Golf Course Review Rio Secco Golf Club Henderson Nevada
Reviewed by: rob1563, Las Vegas
Golf Playing Conditions 8.08 GREAT
Played on Thursday, 11/8, with JohnnyGK, Sixpez, and Kevbig and had a great time on a very breezy and unusually chilly Vegas day. Excellent service from bag drop to finish, friendly staff, drink cart around at least 5 times, and the type of service you expect from a Vegas resort.
Course is in great condition. Lush fairways, non-penal cut down, dormant rough along the fairway. Longer, thicker rough around the greens. Bunkers seem a little heavier from prior visits. Greens were firm and scary fast.
This is the third time I’ve played Rio Secco in the last 6 months and every time I love it more. Easily tops my list of courses in the Vegas Valley and definitely a must play when visiting.
Played here Saturday morning with the Greenskeeper OG’s. JohnnyGK live and direct, Kevbig, and mpisarski01. Big shout out to Kev for hooking up the hometown discount, and Johnny for making the drive much appreciated.
I don’t need to rehash all that was said below as they are spot on. It’s a beautiful course. Great views and water elements, as well as forced carries over ravines. Every hole was different and it felt like many different types of courses blended into one with a wide variety of holes. The views of the reflection along the water are one of a kind.
It was a shame it was so unbearably humid at the end because it took a lot of the enjoyment away but the course is one of a kind. Only minor nitpicking was the shaggy greens but you can’t win them all.
Course’ layout isn’t too difficult but I rarely had a flat approach which led to the difficultly and emphasis on shot making and ball striking here.
Had a super time playing with GK’ers Kevbig, mpisarski01 and sdscratchorbust Saturday morning. We teed it up at 6:50am and got around in 4.15 hours. Golf course was in great summer shape and as a first timer playing it, I loved the layout. Been wanting to play here for over 10 years and the golf course met my expectations.
There are a wide variety of holes with about 4 or 5 playing next to Lake Las Vegas and others rolling up, down, dogleg left, dogleg right through canyons. Green complexes are all well protected and interesting as you would expect from a Nicklaus design. Although I did think for a Nicklaus design the greens were rather tame. Not as much undulations or as slender…this is a good thing in my book. I think where there is the most demand on your game is your approach shots. There never is an easy one and the first hole greets you with long par 4 forced carry over water for a second shot.
Conditions are very good for the Summer. With all the recent rains I will project the fairways will only get lusher as weeks pass. Greens rolling nice and not too summer bermunda turf slow. There is just no way a golf course can chance cutting greens low with average temps over 100. Bunkers in great shape with quality sand. Tee boxes lush and level. Rough was not that high but still very difficult to play from due to the sticky humid day and ball tending to sit down in the bermunda turf.
As for service, excellent. Very friendly and professional. Saw many marshals and on course beverage service.
I’m impressed with Reflection Bay Golf Club and would like to return to play it in the Fall to see what it’s like after over-seed. As of now a great summer option.
We played Rio Secco Golf Club this morning June 11th at 7:30am. The weather was mid 90’s at the start and well into the 100’s upon completion.
The Review
The pace of play is usually about 4 hours in the mornings here, but we were behind a rather slow group on the front 9. The Marshall asked them to let us through at the turn. We finished in 4.5 hours.
The condition of the course was fantastic. They had just punched the greens 7 days prior and even though you could see the tine marks, the greens were rolling true and a little quicker then earlier in the season. The greens were soft as well from the aeration. The fairways, rough, sand traps, and tee boxes were all in great shape. It has been hotter then typical the last 30 days and the superintendent is on top of it.
Parting Thoughts
I love this course. Summer rates have been put in place as of June 1 and this is a must play while in Las Vegas and it is a great value in this off season.
Rio Secco Golf Club Henderson Nevada GK Guru Visit
[/su_column] [/su_row]
Golf Playing Conditions 8.51 GREAT
Teed it up Thursday 5/24 with fellow GK Gurus to once again experience the newly renovated Rio Secco Golf Club in Las Vegas. It was 6 month ago I first checked out the improvements and I have to say the course is only getting better. Most notably are the improved turf conditions (which were excellent in December). The new greens have become a little faster and remain very smooth, the fairways more lush, the rough more lush (green and out of dormancy), tee boxes more lush and new bunker sand still excellent. I’ve played Rio Secco many times and this was best condition I have seen it.
