GK Gurus Visit Bali Hai Golf Club Las Vegas Nevada
Reviewed by: mpisarski01, Costa Mesa Joined Rob, John and my Father on 6/28 for a fun round out at Bali Hai. Having played here a few times before I knew what I was getting into when we got to the course. The staff is super friendly from the moment you arrive. Check-in was simple and our bags were on carts by the time we left the pro shop. Every thing about this course has a laid back vibe, from the Tiki decor and the country and island music playing by the snack shake to the crush shell mounds separating the holes.
As for course conditions I thought it was better than expected for end of June. The tee’s were goods and had great coverage with the exception of two or three that needed to be moved. Fairways lush and mostly green providing great roll and fluffy enough lies to hit your approach shots. Rough was good and wasn’t overly penal. Greens were medium/fast and held most well well hit shots. The one thing to note is the greens here are tough and the pin locations were tough all day. It is always best to shoot for middle of the green here as there are many false edges.
Overall this course is a blast to play even with the planes constantly flying over it is still worth it IMO. I recommend you go out and play.
Got to take out a client in Vegas this week and played with another local who managed to get us a very sweet deal at the usually very high-cost Bali Hai resort course. I believe the normal rack rate here is around $300, so having only paid a third of that was pretty outstanding. I’ve wanted to play this track so many times and it finally came together, and luckily the weather played along as well. It was cold, but the rain didn’t start until just after finishing with a sweet POP of just 3.5 hours.
The course itself is very fun and has a surprising amount of elevations in the fairways, creeks and water. Not too much in the way of long carries, but there are definitely a good variety of hole lengths here and the par 3s gave me a tough time all day. The island green is pretty cool too but not too tricky as it’s only around 130 yards or so, but you still have to stick it.
Winter conditions were good overall and of course having to take into account the recent rains that certainly affected the bunkers and many of the lower-lying areas. Dark green fairways that looked more lush than they actually played, but provided good lies all morning. The rough has been left dormant so it’s a striking contrast with its beige hues against either water, sand or the aforementioned green fairways. Bunkers had mostly very good, playable sand in them but they were probably a bit heavier than normal with the recent precipitation. Tee boxes (we played the gold tees) were fine – no troubles there.
Cart service was around early and often, even with very few people out on the course most of the morning. We did catch a group on 8 and 9 but they let us pass at the turn and it was smooth sailing from there. We also got a lunch voucher for after the round so that worked out great.
Again, the only unfortunate thing was that the weather was quite cold, but not the Arctic temps we were expecting the night before. Still, my idea of playing this course is most definitely in shorts and sweating a lot, so I still will need to come back and do it right later in the year. Hope I can find that great deal again, but I’m guessing during high season that might be a bit more difficult.
Golf Course Review Bali Hai Golf Club Las Vegas Nevada
Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks
Golf Playing Conditions 7.35 GREAT
Finally got to experience Bali Hai in Las Vegas Thursday with Kevbig, rob1562 and famed02. Super time!
Bali Hai lived up to its image as a high rollers “Vegas” course and then some. What I liked most about Bali Hai was how “Vegas” the place is. It totally personifies it. Its right next to the famous Las Vegas sign, there are constant views of the Mandalay and Luxor hotels, hospitality Vegas style with friendly attractive staff, deluxe fancy clubhouse, fun atmosphere throughout the property, music, great food (get the Hole-In-One breakfast bagel in the morning and the Bali Hai ½ burger in the afternoon) … this is a unique one of a kind experience.
The Review
Regarding the golf course, fun challenging layout with an island tropic theme. Much more demanding than I expected and we played the Silver tees. I could have stepped back to the Gold tees but glad I did not for my first time. No way am I playing the Black tees. Forgiving off the tee but very challenging on approach with lots of big difficult bunkers to deal with. Some forced caries over water on the par 3’s yet many opportunities to go for the par 5’s in two. The par 3’s IMO are the star of the golf course. All of them beautiful with varying lengths. The layout can get repetitive at times with holes featuring the same backdrops and similar design … however they are all great holes so I didn’t mind. Check out the photos I just posted!
As far as conditions its in great shape. Their fairway over-seeding did not go as well as planned on the majority of holes, still good coverage but not as lush as one would expect. But they are addressing it with a deep veriti-cut + extra watering so I anticipate the fairways conditions to improve significantly within a matter a weeks. Greens in great shape with the back nine greens being better than the front nine greens. Mostly smooth, medium speed and holding shots. Rough, oh boy, its nasty difficult around the many greens. Being October the Bermunda rough is still present and a good 4 inches deep in many areas around the greens. Quite a few times my ball was buried and I had to chop it out. Other times I’d hit a good approach just short of the green and it would shut my ball down. As far as the bunkers, well-groomed with quality sand. I found my share of traps for sure. Tee boxes, the Gold and Black tees looked like they were in great shape, but we played what I think 90% of golfers play out there, the Silver tees which were in OK shape. Some with noticeable divot damage and few that need to be leveled. Again Gold and Black tee boxes looked very nice.
