Cascata Boulder City, NV www.harrahs.com
simply the world's best golf experience
Life is good. I just finished playing a golf course named Cascata, which is just outside of historic Boulder City, Nevada, about a half hour from the world famous Las Vegas strip.
You might have heard of Cascata. It is the $54 million golf course conceived and designed by Rees Jones which opened to a hushed roar of rumors, myths and tall tales five years ago as the private – very private – playground for the highest of high rollers staying and playing at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. It was so exclusive that many days would see only one or two groups teeing it up, and they weren’t necessarily foursomes. Many days there were more big horn sheep grazing on the surrounding mountainsides than there were golfers gracing the finely manicured and beautiful sculpted fairways. Cascata was one of those very special places which everyone talks about, yet few experience for themselves. That was really a shame.
Luckily, 2005 saw the acquisition and merger of Harrahs and Park Place Entertainment, which owned Caesars Palace. Through this transaction Harrahs became the world’s largest gaming company, and they also assumed ownership and control of several magnificent golf properties across the United States, including Cascata. True to their policy of fully utilizing their resources and amenities to bring great pleasure and entertainment to the public, Harrahs has opened the majestic, protective gates of Cascata to the public, and just like the Old Course at St. Andrews, Pebble Beach Golf Links or Pinehurst # 2, this is one of the few golf experiences that must absolutely be experienced and enjoyed by everyone who loves the game of golf at some point in their life, no matter what the cost.
You’ll start to realize what the Cascata golf experience is all about from the moment your limousine picks you up at the front door of your hotel. It is all first class, with every possible attention paid to every detail you can imagine – and many can’t! For instance, as the limousine pulls up to the rugged, wrought iron front gates and the driver announces you’re arrival, you’ll realize they were actually expecting you, and they already know you by name. A PGA professional will greet your car, removing your bags and welcoming you into the awesome clubhouse, where you’ll get your own personal tour showing you around the stunning building, explaining things like the flow of the river which runs right through the clubhouse, pointing out some of the special artwork and amenities, and guiding you to your own personal locker for the day – with your name proudly etched into the brass nameplate. Go ahead – use the locker. It’s yours!
After checking in you might decide to enjoy a casual lunch on the patio out back, which overlooks the most impressive practice range in golf – complete with its own 400’ waterfall cascading down the mountain at the far side of the range. Or perhaps you’re anxious to hit the course, so you head downstairs to the loading area, where your caddie helps you into your fully loaded golf cart and points the way through the heavy double wooden doors, which open automatically as you approach. Yes, the caddie stays with you through the entire round, explaining the history and special stories of the course along the way, and helping you to play your very best golf on this very special course.
As you pass through the doors you enter the world of Cascata, and you’re in for an amazing round of golf.
The course plays through an incredibly lush landscape of high desert scenery, highlighted by Red Mountain, rising over a thousand feet above the course. The surrounding hills, canyons and mountains let you know that this was a harsh, inhospitable land just a few years ago, but the course is now a luxuriant, verdant oasis, bringing life and beauty to where it never was before. Cascata is the Italian word for Waterfall, and you’re going to see plenty of waterfalls, streams, rivers, lakes and ponds as you make your way around the surprising course. It is surprising because every hole is a completely different and wonderful golf experience. Rees Jones is known as “the Open doctor” for his work getting seven different courses ready to host a U.S. Open, but you should see what he can do when he’s given an incredible piece of land stretching out over 400 acres (more than 3x the average 18-hole golf course) and a virtually unlimited budget to work with. He’s not a doctor, he’s a magician!
It seems as though Rees found a new canyon for every hole. Maybe he did find them, and in a few cases, I think he actually made them. You can see where mountains were blasted and reshaped to make way for the perfect green. Every drop of water you see has been brought to the course, as this was some of the driest, dustiest land around before Cascata was created. For those who are concerned about water usage in the desert (and everyone in the desert should be!) you should know that the entire Cascata water system is one giant re-circulating system, probably using less new water every day than most city parks. The water is pumped to the highest point, then falls through the intricate series of waterfalls and streams to a holding lake below the clubhouse, from which it is pumped to the top again. This massive system keeps the water as pure and fresh as a mountain stream, and has helped make Cascata home to thousands of animals which couldn’t have lived here before.
Every hole at Cascata is a blessing to play, and you could probably make an argument for at least half of the holes to be the “signature” hole of the course, but a couple that really stand out are the par 3, 7th, which is a short hole playing over a stream into one of the canyons Rees helped create. The stream falls down from the mountain behind the hole, then lingers along the left side of the green before sweeping across the entire front of the green until it falls through a series of beautiful cascades into a lake sitting well below and to the right of the green. Another favorite is the 343-yard 14th, which plays down a series of tee boxes cut through the desert to a wide open fairway, then across a large lake guarding the right side of the green. There is a stream running down the entire right hand side of the fairway, and the large green is surrounded by a lush tropical forest and guarded by three large, stunningly white bunkers.
Cascata ends in brilliant fashion, with one of the toughest par 4’s around at the 17th hole, then an amazing dogleg left at the 18th. The 17th is also a dogleg left, measuring 489 yards from the back tees and playing along a pond and stream on the left, then around a sharp hill. The 18th is simply an exciting finishing hole. It measures a tempting 559 yards from the back tees, but also plays around a large, sharp hill with plenty of water everywhere, especially after you turn the corner. There is actually a huge amount of fairway to work with as you play your down to the green, and rumor has it that several of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour (re: Daly & Woods) have actually cut the corner, playing completely blind shots to the vast fairway while trying to make an eagle to end their round. When you see the hole you won’t believe it is possible, but remember, neither one of them plays like a mortal man.
No matter how you end your round, your memories of Cascata will be immortal. I suggest bringing your camera and plenty of film or a large memory card, as nobody will believe your stories otherwise.
Cascata is more than a great golf experience. It is a great life event which must be experienced in person to fully comprehend. I already envy you your time there.