Wolf Creek: Disappointing

[fjk]

Got to play wolf creek yesterday. It's peak season now so it's $200.

 

Wolf creek gets a lot of love on here and has sky high ratings on greens keeper. I see an occasional negative review, but many are at the "bucket list" or "most fun I've ever had" level of reviews.

 

Everything around Vegas now is pricey (Paiute in the mid high 100s) so we figured we'd make the treck out to wolf creek.

 

Conclusion: it's a nice course, tons of elevation changes, great staff, average facilities, poor practice facilities, and the course conditions itself were very, very average. I am surprised nobody is willing to make these comments.

 

 

 

Staff (4.5/5):

Very nice. Meet you in the parking lot. Get you acquainted to the course and facilities. Nothing over the top. No cart girl.

 

Facilities (2/5):

The practice range was fairly poor for a high end course (or $200 course for that matter). There's maybe 10 spots, and they were on grass at least. Couple of bunkers. Irons only bc the range is maybe, maybe 200 yards. Very small range.

 

Club house/pro shop nothing to remark about.

 

Layout (3.5/5):

Tons of elevation changes, hikes up to tee boxes, elevated pins... Forced carries. Several very nice elevated scenic views.

 

Almost too much. Kinda nice to have 4-6 holes with these features but 18 holes worth got a little much for my taste, and started to feel a bit gimmicky.

 

It's scenic but not as dramatic as the previews make them seem, and not as isolated as you would think either.

 

Tee boxes (4/5):

Fairly level, decent grass. Some tee boxes were a little unlevel.

 

Fairways (4.5/5):

Good condition, grass a little grown out

 

Sand (4/5):

Course sand but not too firm

 

Greens (1/5):

This might have been the biggest disappointment of the round. No exaggeration in that they were consistent with muni greens. Grown out, bumpy, slow. I'd even say they were on the bottom half of muni greens I've played at in SoCal. They didn't look like they had been mown in at least a week or rolled. Very strange.

 

 

 

 

Overall for peak season I was pretty disappointed by the condition esp greens, which probably exacerbated my underwhelmed impression (given the hype).

 

Wouldn't go back for more than $70 unless the greens were totally changed. Nice staff though, and an overall positive experience.

 

Final rating 3/5.

[AC168]

Thanks for update in conditions.

[jonsd]

Got to play wolf creek yesterday. It's peak season now so it's $200.

 

Wolf creek gets a lot of love on here and has sky high ratings on greens keeper. I see an occasional negative review, but many are at the "bucket list" or "most fun I've ever had" level of reviews.

 

Everything around Vegas now is pricey (Paiute in the mid high 100s) so we figured we'd make the treck out to wolf creek.

 

Conclusion: it's a nice course, tons of elevation changes, great staff, average facilities, poor practice facilities, and the course conditions itself were very, very average. I am surprised nobody is willing to make these comments.

 

 

 

Staff (4.5/5):

Very nice. Meet you in the parking lot. Get you acquainted to the course and facilities. Nothing over the top. No cart girl.

 

Facilities (2/5):

The practice range was fairly poor for a high end course (or $200 course for that matter). There's maybe 10 spots, and they were on grass at least. Couple of bunkers. Irons only bc the range is maybe, maybe 200 yards. Very small range.

 

Club house/pro shop nothing to remark about.

 

Layout (3.5/5):

Tons of elevation changes, hikes up to tee boxes, elevated pins... Forced carries. Several very nice elevated scenic views.

 

Almost too much. Kinda nice to have 4-6 holes with these features but 18 holes worth got a little much for my taste, and started to feel a bit gimmicky.

 

It's scenic but not as dramatic as the previews make them seem, and not as isolated as you would think either.

 

Tee boxes (4/5):

Fairly level, decent grass. Some tee boxes were a little unlevel.

 

Fairways (4.5/5):

Good condition, grass a little grown out

 

Sand (4/5):

Course sand but not too firm

 

Greens (1/5):

This might have been the biggest disappointment of the round. No exaggeration in that they were consistent with muni greens. Grown out, bumpy, slow. I'd even say they were on the bottom half of muni greens I've played at in SoCal. They didn't look like they had been mown in at least a week or rolled. Very strange.

