Wolf Creek Golf Club - Holes 16 to 18

Hole 16 Par 4

393 | 377 | 346 | 278 | 231 yards

A good drive is paramount here with a forced carry off the tee of close to 200 yards.  The two white bunkers frame your aiming line on this straight ahead par 4.  The better miss here is down the left as bunkers run down most of the right side beyond what you can see from the tee.

The fairway is split to two levels.  The right half is lower and may offer a better angle into the width of the green.

The approach into the green must navigate the two different colored bunkers and the desert that comes in dangerously behind the green.  This green is relatively shallow so make sure to pick your distance carefully.

Hole 17 Par 5

562 | 527 | 511 | 483 | 384 yards

I find the tee shots at Wolf Creek fall into the wonderful and the absurdly wonderful.  The penultimate hole offers the final of the super-breathtaking vistas from the tee.

Perched on the cliff tops your target here is that tiny strip of fairway far below you.  I hit a sloberringly long tee ball here.  With the elevation my ball traveled 316 yards to just short of the creek that bisects the fairway around 190 yards from the green.

Once down on the fairway you can look back up the cliffs you just were on to get a sense of how high you were.

Your second shot will need to either carry to the second fairway landing area on the far side of the creek, or if you have advanced it far enough, onwards to the green on the other side of the second water feature.

The second fairway area is fronted by the creek and then surrounded by bunkers around the back side.  To the farthest portion of the second fairway you only have about 60 yards to the green.

A view of the sand running up the right side of the fairway.

The green is well protected.  Water runs along the front, a large bunker wraps the right side, and on the left is this steep bank into a thick grass swale.

Looking from the 9th tee you can get a good view of the 17th hole and the carry needed to reach the green.

As you climb up to the final tee box you have one last look of the green.  There is a bit of room to miss the green right and deep but not a lot.  Behind the green the hole falls away down to the water so anything hit long is not likely to stay dry.

Hole 18 Par 4

307 | 395 | 278 |278 | 167 yards

The final hole offers one last challenging tee shot.  The tees are slightly elevated, but not so much as most holes.  Your vantage point is high enough to see all of the trouble ahead.  The desert is in play down both sides of the hole.  Bunkers further squeeze down the visual appearance of the fairway.

The groundskeepers really show of their skill on this hole with the near vertical grass growing like the crest of a wave sweeping over the desert.  I have no idea how they keep that grass in that location in the shape it is in.

The pair of bunkers on the right are around 200 yards to carry.  There is more fairway over the top of them than what can be seen from the tee.  Be aware though that a creek bisects this hole only 250 yards from the tee.

On your second shot you must carry the stream cutting across the hole.  Missing right of the green is problematic with a trio of bunkers hanging out there, and the desert close beside them.

I hit my tee shot a little too far left.  Luckily I got a good bounce of the cliff face and onto the cart path, with my ball bounding up the left side and ending in the rough,  The angle from this side of the hole takes the sand out of play and seems the better approach into the green.

As you drive up the cart path and approach the green, enjoy the waterfall tucked into the left side cliffs.  Because, why not?

A view back from behind the green shows how deep yet again this hole is.  there is plenty of safety to miss long left on your approach, which is a much better spot that short right.

Final Thoughts

How to best sum up Wolf Creek? Fantastical? Outrageous? Beautiful? Ostentatious? Scenic? Difficult? Ridiculous? Fun? The answer has to be yes to them all.

This is one of a very short list of courses that exceeded my expectations in every way.  The conditions were absolutely perfect from tee to green.  The fairways were immaculate and the rough was unbelievably lush.  It is always a bit of a forced dichotomy to see such verdant green in the desert.  I had read some reviews before going that talked about poor conditions.  That could not have been further from what I found during my round.

This course is truly a wonderland of almost surreal beauty.  The massive elevation changes set among the desert canyons makes for a unforgettably fantastic venue.  I was blessed with near perfect weather- sunny skies and low winds.

