Las Vegas is famous for gambling ( now called gaming - it sounds less offensive ) and for the top star entertainment. It is also home to Lake Mead, Hoover Dam (aka Boulder Dam), Valley of Fire, the Air Force Thunderbirds, Mt. Charleston Ski Resort, Red Rock Canyon State Park, & the Valley of Fire State Park. We are home to the three largest conventions in the world: Consumer Electronics Winter Show , Comdex Computer Show, The National Association of Home Builders, plus the NFR - National Finals Rodeo - each year. Sports wise, Las Vegas is kind of different. While were are not slack about our sports, it seems were not that enthused about supporting some of them either. Auto racing, basketball, baseball, hockey and football all have had representation here - at least for a while. Strong support is gathered for a couple of sports though. Home to a first class NASCAR-INDY racetrack - Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a minor league baseball team that was called "The Las Vegas Stars" and was a call-up for the San Diego Padres. On September 27, 2000 they switched to the LA Dodgers. On December 19, 2000, they changed the name of the team to the Las Vegas 51s to mark the transition from being the San Diego Padres' Triple-A affiliate to the Los Angeles Dodgers' top farm club. In the area of what has come and gone, we have had a host of football attempts, a couple of hocky and basketball teams. If you would like to see a list of sports and teams that have popped up and what happened to them, go to Las Vegas Sports Teams.

Las Vegas Golf Courses and Packages

However, what you may not know, is how much of a world class golfing city Las Vegas has become. Just look at who has designed courses here: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Pete Dye Designs, PGA Tour Designs, Schmidt-Curley and a host of PGA Players : Ray Floyd, Chi Chi Rodriques, Billy Casper, Greg Nash, Fuzzy Zoeller, and Johnny Miller. You can find a page listing all the architects and the courses they have designed in Las Vegas at: Course Architects. Just a added note, Hotel Reservations Network, a provider of discount hotel accommodations worldwide, ranked Las Vegas as its most popular destination for 2001. And for the 15th consecutive year, Nevada continued its reign as the nation's fastest-growing state according to 2001 Census Bureau.

Las Vegas Golf Courses and Packages

As further evidence of the impact of golf in Las Vegas, you can now earn a bachelor's degree in recreation with an emphasis on professional golf management at UNLV. Yes, the PGA of America approved (Feb 2002) a professional golf management program at the college. The curriculum includes classes in customer service, personnel management, pro shop operations and food and beverage concession management. Since students who wish to become PGA professionals must ultimately pass a playing aptitude test, UNLV has made arrangements with Walters Golf to allow students in the program to play at Stallion Mountain Country Club or Desert Pines Golf Club at reduced rates. For a little more information on this program, read this article in the Las Vegas Sun.

Las Vegas Golf Courses and Packages

Las Vegas started its connection with professional golf in 1953 at the Wilber Clark's Desert Inn Hotel and Golf Course, when the winner was paid with a wheelbarrow full of silver dollars. That was a lot of money back then - the richest pay out on the tour! The tournament was called the "Tournament of Champions"
( TOC ), and was the original forerunner of today's final tour event. Since then, Las Vegas has become deeply connected to tour golf. It was the only city in the U.S. to host the three major tours - The PGA, SPGA, and the LPGA - in the same year and with those tournaments returning to be played every year. In 1996, the Las Vegas area added the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge - and has returned every year since. In 2000, the LPGA decided to drop their connection to Las Vegas with the closing of the Desert Inn Country Club. A dumb decision in my opinion, the players loved it, the town loved it, and there are plenty of courses to set up the tournament. And it now looks like the Senior PGA will be loosing it's tournament here - trouble finding a sponsor for the event. Such a shame, to miss watching up close all the players I watched start up in the PGA. Just a note, I have not missed a tour event in the last 15 years, and I am sure going to miss the variety of golf that the three tours offered.