County residents to pay $145 at Desert Pines

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

There is good news and bad news looming on the horizon for Southern Nevada golfers.

The good news is that Desert Pines Golf Club, the country club-like public course being built on the former site of Nature Park, is scheduled to open Dec. 26 amid promises of affordable greens fees.

The bad news is that if you're not a City of Las Vegas resident, you won't qualify for the basic rate of $36.

According to Bill Walters, whose company is developing the course, there will be two rate structures for the Perry Dye-designed course bordered by Bonanza Road and Mohave Street in northeast Las Vegas. All City of Las Vegas residents will pay the basic rate of $36 (plus cart), with discounts given to seniors and juniors at certain times of the year. City residents also will be given preferred tee times, according to Walters.

All others, including residents of Clark County, will pay the "non-resident" rate of $125 Monday through Thursday and $145 on weekends. According to Walters, the Las Vegas City Council insisted on such a structure in its lease agreement.

City of Las Vegas residents hoping to qualify for the reduced greens fees will have to present documentation, such as a tax bill, that proves they live within city limits.

"We have a list of all of the Las Vegas city resident addresses and in order to play there and to qualify, you have to come down to the golf course and provide us with two pieces of identification, like a property tax bill or a rental agreement, which identifies that you actually live in the city," Walters said.

"We will issue you a card with your name on it, a photo ID and a number. When you call and make your tee time, you will have to give that number. When you come out to play, you will have to present that card with a photo ID to prove it's you, then you can play."

Once a golfer gets past the registration process, Walters promises a first-class experience. To that end, Walters has pushed back the opening date to make sure the course will be playable when it opens.

"I don't want to open the golf course prematurely," Walters said. "We've spent a lot of money and a lot of time to create a real quality product with a quality image, and I think if it takes us a couple additional weeks to open to allow things to mature, I think we're all better served.

"We sodded the entire property and we seeded the greens. The greens need another two to three weeks of maturing before we can open. We hit this unseasonable bit of cold weather here and that has delayed the greens a little bit."

With 3,000 imported pine trees and 45,000 bales of pine needles scattered about the 6,800-yard course, Desert Pines will give golfers the feeling of playing a course in the southeastern part of the United States. With a handful of amenities usually offered at private clubs, Desert Pines promises to give golfers a "country-club-for-a-day" experience, Walters said.

"We're going to be a first-class, full-service facility," Walters said. "We will have men's and women's locker facilities, shoe stewards and a fully manned bag drop. This won't be one of those deals where you put your shoes on in the parking lot and tote your clubs in and you're lucky if somebody smiles at you. It's going to be a lot more like a country club than it is a public golf course."

One other factor will separate Desert Pines from most other public courses in the Valley: The course will not allow players to wear golf shoes with metal spikes. Following a trend of many public and private courses, Desert Pines will make soft, plastic cleats mandatory and will provide a service to replace customers' existing metal spikes.

Chip shots ...

* AROUND THE GREEN: The state of Nevada will have only one representative competing in this week's PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in Southern California: Jeff Gallagher of Henderson. Former UNLV golfers Chris Riley, Edward Fryatt, Warren Schutte and Darin Osborn and Las Vegas resident Bob May failed to advance to the final stage of qualifying. Some of the more familiar names who will be trying to regain their PGA Tour cards at the six-round tournament include Keith Clearwater, the 1987 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, former Las Vegas resident Tommy Armour III and former PGA Tour regulars Mark Carnevale, Brian Claar, Bob Estes, Bob Gilder, Donnie Hammond, Brian Kamm, Jim McGovern, Mike Standly, Stan Utley and Bobby Wadkins. ... The Nevada Open will be held Dec. 11-13 at The Palms Golf Club in Mesquite.