I have to say that Wolf Creek may be the most memorable, and perhaps my favorite desert golf course, I have ever played.  With playing conditions as nice as any course I have played.

While the course is not like anything you have likely ever experienced, the roller coaster thrill ride you get to partake in when you play here is one the truly special golfing experiences that can be had.  I can easily see why this course is rated so highly.  It is a bucket list type experience.  You will have more "wow" moments atop these tee boxes than on just about any other course.

If you are in Vegas and want to golf,  rent a car, get up to Mesquite.  Play Wolf Creek.  You won't regret it.  And you certainly won't forget it!

You can check out my GameGolf summary of this round here

Details

Wolf Creek Golf Club

403 Paradise Parkway

Mesquite NV 89027

866 252 4653

http://www.golfwolfcreek.com/

$85-$200 fees in 2016

Wolf Creek Introduction
Wolf Creek Hole 1-3
Wolf Creek Hole 4-6
Wolf Creek Hole 7-9
Wolf Creek Hole 10-12
Wolf Creek Hole 13-15

Wolf Creek Golf Club - Holes 13 to 15

Hole 13 Par 4

350 | 341 | 301 | 301 | 224 yards

An interesting short par 4.  This hole doglegs severely to the right, into a valley that is hidden from the tee.  Off the tee, you see the water you must carry, the bunker across the fairway on the opposite corner, a circular fairway landing area, and desert- plenty of desert.

Trying to cut the corner here is not worthwhile.  The fairway around the corner is so narrow it is virtually impossible to hit from your drive.  This hole is a typical target hole.  The best drive is just right of the bunker.  Anything left of that just leaves a longer shot in.  anything right can find trouble.

The far side of the fairway is not that distant, especially given the ubiquitous elevated teeing ground.  Driver is likely too much club on this hole.

As you turn the corner you see that the green is in a bit of a natural amphitheater, surrounded by the cliffs on all sides.

Coming up short on the fairway leads to a hard second shot where the approach to the green is essentially blind.

If you hit far enough into the fairway,  you have a much better view for your second shot.

The green is elevated from the fairway for your second shot.  It is protected short on both sides by bunkers.  The green itself is severely sloped, back to front.

There is also plenty of room behind the green with a large grass run-off area.  Being back here is not the best place though with the green sloping away from you to the front.

Hole 14 Par 4

444 | 370 | 367 | 282 | 197 yards

Stepping onto the 14th tee, you have a sweeping vista very similar to the par 5 5th hole.  This hole is a par 4 dogleg left.  A cavernous desert area stretches all the way from tee to green down the left, protecting the hole from easy access off the tee.  

The the far left you can see a preview of the 15th hole on the far side of the desert.

A string of bunkers also runs up the length of the left hole and frames the hole nicely.  The last two bunkers run along the left side of this hole's green.  

Down the right you actually have 2 fairways to hit with a strip of rough separating the short grass.  The fairway rises pretty severely from where it starts to about 80 yards from the green, where it levels out.  Your drive will not run much and will likely event come back on you a bit when it hits the fairway.

You can see in the photo above how much the fairway rises.  If you hit this slope as I did your ball will roll back away from the green.  From here, your approach must carry the bunkers to reach the green.

A well hit drive can find the top ridge of the fairway. From here you have a much more open angle to the hole.  You can also see how the slope along the right of the fairway can keep your ball in play.

With all of the hazards left on your approach the right side is your miss.  With a lucky bounce your shot may even feed back onto the green.

Hole 15 Par 3

125 | 116 | 113 | 112 | 98 yards

The drive to the 15th tee offers a great view looking back on the dogleg right 6th hole and the 7th hole beyond it.

The 15th is maybe the most modest holes on the course. It is also the shortest.  The tees are elevated, and the hole is exposed to the winds that may be blowing, so picking your club is the hardest part of this hole.

Again all of the danger here is left of the hole (and short).  To the right, the slope of the course can cause a kick back onto the green.

