Cascata -- Boulder City, Nevada
Rankings per the last time I played it in March of 2008:
--46th best public course in U.S.(Golf Mag.)
--3rd best course in Nevada (Golf Digest)
--19th best resort course; 2nd best public course in NV; 4th best casino course (Golfweek)
Cascata is by far the most beautiful course I have ever played. The lush green of the fairways, tee boxes, and
putting greens juxtaposed with the mountainous desert terrain is stunning. A river runs down the mountains,
through the driving range and the practice area and through the club house and enhances the feeling of opulent
luxury that pervades the golf course. Rumor has it that only 12 people can play the course a day, so the course is
immaculate. No divots on the fairways (or practice range), no ball marks on the greens, it is perfectly maintained.
With all this said, it is very important to understand that Cascata is not the type of course a top-tier player plays to
challenge himself and his game. Rather it is an experience to be enjoyed. You will be overwhelmed with its beauty
and luxury.
The holes that the club highlights are 1, 7, 14, and 18. Frankly, all the holes are beautiful (particularly #7) but only
the 18th grabbed my attention as a hole that required strategic thinking. As you stand on the tee box you will be
taken by the sheer beauty of this hole, but the more you look you will notice the thought process that must be
undertaken to play this hole. If you can pop a 250 yard blind drive over the mountain-ish hill on the left, you might
be looking at an eagle. But if you don't make it over the hill, it is a for sure double bogey. I always play it safe and
go around the mountain, but it is up to you. If you want to see the hole, click here and scroll through the pictures to
find 18.
Rees Jones is the designer of this course and, among the golf architecture guru's that I associate with, he takes
some criticism for his design work. I won't get into those criticisms at this point, I will simply re-iterate that Cascata is
not a course that an excellent golfer will play to challenge his game. Rather it is for a group of golfers looking to
enjoy the experience of playing one of the world's most luxurious golf courses.