Stallion Mountain Country Golf Club in Las Vegas

Before it opened to the public, this club hosted the Las Vegas Invitational in 1993, memorable for Chip Beck’s round of 59. Designed by Jim Colbert and Jeff Brauer of Arlington, TX-based GolfScapes Inc., Stallion Mountain Country Club is definitely for courageous golfers. Golf Digest interviewed Evel Knievel on the course, which requires long accurate drives, precise iron shots and a deft putting touch. More earth-bound players note that the 3 rd hole (440 yards, par-4) is intriguing, with a seemingly out-of-place tree straight in front of the back tees, intimidating players. For those desiring less challenge, the middle tees play more nicely.

When Golf Digest described the course in 2004, the “fairways seemed almost as wide as they were long,” and developer Billy Walters told David Kindred, “we have wall-to-wall fairways. You don’t need a welder’s mask and a snakebite kit.” Strategically placed bunkers protect tiered fairways and greens; water is an important component of the course’s original aesthetics. Opened as Sunrise Golf with three courses, new greens were added In 2001, and Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley redesigned the facility three years later to its present configuration, a single 18 hole course ‘Secretariat;’ however, the course remains proximate to waste treatment plants.

Sixteen players, polled by golfcourse.com, rated the course on a scale from one to five, with five being the highest score. For conditions, the average score was 3.0; for pace, the average score was 3.4; for service, the average score was 3.8; for value, the average score was 2.4; and as an overall rating, the average score was 2.9. Home to the Walters Golf Academy and the John Jacobs Golf School , Stallion Mountain Country Club is a gated facility that recently passed hands to EAGL, and players have noted that course conditions are improving.

But Michigan golfer Ed Jaquay told Chris Baldwin of Gulf Publisher, “I wasn’t impressed. I just thought it would be much better, better maintained, better everything,” even as assistant pro Scott Medley gushed, “we have the best greens in the valley. That’s what I’ve heard.” Medley explains that Stallion Valley takes pride in customer care, “our philosophy is, ‘anything it takes to make them smile. We provide excellent service from the time you pull into the parking lot. A lot of our guests stay in hotels, and we want to make them feel like they’re members of our club, no matter where [they come] from.” As Jack Sheehan reported on the course, “quick conversations with members on site the day I visited found them to be delighted with the course and happy to be members.”