Columnist Peter Benton: New Year brings new golf course to Las Vegas

Peter Benton

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 | 3:18 a.m.

Peter Benton's golf column appears Wednesday.

Next Tuesday, Dec. 15, Southwest Golf, a subsidiary of the Billy Walters Group, will preview to the media its new 18-hole, 6,970-yard Royal Links Golf Club. The official grand opening is scheduled for Dec. 31.

Projected green fees will be similar to those of the Desert Pines Golf Club, which, like the Stallion Mountain Country Club, is owned and operated by Southwest Golf.

The Royal Links features 18 unique holes inspired by various famous British Open golf holes.

So dedicated to authenticity were course architects, Dye Designs International, that the entire design team went to the United Kingdom to experience for themselves both the golf courses and their atmosphere.

The whole property has been designed to emulate the rolling, wind-swept setting of many of the golf courses of the British Isles, with some fairways sanded to duplicate those in Scotland.

In fact, The Royal Links was created as a tribute to the history and tradition of golf's greatest competition -- the British Open. The intent is to allow golfers who otherwise may never have the opportunity to experience golf as it was, and is played, in its birthplace.

In keeping with this theme, the clubhouse is being designed to resemble an ancient Scottish castle. The building will be made of stone and feature steep slate-roofed spires, a clock tower and turrets.

The interior of the clubhouse also will be heavily themed, featuring a British Open Hall of Fame in the grand entry way along with an English-style pub.

Senior-itis

Ivar Gals and W. Lathrop won first flight low gross honors in the Nevada State Seniors Golf Club's recent tournament in St. George, Utah. Their score in the rain-plagued event was 298. Low net victors were Dave Maddux and Tony Gamez. Their score in the three-day tourney was 256.

Second flight low gross winners at 320 were W. Kitchen and P. McGhee, with low net going to the Joe Malais/Pat Lynch pairing and their 261.

Ken Orf and Nick Zaniel garnered low gross honors in the third flight with a score of 333. Low net went to Bill Zell and Wayne Tamblyn with 270.

The Jack Croman/F. Boudrow team won low gross in the fourth flight, coming in with 360, while low net winners with 247 were Ed Berdahl and Bill Eubank.