The green is fairly deep and is one of the flatter putting surfaces if you stay away from the right side.

Wolf Creek Hole Introduction

Wolf Creek Hole 1-3
Wolf Creek Hole 4-6
Wolf Creek Hole 7-9
Wolf Creek Hole 10-12
Wolf Creek Hole 16-18

Wolf Creek Golf Club - Holes 10 to 12

Hole 10 Par 4

472 | 446 | 367 | 271 | 216

This is probably the most visually challenging tee shot on the course from the back tees.  It appears that this hole is very narrow but that is caused by the large sloping cliff that blocks your view down the right of the hole.

There is actually much more room beyond that slope, but you do need to carry it 220 yards from the tips to fly the slope and the creek that cuts across the hole as well in that location.

Missing right is the better option than missing left as the hole falls off into the desert on the left side, where as the right offers a bit of an uphill slope to prevent your ball running off the fairway.

The tee shot gets easier the further up you go as you take out more of the water.  From the red tees you have a dead straight short par 4 with only sand as your hazards.

The green is a large kidney shape which is protected in the bend on the right by a single bunker and more guarded on the left by two large bunkers that extend forward into the fairway some 80 yards.  This green is not as tiered as some others but it does have a couple of distinct levels from front to back so hitting to the correct third of the green is important.

Hole 11 Par 3

215 | 193 | 166 | 152 | 70 yards

An island of green surrounded by the desert awaits you on this par 3.  A spectacular looking hole the desert really shouldn't come into play except for with an extreme miss-hit.

There is plenty of room to miss to the right and short, just stay away from the left side where a pair of deep bunkers sit with the desert encroaching closely beside them.  With another extremely elevated tee the most difficult part of this hole may be selecting the right club.

The back 4 tees all offer a relatively close tee shot experience save for the 50 yards that separates the tees.

After teeing off have fun riding another one of the Wolf Creek roller coasters as you descend down into the bowl where this green sits.

From the forward tees however, this hole looks completely different.  This tee sits down in the grass bowl and is but a small pitch from the green.

Another 40 yard deep green that slopes back to front can lead to some long putting opportunities.

Hole 12 Par 5

560 | 544 | 490 | 471 | 421 yards

Expansive tee shots are the norm by now but this is another tremendous view of the hole you are about to play.  The elevated back tees give you a clear vantage point to all this hole has in store.

Water on the left is the most pressing problem off the tee.  The best drive will be along the lines of the carts in this photo.  Missing right on a well struck shot can find the desert or at least find you blocked slightly on your next shot by the desert mounds down that side.

A beautiful view of the hole is ahead as you descend from the tees down into the fairway.

Your second shot is more intimidating that the tee shot.  The water still in play down the left and the desert on the right squeezes down the appearance of the fairway as you play to towards the green.  The widest landing area for your second shot puts you about 130 yards from the green for your approach.

Anything hit down the right side, while staying safe from the water can end up with a side hill stance and your views obstructed by the slopes here.  The sand that frames the end of the water is still a ways from the green.  That sits about 60 yards short of the green.

Your approach on your third shot should be fairly easy.  The green is elevate to protect against an easy long second shot reaching.  Other than the elevation there are not other hazards around the green.    This green is massive.  Its deepest length is almost straight in line with the fairway, making it an inviting target for long hitters.

Woe to those on the opposite end of the green from where the flag is though.  With a length of over 50 yards you better have a big swing to be able to putt across this green.

A look back up the hole shows the elevation change from the tee to the fairway.  Most of the hole plays relatively flat until your approach the raised green.

One of the other things to mention about the course are the beautiful desert flowers that were in bloom when I was here.  I would highly recommend playing the course in April as not only was the course in great shape but the weather was perfect and the flowers were in bloom!

Wolf Creek Hole Introduction
Wolf Creek Hole 1-3
Wolf Creek Hole 4-6
Wolf Creek Hole 7-9
Wolf Creek Hole 13-15
Wolf Creek Hole 16-18