Mesquite, Nevada Area Marvels
By Janina Parrott Jacobs
Cold winds during this brutal winter don’t bode well with golfers glued to the television, enviably watching Tour openers in warm climes like Hawaii, California, and Florida. Spring seems an eternity away.
But let’s fix this… the desert is calling your name and if Las Vegas is too clichéd, or ‘been there – done that’, try its sibling, Mesquite. Less well-known than its formidable big brother, great golf is nearby and nighttime entertainment is covered.
Annually, Mesquite expects 330 days of sunshine, and now, even in the midst of polar episodes, daytime temps still hover in the mid-60’s. Granted, early mornings might be nippy, but after sunrise, the heat follows.
Mesquite is an evolving town, an hour-plus northeast of Vegas. Still a gambling mecca, it’s rich in history but quieter with less hubbub. This quickly growing area began as a Mormon settlement over 150 years ago within red mesa plateaus and sandstone cliff formations enveloping the pristine view – minus the billboards.
As home base, consider choosing the Eureka Casino and Resort www.eurekamesquite.com, a multigenerational family business recently celebrating a quarter-century. Totally employee-owned, there’s a sense of pride and service in every worker and each operation of this resort, as $100 million is being reinvested in renovations for the hotel, guest rooms, and casino. The classy Gregory’s Mesquite Grill is now open and offers – what else – Mesquite-wood fired fare and additionally brings that Mesquite heat to the house special cocktail, the smoked Old-Fashioned; or try the pomegranate martini, served in an etched crystal glass. The Grill also caters special occasions in private dining rooms or the newly-opened Parlour Bar. Enjoy imaginative homestyle food and beverages at Mason’s Courtyard; or stop for appetizers in the main casino at one of gambling’s oldest establishments, the William Hill Sportsbook, originally based in London, England.
There are seven outstanding courses all within a 10-15 minute complimentary hotel shuttle ride, which is ideal for golfers who don’t wish to spend time driving.
Among the best is storied, spectacular Wolf Creek. If your game is rusty, save this mega-challenging course for later into your itinerary…but don’t miss it. Fans of Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour video game will immediately recognize the otherworldly rock and land formations which can distract from keeping your ball in the fairway. Despite mandatory carts, there’s still major elevated walking involved to some back tee locations. Due to the difficulty, choose the correct set of tees; and don’t let the opening par-5’s relative easiness deceive you with its downhill path to a wide sweeping fairway, unencumbered by too many bunkers or greenside hazards.
The Wolf Creek journey is fast, furious, and fun. Standout holes are the uphill par-3 No. 3, a 200-yard chasm between you and the green, and the par-5 17th, with a right-side lake meandering into a river and pond fronting the green.
Oasis Golf Club offers two stellar, panoramic and affordable courses, the original Palmer, which hosted Big Break II, and the Canyons with its two distinct nines, added in 2005. Both have challenges but are roomy, running through canyons, elevations, and residential areas. Each is fun to play, with all the desert vistas and feel you’d expect. Late in the round, the Arizona border is but a wild drive away, left, over the fence.
Past the club’s namesake covered wagon and a skittish roadrunner on the flat opening hole at Conestoga Golf Club, the drama really begins on No. 2 with every desert-scape imaginable: elevations, buttes, drop-offs, arroyos, canyons, and plentiful cacti. Manicured, jade fairways compliment the shifting colors throughout the day, with 18 holes of ‘what’s next?’, including a waterfall on the picturesque 10th.
Of note is the ‘Fence Hole’, the unique dogleg per-5 No. 4 where an abbreviated fairway abruptly ends at a major drop-off – with protective fencing – and takes up again 50 yards below, toward the green. Cut the dogleg? Not advisable, with desert scrap all around.
With Mesquite practically on the southeast Nevada and Utah border, St. George, Utah is a dice-roll away. Notable courses with postcard-worthy backdrops include Copper Rock, Coral Canyon, Sand Hollow, Sky Mountain and The Ledges, all part of the Red Rock Golf Trail, also known as the ‘world’s longest cart path’.
The city owns Dixie Red Hills, Southgate, and St. George, with Sunbrook’s 27 holes bordering Zion National Park. Venture 15 minutes northwest in Ivins, and visit the stunning Black Desert Golf Course where black lava formations, red rock mountains, and emerald green fairways will make photos pop. This year, the Bank of Utah hosts a PGA tournament September 28-October 4 at this striking venue, Weiskopf’s last design. Fees here are a tad pricier, but include golf, practice facility, cart, forecaddie, food, non-alcoholic beverages, and a keepsake.
Desert golf cautions: Do not veer too far off groomed playing areas to retrieve errant shots. Steep cliffs and rocky drop-offs are slippery and forge a dangerous path to canyon floors which, truly, serve as a perfect graveyard for misbehaving golf balls.
For Mesquite area sojourns from May through September, temps can reach triple digits. Please respect the desert heat. Take these warnings seriously, even if you think ‘the heat doesn’t affect me’. Courses are gracious at supplying iced towels and water…. but you should go one step further: consume electrolyte-laden beverages or add hydration packets to water to avoid debilitating heat cramps and to keep minerals and salts balanced.
For Bloody Mary lovers? Pickles and pickle juice work well!
