The Badlands Golf Club is known for being one tough Las Vegas golf course. This target golf course is perfect for the low handicap golfer looking to challenge their game or for the casual golfer who wants to experience true target desert golf. Just remember, if you're the latter, bring plenty of golf balls, play the right tee for your game, and use the yardage book. With three very distinctive nines, this 27-hole golf course has a wide variety of holes to keep you interested in the game.
I recently had the opportunity to play the Badlands Golf Club and was very impressed by its quality and condition. We played the Outlaw and Diablo combination and had a great time. It didn't hurt that I finally broke 80 on this demanding layout. The opinion of our group is that the Diablo is by far the hardest of the nines. On a daily basis, the golf course superintendent dictates what the rotation of nines will be.
Two of the hardest par fours on the golf course are located on the Diablo nine as they are 487 yards and 473 yards. All three of us in our group this day were evenly matched, and there was still a skin left out on the 18th hole. This was the last chance to claim glory and put another skin into our already growing piles.
The 9th hole on the Diablo is a 473 yard par four that plays downhill to a narrow fairway. If you can land safely in the fairway you have a great chance of making par. With a desert cavern on the right side, hitting it left is the only place to miss the ball and still make a reasonable score. I did just that and found the desert rocks. My competitors found the fairway so things were not looking up for me on this hole. From my position I had to lay up short of the ravine that passes in front of the green which left me about 140 yards to the center of the green. To my surprise, both of my playing partners hit poor shots and neither hit the green. I saw a glimmer of hope and manage to hit my ball to the center of the green about 30 feet from the hole. This is one of the most undulating greens on the entire golf course and could easily be mistaken for an elephant graveyard. With one competitor in the hazard and another putting for four from the fringe it looked like this hole would be halved with a bogey. Little did I know that my new belly putter would come in so handy as I drained my 30 foot putt and walked away winner of the skin.
The Badlands Golf Club requires a lot of patience and even more golf balls. If you can control your emotions you will have a great time on this golf course. Currently the golf course is in great condition and as the weather heats up the greens and fairways will only get more pure.
