The great Disneyfication of Las Vegas over the past decade has yet to hide one glaring truth - Vegas is still a man's town.
Forget the little shows every hour on the hour along the Strip, Las Vegas is a place where a man can go and proudly be a man. You want to smoke a big cigar while hitting your 16 and drinking a free scotch and soda at the blackjack table? It's all yours, fella.
The manliness doesn't end at the casinos, however. Las Vegas is a place where a real man can find a tough golf course, tee it up with manliness, hit 300 yards into the next fairway and then smack the heck out of everything with his 4-iron in a burst of testosterone-induced rage. It's mantastic.
Of course, real golfers, be they men or otherwise, should keep their cool on the links. A slight modification of the Las Vegas motto should help you keep perspective if you find yourself being beaten down by one of Sin City's manly courses: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, up to and including your golf score.
Still, guys everywhere are looking to Vegas, clubs in hand for their next golfing adventure. With a bevy of guy groups requesting golf excursions, package groups such as Travel Golf Vegas have put together several travel deals that will appeal to man's adventure-seeking nature.
"In my experience, the men outbook the women 10-1," said Scott Bowles of Travel Golf Vegas, a local golf packaging company. "Our groups will vary from 10 to more than 20 guys."
But what is it that appeals to men on a golf course? Should there be angry predators wandering the course, looking to make a golfer its next meal? Well, that would be pushing it. But if you like treacherous par 4s and courses that will require four-wheel drive from your cart, we've found what you need.
So if you and your crew stand ready to get your man on, try tackling these testosterone-testing courses:
Face it, it takes a man to play a TPC course. The Canyons course, along with its sister course, TPC Summerlin, hosts the PGA Tour's Las Vegas Invitational, so you step on the first tee knowing its cache. At over 7,000 yards with a 131 slope rating, this Bobby Weed design will beat you up on the par 4s. Call (800) 470-4622 for more information.
If you like fabulous beer cart girls and an epic locker room to go with your golf, then Reflection Bay is all man, baby. Don't let the bells and whistles fool you, however, you may be at a resort but the golf requires you to set down your finger sandwiches and lattes and man-up for some serious action. With a slope rating of 139, this Jack Nicklaus course plays 7,261 yards and manages to have a bunker just about anywhere your balls land. Call (702) 566-7618 or click for more information.
A monstrous course at 7,511 yards (the longest in Nevada), you may as well not even bother
putting your driver in the bag after the first hole. The final three holes are all par 4s and measure in at 427, 486 and 496 yards. The course was built on the ancestral home of the Paiute Tribe, giving manly golfers the thrill of playing on an ancient burial ground. It just
doesn't get more guy than that. Call (623) 547-5849 for more information.
Former PGA star and current TV announcer Johnny Miller created this course either because he thought real men needed a place to play, or perhaps he just hates golfers. The course plays three separate nine-hole courses - Badlands, Diablo and Desperado - that challenge a player's game to the fullest. Think a real man can rip a driver anywhere, at any time? Miller thought you'd think that and designed these courses to make them impossible to overpower. Call (866) 514-4653 for more information.
Designed by the legendary Billy Casper along with Greg Nash, the Revere is as picturesque a course as you'll ever find. Not that it matters to a real man, of course. But the scenery is just part of the
Lexington, a course that taunts you with blind shots, tough approach shots and untamed greens. If you can finish the course's brutal finishing holes with a score lower than your blood pressure, congratulate yourself - you are definitely a man. Call (800) 470-4622 for more information.
Our spend a great deal of time traveling from course to course (what a life!). Here’s a selection of their top tips for travelers - where to stay, great restaurants, over-rated destinations, and more!
This article provided through Golf Publisher Syndications.