The second leg of the Vegas vacation took us to Royal Links, a course designed to include a variety of replicated British, Scottish or Irish golf holes from historically renowned courses like St. Andrews. For example the 10th hole at Royal Links was a replica of the Old Course’s Road Hole, while the 18th hole was replica of Royal something or other. Each hole came from a Prestwick or a Portrush or some other familiar sounding name from British Open telecasts. By the time I was done playing, I was convinced I needed to start telling people I hailed from Royal Moose Run.
Even the driving range gave one the feel of being in Europe and each golf hole was really cool to play. The visuals of the course were my favorite part. There were obvious detractors, such as the moments your eyes would wander away from the stone bridges to the horizon and see power lines mounted above a sandy, desert landscape. In those momentary lapses, you were reminded of where you really were. Then your eyes would wander back down to the pot bunkers and rolling mounds of green and you were in heaven again.
The course was soft the day we played it, not lending it to playing the proper bump-and-run style shots required from certain positions, but that’s about the only complaint that could be made.
One interesting side note: We witnessed one group play the wrong green, a mistake that was easily made on what really was a links course. They teed off on the ninth tee and weaved their way across to the 18th green, fully confident they were in the right place until the assistant pro from the clubhouse tried to take their carts and end their round.
Sadly, Royal Links is set to close for good in April of 2021, according to the staff who checked us in early that Tuesday morning. We were so broken up about it, we decided to play the course twice that day.
It was clear to me I would really like playing links golf if I get the chance someday. The variety of shots required to navigate the course was mentally stimulating and there was something fun about using the contours of the ground to shape your shots into proper position. Royal Links did the best job a Vegas course could do of replicating European golf, but it was an impossible task to complete to perfection, which may be why the course had to close down. As fun as it was to play, it couldn’t really deliver a full European coastal feel.
Our next adventure took us to Paiute, a monstrous golf facility in the desert that I know many Alaskans have played. Stay tuned for more from our 36-hole excursion on a windswept day.