All other positives remain about this high-end Vegas course. Exceptional service, restaurant (highly recommend the steak sandwich), clubhouse, practice facilities (even saw Butch Harmon giving a lesson), layout (super fun & challenging) … place has got it all.
6 months ago it took an adjustment to the flipping of the nines but now that I’ve experienced it again, finishing with a par 3, par 5 and then par 4 right at the clubhouse makes total sense and offers more convenience..
Took advantage of February resident rate special today and got out to Reflection Bay for the first time. The course winds through some very impressive homes and spills out onto the shores of Lake Las Vegas making for some spectacular scenery! Love that the area is completely away from the city allowing for a peaceful day. I was met at my car by a friendly girl that took my clubs and loaded them onto the cart while I went to the pro shop to check in. I was told that they always pair you with a cart partner unless you want to pay extra for your own cart? Odd but no big deal.
Tee time was 850 as a single and was paired up with a fun threesome teeing off about 5 minutes late. Once on the course, our POP was 4 hours flat with very little waiting and never seeing the group behind us.
What to Expect
Course conditions were borderline excellent all the way around.
Tees- Flat, good coverage, minimal divots. Could use a trim in some spots but that’s being nitpicky.
Fairways- Deep emerald green with beautiful mow patterns like you see on TV. They were good to hit from other than the holes nearest the lake that were thinner due to those d%mn coots!
Bunkers- Beautiful white sand bunkers framed by a ring of dormant rough surrounding them for that cool contrasting look. They have a good amount of sand in them. No issues there.
Rough- Similar to the fairways, deep green and lush everywhere other than where the birds congregate. Not very long but thick enough where your ball might settle to the bottom at times to make for a tougher recovery.
Greens- Super firm and not holding all that well. Better to aim for front of greens to allow for roll out. I have a high ball flight and only the wedges would stop within 15 feet of where they landed. Never had to fix a ball mark as you couldn’t really make one. Chips and pitches would run out as well. They did putt very nicely at a fast pace!
Bottom Line
Overall it’s really fun course to play and very fair. No GPS onboard so BYO. Visually deceiving for first timers off the tee. If you’re striking the ball well, you’ll score. On the other hand, bad shots will be punished by numerous hazards. Good mix of wide open and tighter holes to make you think. For a Nicklaus course, the greens at are Reflection Bay quite tame. There are no crazy undulations or breaks. What you see if what you get. I can definitely see myself coming back here again as long as they keep offering deep discounts for locals. But even at rack rate, it’s recommended in it’s current condition.
Played Friday, 1/26, with a 8:50 tee time booked through Last Minute Golf for $43 each. Parking lot and club house was packed due to a tourney on Lexington, but they set up a separate bag drop/staging area and everything went smooth. I usually don’t buy items in the pro shop due to the mark up, but found they sold Monument Golf’s stick it strap for lasers for less than online and snatched 1 up.
The all grass range was closed due to mechanical issues with the picker and the putting green was closed due to a frost delay. Also due to the frost delay, tee times were pushed back about 45 minutes, but they sent the early groups out as a shotgun and we went off on time. Never saw the group in front of us, let a 2some play through on 11, and finished in about 4:30.
Course was in good winter condition, for the most part. Tee boxes on the 4s and 5s were good, but the Par 3s were a little beat up and not level. Fairways were great. Firm, with lots of roll, and almost complete coverage (except for an area of #8). Rough was dormant bermuda, which caused some troubling shots around the greens, but allowed shots in the mounds to roll into the fairway. Bunkers were the low point. Thin, rocky, and some were missing rakes. Greens were firm, smooth, and rolled slower than they looked.
Definitely worth it for the price. Wish it wasn’t completely across the valley for me. I love Concord over the Lexington course (as the kids say, don’t “at” me). Great mix of short and long holes, big elevation change Par 3s, a couple of tough, almost straight uphill holes (9, 17), and one of the best closing holes in the Vegas area.
