Bear's Best Las Vegas

Overview: Bear’s Best Las Vegas is a public Jack Nicklaus course in the western Las Vegas valley. Rather than presenting one continuous architectural theme, the layout gathers recreated holes inspired by Nicklaus courses from the western United States and Mexico. Desert edges, broad landing areas and strategic bunkers give the round a recognizable Las Vegas setting while the individual holes retain distinct identities.

History: Bear’s Best Las Vegas opened in 2002 as one of the first courses in the Bear’s Best concept, a joint venture between ClubCorp and Golden Bear International. The course was developed as a daily-fee facility and later co-hosted the 2004 Michelin Classic at Las Vegas.

Did You Know? The Bear’s Best idea is architectural sampling: each hole is based on a signature hole from a Nicklaus-designed course. That makes the round a study in how one architect used different landscapes, hazards and green shapes across a much larger body of work.