Boulder Creek Golf Club
“Boulder Creek is a modern, resort-style course within a natural desert landscape and more wide-open spaces than Boulder City Golf Course,” says Andy Schaper, who oversees both Boulder City courses. “At Boulder Creek, each hole has its own individual characteristics and qualities. It’s also a fair, but challenging course. And even though it is played in a desert setting, it shouldn’t be confused with a desert course because there are minimal forced carries and the holes are laid out right in front of you.”
Noted golf course architect Mark Rathert, who also oversaw the renovation of the historic Las Vegas Country Club, had a specific plan for the Boulder Creek project when he designed it.
“I am very proud of the golf course at Boulder Creek and it was our vision to create a golfing experience for the municipal golfer that would emulate traits found at the exclusive clubs in Las Vegas,” Rathert says. “The course design took advantage of the natural sandy terrain and was accentuated with lakes, streams and waterfalls to provide an oasis feel on many holes. The design promotes long-term sustainability for maintenance requirements, while also offering quality conditions at an affordable price per round.”
Rathert’s goal was to accentuate each of the 9-hole experiences and still vividly recalls the process.
“The design concept for Boulder Creek embraces each nine having three environments that include desert, arroyos and water hole oasis,” Rathert says. “That keeps the holes from becoming monotonous. With that said, my favorite holes are those that offer choices from the tee such as #2, #7 and #9 on Desert Hawk and #4, #7, and #9 on Coyote Run. One feature incorporated into my green designs was taking advantage of the site scale where putts often look uphill or downhill, but are actually much less severe than they look or feel. The good player has to keep in mind the site slopes toward the dry lake far off in the distance and has a great influence on what is level or not.”