 

 

 

 

Overall for peak season I was pretty disappointed by the condition esp greens, which probably exacerbated my underwhelmed impression (given the hype).

 

Wouldn't go back for more than $70 unless the greens were totally changed. Nice staff though, and an overall positive experience.

 

Final rating 3/5.

 

Agreed. At $200, not a good value. It is very different course, and while fun for a few holes, it does get old. Overall, I think it's a bit overhyped. Glad I played it once, but it'll be a while before I make the drive out to Wolf Creek again. I think I'll stick to playing Paiute at that price during the peak season in Vegas.

[kekoa]

Thanks for the honest review. One guy i know said wolf was the best course he has ever played. If i get out there i hope greens and conditions are a lot better thsn you experienced.

 

Did you do reflection bay by chance?

[AC168]

Reflection Bay is a better course. Wolf Ceek has better views.

[fjk]

Didn't do reflection bay.

 

Agree about Paiute for golf and conditions.

 

Views were good at WC but it that was the only aspect that warranted an out of norm price. Facilities were whatever (clubhouse, range small and short right at the parking lot). And seriously, the greens were so grown out and bad. Not sure why they didn't even mow or roll them.

 

 

 

it's not really in the middle of nowhere either. It's attached to and mostly surrounded by the mesquite residential community. The airport is literally sharing a boundary and is the reason why the range is short (so you don't hit into it). Otherwise, there are several elevated tees and vistas but I certainly had different expectations going in.

 

The course is literally five minutes off of the 15.

 

Looks at google maps to get an idea of its location relative to everything.

 

 

Im curious because I have also heard "best course ever" or "time of your life" or "bucket list".... Curious how many of those statements are from golfers who play a decent amount of reputable courses or are more casual.

[Mikey Town]

Thanks for the review.

 

It's a shame about the conditions... I played there a few years back and everything was immaculate.

 

I really liked the layout, but was expecting a gimmicky course to begin with, so I just went with the mind set of playing 18 really cool holes and was not disappointed. Also didn't mind the weak range... It's pretty consistent with most resort courses.

 

If you want to play serious golf, this probably isn't the place for you. If you want to have fun while playing 18 pretty unique and entertaining golf holes, I'd recommend it highly...

 

 

 

... IF the greens are in good shape!

[PouncePony]

I played Paiute 2 weeks ago for $55 per player. Gotta love Hot Deals!!

[AC168]

To Kekoa ... I thinks Reflection Bay is one of Nicklaus' top public courses I've played. (I've played a lot of golf on 2 coasts.)

[fairways4life]

Wolf Creek seems to just be going steadily down hill. I played there about 6 months after it first opened and it was by far the most stunning, pristine course I had ever set foot on. It was so freaking lush I was scared to even take a divot.

 

I returned a few years later and it was still a really nice course but not quite what it had been. And the first time around, all the elevation changes and crazy layout really captivated me. The second time it didn't have the same effect.

 

I returned again a few years later and the conditions had taken yet another step down. The layout that once blew me away now just seemed silly and gimmicky. I really was not impressed.

 

A few years later I returned yet again and the course was in god-awful shape. Dirt spots in the fairways, crappy greens and tee boxes and bunkers.

 

The layout sets up the course for really long rounds because of all the ridiculous cart path routing. Hit a tee shot, spend 5 minutes driving way out of your way to get to the fairway. Hit to the green and spend another 5 minutes taking some crazy detour to get to the green. Putt out and then take an Uber to get to the next tee box.

 

Sadly, I really have no desire to return to that place. It's clearly struggling financially; that much is evident by the degrading conditions of the course. I can't imagine they have an overwhelming amount of play out there (and they need a lot to offset the sky-high cost of watering the place).

 

The best way to describe the design and opening of Wolf Creek is "it seemed like a good idea at the time."

[Par Fore]

Wolf Creek is the definition of a destination course. The first time you play it it is awesome, the greatest thing ever. Subsequent trips reveal the quirkiness of the layout. The last few years they have had conditioning issues from floodings to someone applying the wrong type of chemicals to the greens that basically killed the greens. Some of it has been bad luck. If it's your first trip to the area I think that you need to try it out. Call the course and ask the conditions. They have been honest with me in the past when the greens were bad they were upfront about it.

