Shadow Creek Golf Course Review

About Shadow Creek Golf Course

This Shadow Creek Golf Course review covers the course most rankings put first in Nevada, and the one visiting golfers ask about by price before they ask about the golf. Tom Fazio built it on 350 acres of flat Mojave Desert in North Las Vegas, roughly 25–30 minutes northeast of Summerlin, and made it look like anywhere but Nevada. That was the point. Casino developer Steve Wynn commissioned the project in the late 1980s and spent a reported $60 million-plus getting there: more than 20,000 mature trees trucked in, streams and waterfalls cut into the terrain, mountains built from scratch to frame each hole. Fazio and collaborator Andy Banfield opened the course in 1989. It was the most exclusive round in America within a few years and has not given the title back since. MGM Resorts International owns Shadow Creek now, and access is strictly gated. Monday–Thursday you have to be a paid hotel guest at an MGM Resorts property. Weekends are invitation only. The green fee is $1,250 per player, the highest published rate in the United States, and it buys a dedicated caddie and a round-trip limousine from your Strip hotel. Our verdict: nothing in Nevada asks more of you to get on, and nothing in Nevada gives back more once you do.

Access Rules & Pricing

Eligibility is the real gate at Shadow Creek, not the price. You must be a registered, paid guest of an MGM Resorts International property in Las Vegas; Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria, Park MGM, New York-New York, Vdara, and others qualify. Monday–Thursday: hotel guests may reserve a tee time. Friday–Sunday: invited guests of MGM Resorts only, so a standard hotel stay buys you nothing on a weekend. Two golfers per occupied room is the ceiling. The green fee is $1,250 per golfer (2026 published rate) and includes a private caddie and round-trip limousine. Book by calling (702) 399-7111. Build the trip around a weekday. It is the only window most visitors will ever get.

Reviews of Shadow Creek Golf Course

Our editorial take: the argument about Shadow Creek happens before the round and after it, never during. Beforehand it is the fee, the access barriers, and whether a parkland course trucked into the Mojave counts as real golf. Afterward most people go quiet. Tom Fazio built something with no business existing in the Nevada desert, and the conditioning and the hole-to-hole isolation do most of the persuading. The routing is the underrated part. It reads its man-made landscape with the same strategic intelligence the great natural courses read theirs. Worth the $1,250 once. Go back a second time and you start doing the math on what four figures actually bought, which is a very good golf course pretending it is not in a desert. If you are staying at an MGM property and the number doesn't stop you, book it. Nevada doesn't have another course in the same conversation.

Our national title TopCourses.golf ranks Shadow Creek 35th in the United States. At 7,560 yards it plays longer than 88% of the courses on that national list, and having opened in 1990 it is younger than only a third of them.

Good to know before you play

• Access eligibility: You must be a paid, registered guest of an MGM Resorts International property in Las Vegas to book a tee time. Qualifying properties include Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria, Park MGM, New York-New York, Vdara, and several others. Only two golfers per room may access the course. Confirm eligibility when calling (702) 399-7111.
• Weekday vs. weekend rules: Monday through Thursday tee times are available to any paid hotel guest. Friday through Sunday, only invited guests of MGM Resorts may play — standard hotel-stay access does not apply on weekends.
• What the $1,250 covers: The green fee includes a dedicated private caddie and complimentary round-trip limousine transfer from your MGM hotel to the course in North Las Vegas. The caddie fee is not included in the green fee and is customarily tipped separately.
• Yardage and difficulty: At 7,560 yards from the tips and par 72, Shadow Creek is a genuine championship test. The tree-lined corridors amplify the parkland atmosphere but leave little margin for wayward drives. First-time players consistently note that the visual drama of each hole creates real pressure to perform.
• Distance from Summerlin: The course is located in North Las Vegas, approximately 25–30 minutes northeast of Summerlin. The limo transfer from Strip hotels takes roughly 20–25 minutes and is scheduled with your tee time — there is no need to arrange your own transportation.
• Caddies and pace of play: Shadow Creek runs all rounds with caddies and deliberately limits the number of groups on the course at any time. Pace of play is actively managed and rounds are rarely rushed. Arrive at your hotel pickup point on time — limousines depart on a fixed schedule.

Frequently asked questions about Shadow Creek Golf Course

Where can I find reviews and ratings for Shadow Creek Golf Course?

You can read player reviews of Shadow Creek Golf Course — rated for conditions, value, layout, greens, pace, and staff — and add your own here on Summerlin.Golf. Shadow Creek Golf Course is also profiled on major golf platforms including GolfPass, GolfNow, Golf Digest, and Google Reviews. For the official scorecard, rates, and tee times, visit the Shadow Creek Golf Course official website.

How much does it cost to play Shadow Creek Golf Course?

The green fee at Shadow Creek Golf Course is $1,250 per player (2026 published rate). This fee includes a dedicated caddie and complimentary round-trip limousine transportation from your MGM Resorts hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Shadow Creek is consistently listed as the most expensive course in the United States and reservations require an active stay at an MGM Resorts International property.

Who can play Shadow Creek — what are the access rules?

Access to Shadow Creek is restricted to guests of MGM Resorts International properties in Las Vegas (including MGM Grand, Bellagio, Aria, New York-New York, Park MGM, Vdara, and others). Monday through Thursday, paid hotel guests may reserve a tee time. Friday through Sunday, access is limited to invited guests of MGM Resorts. Only two golfers per occupied room may qualify. Reservations are made by calling (702) 399-7111.

Who designed Shadow Creek and when did it open?

Shadow Creek was designed by Tom Fazio (with collaborator Andy Banfield) and opened in 1989. It was originally conceived and built by casino developer Steve Wynn at a cost exceeding $60 million, transforming a flat Mojave Desert site with more than 20,000 imported mature trees, sculpted terrain, streams, and waterfalls. MGM Resorts International later acquired the course along with the Mirage properties.

What is the par and yardage at Shadow Creek Golf Course?

Shadow Creek Golf Course is an 18-hole championship layout playing to par 72 from the back tees at 7,560 yards, making it one of the longest resort courses in the country.

Where is Shadow Creek located and how far is it from Summerlin?

Shadow Creek Golf Course is located at 3 Shadow Creek Dr, North Las Vegas, NV 89081 — approximately 25–30 minutes northeast of Summerlin and about 10 miles north of the Las Vegas Strip. Transportation is included in the green fee: a private limousine picks up guests from their MGM hotel and returns them after the round.

What is Shadow Creek best known for?

Shadow Creek is widely ranked the #1 golf course in Nevada and among the top 20 courses in the United States. What it is known for is the landscape, and the landscape is entirely artificial: streams, waterfalls, and forest carved into the desert at enormous cost. After that, the exclusivity and the record-setting green fee. Shadow Creek hosted The Match PGA/LIV events in 2021 and has stayed on national best-course lists since Golf Digest first ranked it in the 1990s.