Parting Thought
Over the years I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews about Bali Hai and I now know why. If you are someone that could care less about a one of a kind “Vegas” golf experience that no other golf course can replicate, you might be disappointed. My suggestion is everyone should try playing this course at least once although because the uniqueness of the full experience it provides if it’s in your financial means to do so. I really enjoyed it.
Golf Course Review Bali Hai Golf Club Las Vegas Nevada
Reviewed by: famed02, Henderson, NV
Golf Playing Conditions 7.35 GREAT
I was fortunate to be invited to play with Johnny, Kevin and Rob on this awesome course for the first time. Thanks Johnny!
Upon arrival at bag drop, there is the option to valet your car. In tradition with true Las Vegas, I did so, plus I wanted the full experience (lol).
Because of the amazing service, there was very little effort required on my part, other than to play and have fun.
The valet takes your car and clubs and points you to the food hut, where the breakfast burrito looked amazing. I didn’t have one, but Rob did and confirmed that it was good.
Our cart was set up for me and then we were offered a caddy for $40 a person (not sure if all 4 needed to pay). The caddy would help with hole play, putting advice and what I thought would have been totally worth it, ball finding! We passed on the offer, but someday, I would like to try it.
The Review
You know you’re at a really nice track when you hit the ball, it goes off into the dry creek bed and the greens guy goes to get it for you. He ran down, picked it up, cleaned it off and then handed it to me. That was cool.
The course was in good shape. There were some spots that were a little sloshy and clearly were damaged due to over watering, but they were on it and had the locations staked off.
The silver tee box must have been, as Johnny put it,”the favorite one” because it looked to be the most used. Lots of divot holes and it seems like they were having a hard time keeping up with it.
The views were spectacular because of the great design and there is plenty of opportunity for some really good shots. We played early in the morning and because Las Vegas is one of the busiest airports in the world at that time, airplanes were taking off overhead the whole time. After a while you tune them out.
Although I am not as good as most everyone, I found it challenging, but not as much as some others. Rio Secco, for example, was much more challenging in my opinion. That being said, it was a very fun course. There were several holes where you had to “thread the needle” which made it really exciting.
Final Thoughts
As I have always said, “it’s the little things”. Bottom line, you can pretty much play anywhere you want, but its the cool stuff that keep you coming back. Believe me when I say, Bali Hai has this and more.
I felt like there must have been a drink cart girl for each of the nines. I saw them at least every two holes, but no coffee, which was a bummer.
After we were done playing, the cart guys point you to the food hut again and say, “Just let me do all the work, the clubs will be waiting for you at valet.” I took my phone and my wallet and the rest was done for me. The cart was cleaned out and THEY EVEN POLISHED MY SHOES AND PUT THEM IN MY BAG WHEN THEY WERE DONE!!!! Don’t forget to tip though.
Marvelous Monique come by with the “Vegas Tradition” of Jello shots, which totally hit the spot. I then had one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had at a golf course. Outside was the typical beach resort atmosphere with music, people having a good time and enjoying a cocktail.
Bottom line, if you are looking to play and have “The Las Vegas Experience” in a one-stop location, look no more. It is basically on the strip and can’t be any more convenient for out-of-towners.
Golf Course Review Bali hai Golf Club Las Vegas, NV
Reviewed by: rob1563, Las Vegas
I’ll round out the Bali Hai recap from yesterday. Also my 1st time playing and had no idea what to expect, having heard positives and negatives about the course.
Course was in pretty good shape. Some tee boxes on the silver (6100 yards) were crowned, but the farther back ones (6600 and 7000) looked pretty level. Fairways were in good to great, but a handful were verticut and a few were very soggy. Rough is starting to go dormant, and ran from thin and short to deep and nasty. Bunkers were light and fluffy, but they were still pretty wet which made a few a weird clay consistency. Greens were great. Smooth, medium fast, with very little amount of ball marks. I found them very tricky to read as some appeared to break but didn’t, and others broke like it was falling off a cliff when they looked pretty flat. There’s some repetitive holes, but the par 3s (5 of them) are all different lengths.
Service was spectacular. There’s 2 drink carts, 1 for each 9, so it was by at least 3 times each side. The outdoor Tiki style grill is a great alternative for the higher end and formal Cili Restaurant inside. The food was amazing. The breakfast burrito ($9) was the something out of one of those eating challenges, like a 9 pound baby. The signature Bali Hai burger was incredible. Drink prices were lower than expected: $3 soda, $4 Gatorade, $5/$6 beers.
Absolutely loved it. Very fun course with short par 5s and par 4s thrown in with great par 3s. Will definitely be back with some decent resident rate offers. Thanks to JohnnyGK for the invite and Kevin and Ed for the great time.
