joshgiano

Wolf Creek looks and feels exactly like the video game... if only I could boost in real life like my character does in Xbox.

Almost every tee ball is severely elevated, with generous landing areas. The course twists through a canyon and provides tons of views and photo ops. It's a lot of fun, fairly memorable, and totally fantasy land golf.

I wouldn't call it a hard course by any means. I'm a short hitter and did just fine from the blue tees which were as far back as they had the track set up that day. I hit a handful of tee shots from the tips because I wanted to walk out there and see the looks. The carry is maybe 10-20 yards farther between blue and black on most holes, but you're also 10-20 feet higher up too. Honestly, I didn't feel blue and black were a whole lot different.

I'd recommend anyone who plays Wolf Creek (or anywhere) - play your correct set of tee boxes. There's a ton of choices at Wolf Creek and the forward tees are very playable. That said, be sure to check out the views from a handful of the back tees - especially No. 2. The scenery is drastically different, you can still take in the view, and you won't have to worry about a 220+ carry.

While the tee shots and approaches didn't seem all that demanding, the greens were tricky as can be. There's a lot of subtle and not so subtle breaks out there. In my opinion, the practice green does not prepare you for what you'll see.

The little chipping green near the range (range was awful - irons only without much space. If you're a range rat, you'll be disappointed) is a better representation of the actual slopes, but not the speed. Some of the downhill putts were impossible to stop, and some of the uphill putts required a full turn to get the ball to the hole.

While the greens and tee boxes were a little beat up, the fairways were some of the nicest I've ever seen. I would recommend everyone play it once, regardless of your ability, but I wouldn't go out of my way to play it again.

Mesquite seems like a solid place for a golf trip. It's an easy ride from the strip and is littered with golf courses and golf paraphernalia. There's not much other than golf and glitz-free gambling, but that's plenty for the guys I know.

I'm an avid walker, but trust me when I say: take a cart. Walking that track would be next to impossible. The gas carts struggled to make it through the ridiculous amount of elevation changes on pretty much every hole.

The 19th hole boasts a solid sunset from the balcony and reasonably priced drinks. The food was average at best. All the people we met were friendly and engaging. The shop had a good SWAG selection at premium prices.