The word "tough" can be used to define anything from climbing Mount Everest to seeing how long you can hold your breath. On the golf course some of the most beautiful scenes can become your worst enemy. The golf courses in Las Vegas use a variety of hazards to keep the player off guard and cause poor swings. Although not every hole has to be long to be difficult, there are certain things that strike fear into the hearts of most golfers.
With so many golf holes in Las Vegas it can be difficult to determine which are truly the most difficult in the city. After an exhaustive search, and a lot of golf, we finally come up with the five toughest holes in Las Vegas.
The main obstacle on this golf course is the length of the hole and that it plays slightly uphill. The back tee on this hole aligns the golfer to the right side of the hole. It is important to hit the ball as far as you can down the fairway. This fairway is divided into two sections by a slope that leads to the upper fairway. Players will not be able to reach the second fairway which is 342 yards from the tee.
The second shot on this hole will be with a fairway wood or long iron, if you are lucky. This is a large green, but that doesn't stop golfers from hitting the ball left, where they are faced with a difficult pitch. The left side of the green falls off into a grass canyon with the green about 20 feet above the bottom of this area. Use extra club as this hole plays uphill to the green.
The Legacy Golf Club was designed by Arthur Hills and many of the holes have undulating fairways that stop the ball rather than giving it roll. The 8th hole is a long par four that has bunkers on the left side of the fairway. The best target off the tee is the 150 yard pole in the middle of the fairway. The longer hitters will have a short to mid iron into this medium sized green.
The green on this hole is guarded by a pond behind and right of the green. There is a bunker behind the green that will save some balls from finding the water. The green has false edges and balls hit to the edges of the green tend to roll off into collection areas. The rough around the green tends to be long which makes chipping a difficult task.
16th hole, par-3, 222 yards
This is the only par-3 on the entire list but this is one of the most difficult par-3's in the city. The thing that makes this hole so challenging are the bunkers that sit on the right side of the green. The bunkers guard the right side of the green but leave the left portion of the green exposed.
This is a long but narrow green - long irons hit into this green have little or no chance of holding the right side of the green. Perhaps Jack Nicklaus with his high lofting irons might be able to hold the green, but for the average golfer it's not so easy. There is a swell that divides the green into two sections which makes hitting the left side of the green with a right pin undesirable.
The 9th hole is a medium length par-4 that requires, for most players, a driver off the tee. As you are standing on the tee two things stand out in your mind: WATER and SAND. There is a deep bunker on the right side of the fairway that has a huge lip and destroys any chance of getting to the green. The left side of the fairway slopes off into a pond that extends all the way to the green.
If you manage to get the ball into the fairway you will be left with a mid to long iron into a narrow green. Architects Schmidt-Curley were kind enough to leave a bail-out area right, but anything left means a big number on the scorecard. To further enhance the problem, the greens at Siena Golf Club are very fast and undulating. This is a great way to finish the front nine.
Nothing spells disaster like a slicing driver on a long par-4. Not only is this hole long at 487 yards but the hole plays entirely uphill, adding insult to injury. The best line off the tee is toward the bunker on the left of the fairway. The right side of the fairway is bordered by very rugged desert area that goes along the entire right side of the hole. The further down the fairway you hit the ball, the narrower the landing area becomes.
The second shot is harder than the tee shot. There is a water hazard to the right of the green and bunkers on the left-hand side. Most players will be hitting a fairway wood into this green and just praying they catch a little piece of it. This is a long green and knowing the pin position will help your chances of avoiding a 3-putt.
