yards or less, while six play more than 425 yards. The closing holes on each nine are ranked as the course's toughest.

Par for the course is 71. From the back tees the course plays to 6,810 yards. From the forward tees the course measures 5,873 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 3, a par-5 that plays to 535 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 11, a par-3 that plays to 156 yards from the back tee.

Watch out for # 9, the 467 yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole at Desert Pines Golf Club is # 14, a 324 yard par-4.

Back tees: par-71, 6,810 yards, 70.6 / 125

Middle tees: par-71, 6,494 yards, 67.9 / 118

Forward tees: par-71, 5,873 yards, 69.4 / 116