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Featured Golf Course
August 2007
By: Shane Jensen

Can You Say "Mercy"?

One of the best ball strikers in the history of golf was Johnny Miller, the very man who designed the original courses at Badlands Golf Club with the third course designed by Chi Chi Rodriguez. Typical of his accurate ball striking Miller designed Badlands so that it rewards the most accurate of hitters. A challenging golf course yet not a very long course, in fact you will not need the driver very often, if at all. Take my word for it, Badlands is a true test of target desert golf no matter which combination of golf courses you choose to play.

The desert can be seen throughout the golf course, it runs along fairways, between fairways and right in the middle of fairways. The most important thing to know in order to score well here is to choose the correct layup yardage. There are so many fairways that have small landing areas that you'll find yourself often hitting irons or fairway woods off the tees.

One of the most challenging holes at Badlands Golf Club is the 196 yard par-3 8th hole on the Desperado course. Standing on the back tee all you can see is a large ravine that runs in front of the hole. There are several large bunkers that line the back of the green and they are no picnic. Any ball hit left will face a downhill lie to a narrow green. The only bail out area on this hole is on the green.

The golf course is always in great condition, as is always expected from a facility  managed by Troon Golf, the golf course management company that has set the standard for other golf management companies throughout the world. There have been several changes to the Badlands since Troon has taken over, to include the very "cool" feature - air conditioned golf carts. This is the only golf course in the city of Las Vegas that offer portable cooling units on golf carts. So if you're planning to choose a golf course to play before the summer runs out, make sure you add on the Badlands, the air conditioned golf carts, are a definite must this time of year.

With the recent construction of a condo project nearby, Badlands was forced to modify the ninth hole of the Desperado course from a long par-5 to a par-4. If you haven't played the golf course since the change you will be pleasantly surprised at the new design of this hole. They've kept much of the character of the old par-5 but added some bunkers and shortened the hole.

The Badlands Golf Club is a true test for the golfer looking to test their game. This golf course is a true example of target golf in the desert.

Visit the Following Las Vegas Golf Courses for more information:

• Badlands Golf Club