Links Vegas: Nothing Rough About This Fair Oasis

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Turns out there's more to Las Vegas than blackjack, Cirque du Soleil and the Playboy suite at the Palms.

While the green of a sawbuck still acts as the lifeblood of the gambling mecca, Vegas is getting a reputation for how it puts that color to use away from The Strip. The lushness of the local golf courses have just as much pull for some visitors as a craps table or all-you-can-eat buffet.

Vegas, in fact, has great courses less than a half-hour's drive from The Strip that will keep players of all kinds returning year-round. Call it Links Vegas, baby!

For the most part, Las Vegas golf is unique in that you won't happen upon hundreds of fir trees three deep behind the tee box or overflowing creeks running through the fairways.

What you will find, however, is desert and rock — and up close and personal if your tee shot veers way left or right. Nothing like a second-shot challenge to test your game against the natural elements.

Regardless of your skill level or how well you can hit an 8-iron from underneath a cactus, here are four magnificent courses in the crisp and beautiful Nevada air that make for a worthwhile excursion from the smoky and windowless casinos:

The Revere Golf Club (Lexington Golf Course)

Over at the 7,143-yard Lexington course at The Revere Golf Club in nearby Henderson, Nev., (2600 Hampton Road, Las Vegas Golf Website), all the tee boxes are elevated so everything goes downhill — a nice plus for those stinging, worm-killing tee shots that afflict even the most experienced hacker.

The course is overseeded, with plenty of Bermuda fairways and large greens. Keeping it on the lush fairway is a key for the par-5, 534-yard 16th, which club pro Bill Klemke calls a "rich reward" hole.

"There's a dry creek bed in front of the green, but it's a hole where you can go for it in two," he said. "The average golfer will lay up, but if you want to go for it you'll need two demanding shots off the tee."

What Klemke admires about the Lexington course is that it doesn't just demand raw power from players off the tee, but a varied club selection that suits the needs of each hole.

"You can't hit a driver on every long hole," he said. "You might want to use your utility club. It makes you think out there."

That being said, it's highly advisable to take the driver out of the bag on the 11th hole, where you'll find 625 yards between the tee box and flagstick.

Better players can try to use the left side of the fairway, where it's tighter than the right side but is more direct to the hole. The right side is a safer play, but the angle to the hole can be challenging. In other words, a par here is reason to celebrate.

Good iron play is essential at Lexington. Even with a well-placed drive, a misplay of an iron on the next shot can lead to disaster.