Course Spotlight Spring 2015 - Legacy Golf Club

The Legacy Golf Club

An 18-hole tribute to Las Vegas

Story by Bill Bowman

This is Las Vegas…home of great golf courses and great gaming. The Legacy Golf Club in Henderson mixes those endeavors to perfection. The layout has got the Vegas theme front and center as well as a couple of holes where players’ willingness to gamble will be put them to the test on risk/reward shots.

The Legacy, an Arthur Hills design, stretches out to an impressive 7,233 yards from the tips. “The Legacy has rich tradition in Las Vegas,” says Andy Deiro, general manager. “It’s an extremely challenging and fair course and the conditions are just outstanding.”

Now, with around 50 golf course choices in the Vegas area, players might want to know what is so special about The Legacy.

Well, the answers are plentiful. But we’ll start with the par-3 10^th hole. This 193-yard beauty is the course’s signature design and represents Vegas perfectly. The tee boxes are shaped like the four suits in a deck of cards: club, diamond, heart and spade. There’s no better tribute to Las Vegas anywhere.

There’s plenty more to be excited about. Like the Devil’s Triangle. This three-hole stretch features golf holes that will test a player’s power (the par-4 11^th stretches out to 444 yards from the tips), shot-shaping ability (the par-4 12^th is 384 yards from the tips but features a severe dog-leg left off the tee) and aggressiveness (the par-4 12^th is just 324 yards from the tips so it’s driveable). Get through these three holes at par or better and you’ve got something to brag about.

And speaking of the 13^th, it’s a gambling hole right from the start. Do you play it smart and lay up or try to drive the green? According to Deiro, the answer is easy. “Logically, players can just hit a long iron or rescue club into the fairway and have a sand wedge in,” he says. “But you’d be surprised how often I see people reach for the driver headcover. The driver is just not a shot many people can pull off very often.”

One of the best risk/reward gambles in Las Vegas is here. The par-5 17^th plays just 515 yards from the tips and this one is definitely reachable in two. But, there is danger…and plenty of it. The drive is a grip-it-and-rip it shot to a wide fairway. Bunkers on either side do creep into the landing area so accuracy is a must.

Then comes the dilemma. Do you go for it in two or lay up? Well, your answer, again, will show what type of gambler you are. Laying up will leave just a wedge into a narrow, but deep green. But, many will go for the gusto and take their best shot at getting home in two. A couple of things to remember: the fairway narrows down to about 20 yards wide near the green so rolling up a shot is tough…especially since the fairway slopes toward the huge pond on your left. A couple of bunkers, one short-right of the green and another on the right add to the challenge. Throw in a couple of diabolical mounds and you’ve got the makings of a dynamic golf hole.

“This is certainly a birdie hole that can turn into a bogey or double bogey hole if it’s not well thought out,” Deiro says. “The part most players don’t realize is that if they lay up their shot, they need to lay it up short of the water…not short of the green. If you try to lay up short of the green, your ball can easily take a hop to the left and find the water.”

So whether it’s the Vegas theme you’re looking for in your next golf outing, risk/reward golf holes, rolling fairways, huge greens, water features or all of those factors, The Legacy will certainly fit the bill.

And that’s not a gamble…it’s a sure bet.

The Legacy Golf Club

130 Par Excellence Dr., Henderson

702-897-2187

www.thelegacygc.com