"Let them play golf!", or Play it while it still exists

I am back trying to learn to play golf. (I quit about six years ago after I attained a 'plateau of frustration' which seemed to stretch on into the never-ending distance.) So of course I peruse golf blogs. I wouldn't mention it here as I suspect many of my readers are somewhat anti-golf — I was too, before I wasn't. But some anonymous guy is on a quest to play the Top 100 Golf Courses in The World and writes charmingly about his 'quest' -- and quixotic it is and probably of little interest to most people. But his post on a course in Las Vegas — Shadow Creek — offers a striking photo and a sage observation. Here's the photo:

(click to enlarge)

That is an accurate photo of the course and its environs. The same one appears its  from designer's own (what I take to be) puff book: Golf Course Designs...just a little bit of Merry & Damp Old England plunked down in the middle of the American Desert. Not exactly what one would call 'designing with nature' or 'minimalist' golf course design. Such sensitivity to the landscape is what gives golf a bad name. Then again, it's Las Vegas and so excess is the norm. Here's what Mr. Top One Hundred has to say:

The bottom line is that there is not enough water in the Western United States to support all the Sunbelt cities in the manner they currently exist in. It is conceivable that the water bill needed to maintain the course will not be economical over time or the novelty of the experience will wear off. When that happens the conglomerate that owns it will one day find the land is worth more for another use. That's the downside of no tradition. My advice is to play Shadow Creek while it still exists. Building this type of course in the middle of the desert is madness and the course most certainly will not exist to celebrate its centenary.

Alas. At $500 for an 18-hole round I may put off playing Shadow Creek until I can count on breaking — do I dare admit it? — one hundred on a regular basis.

Here's a shot of Shadow Creek from Google Earth:

 

Comments

[Gomez]

I grew up in Vegas. They'll build around it. They always do.