[kg92lefty]

Wolf Creek is a golf course you play once just because of the views. But even the employees and pros know and admit it's average conditions at best. Reflection, paiute, coyote springs all blow it away condition wise. Wolf Creek is only popular because of the video game. All the courses in mesquite are the same gimmicky elevation. Plus their super loses the greens every summer.

[YMark]

I agree with everything the OP said above. I'm glad I played it, but once was enough. The holes became gimmicky after a while and too many blind shots.

 

I prefer Conestoga to Wolf Creek by a long shot.

[1lovesputters]

Save some gas and some time and hit the Chase. Bring your big-boy pants in the high season if wind is up and conditions soft. When its firm, it is gettable.

 

http://coyotesprings.com/

 

Thanks

Robert

[kg92lefty]

Save some gas and some time and hit the Chase. Bring your big-boy pants in the high season if wind is up and conditions soft. When its firm, it is gettable.

 

http://coyotesprings.com/

 

Thanks

Robert

 

It hasn't been the Chase for five years.

And not sure what you mean. When it's soft you can score there because the greens are receptive. November thru Feb when it's firm and greens faster it's tougher.

[I_HATE_SNOW]

I felt the same way about Wolf Creek, no desire to play it again. I would like another round at Coyote Springs though.

[DrSchteeve]

Well, had the chance to play Wolf Creek recently. Wish I hadn't. What an overhyped ridiculously designed course and I don't even get the views thing, albeit I'm a bit spoiled living in Scottsdale. I don't know if it has changed, but the "views" almost always seemed interrupted by construction in the distance. Most ridiculous "feature" - the waterfall on 18, which was just inserted into the landscape about 100 yards short of the green, so it's not a natural backdrop to anything, just a water feature 100 yards short of the green.

 

I don't remember any compellingly "good" holes, although surely there must be one or two amidst the many poorly designed ones.

 

I understood quickly that this was one course where signing your life away (literally) for the cart release was for real - the precipitous slopes that the cart climbs and descends are a real risk (I took up golf partly because I didn't want to risk my life for a hobby, even though I have come close to death a couple of times in 30 years of play).

 

Awful. Just awful.

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

Well, had the chance to play Wolf Creek recently. Wish I hadn't. What an overhyped ridiculously designed course and I don't even get the views thing, albeit I'm a bit spoiled living in Scottsdale. I don't know if it has changed, but the "views" almost always seemed interrupted by construction in the distance. Most ridiculous "feature" - the waterfall on 18, which was just inserted into the landscape about 100 yards short of the green, so it's not a natural backdrop to anything, just a water feature 100 yards short of the green.

 

I don't remember any compellingly "good" holes, although surely there must be one or two amidst the many poorly designed ones.

 

I understood quickly that this was one course where signing your life away (literally) for the cart release was for real - the precipitous slopes that the cart climbs and descends are a real risk (I took of golf partly because I didn't want to risk my life for a hobby, even though I have come close to death a couple of times in 30 years of play).

 

Awful. Just awful.

 

It’s similar style to dinosaur mtn & lookout mtn in phx just much more expensive and farther. Interesting b/c I have it my top 15 ever b/c it’s crazy & fun

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

My Nevada course rankings:

 

Nevada:

Wolf Creek

Coyote Springs

Reflection Bay

Paiute-Sun Mountain

Paiute-Wolf

Boulder Creek

[premazipp]

Played it once. Once was enough. Conestoga is much better, and Coyote Springs is great. Much better options than Wolf Creek in my opinion.

[DrSchteeve]

Courses that would be improved by adding circus clowns and windmills aren't my cup of tea..

[az2au]

Terrible golf course. Terrible.

[golfandfishing]

17 years ago when I moved out here our GM had a connection there and he took 3 of us from the shop staff to Wolf Creek to play. We all had heard how awesome it was and that we would be blown away. After a few holes I told my DOG that if this is the direction course design is heading and our industry supports this then I’m out. After the round our GM came away raving about it and had suggestions we should implement at our club. Our DOG threatened to leave him on the side of the road somewhere near Seligman.