Recently, we had the pleasure of playing the exclusive Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas and staying at the famous Bellagio Hotel.
Southwest Airlines offers a great selection of 1.5 hour direct flights from the Oakland airport.
The famous Bellagio Hotel is a 5 minute drive from the airport. Bellagio means ‘elegant relaxation’ and is named after a town in Lake Como, Italy. It is known for its 8-acre lake with multi-colored waterfalls that dance to perfectly choreographed music.
This massive hotel is a Las Vegas favorite living up to its billing of ‘elegant relaxation’ with stately appointed rooms, multiple restaurants, pools, spa, entertainment and a first-class service staff.
The ‘dancing waterfalls’ are very soothing to your soul and attract many people to enjoy the 24 hour show on the Las Vegas strip.
After checking in, we enjoyed a great dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s English Pub at nearby Caesars Palace. This was our second Ramsey experience as we also ate at his Black Cat restaurant in London. We were not disappointed and enjoyed great service and food in a casual atmosphere at his pub.
On another night, we enjoyed great service and a fabulous Italian dinner with a very good international and domestic wine list at famous Rao’s also located at Caesars Palace. The meatballs and lemon chicken are not to be missed. The cannoli for dessert was one of the best we have experienced!
We had the pleasure of playing the Tom Fazio designed 7500 yard masterpiece Shadow Creek Golf Course. Originally built by casino owner Steve Wynn, it has hosted many famous celebrities, Presidents and golfers on its hallowed grounds.
Recently, Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods in a 4-hole sudden death $10 million match. In 2020, long hitting Jason Kokrak won his first PGA tour event in a star studded field CJ cup that was moved to Las Vegas due to Covid travel issues.
Your exclusive golf experience begins when a Limo picks you up at your hotel and takes you to the course. The 7500 yard golf wonderland has multiple tees to challenge any golfing skill level.
Long time General Manager, Monte Montgomery, assigned us to a famous caddy named Bogey, who navigated us around this meticulously manicured slice of golf heaven.
Every hole can be considered a signature hole. Bogey’s stories of many famous people playing here were also interesting and entertaining.
When we asked him who was his favorite person to caddy for, he said very politely, “aside from Linda and Mike today, I really enjoyed Mark Wahlberg, Justin Timberlake and President Obama.“
You can play this formerly very private course if you stay at one of the MGM resorts. MGM purchased this heavenly property a few years ago. It is truly a ‘must do’ bucket list experience for the avid golfer.
For more information go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Creek_Golf_Course
By Mike L. McColgan, Resident since 1990 | Photo by MJ McColgan