Course Review: Casablanca Golf Course
I have played all of the golf courses in Mesquite, Nevada and one of my personal favorites is the CasaBlanca Golf Course.
I think the course is a “must play” because of the challenge it presents the average golfer like me. Depending on the choice of tee box the golf course can play anywhere from 6,000 to over 7,000 yards.
CasaBlanca golf course was designed by Cal Olson. The holes wind through the natural desert landscape and offers wonderful views of the surrounding Mountains. The course is built within a desert environment but the landscaping and conditions of the course, with its wide fairways, multiple water features and wildflower transition areas mask the harshness of the desert beyond.
The real estate in and among the some of the fairways is visible but rarely comes into play unless you are spraying it wide off the tee and for the most part is not a distraction. The hazards come from large, well placed bunkers and plenty of water "features." If you are playing from the correct tees, the water hazards are more for visual beauty rather than card wreckers.
One of my favorite holes on the course (and there are many) is the par 4, third.
It’s a short hole where your tee shot will either set you up for a good birdie, an easy par or if your drive isn’t center cut – a bogey. Use an appropriate club to set up your position for a short iron to the heavily bunkered green. The direction and strength of the wind can make all the difference on this hole.
Another standout is the finishing hole -- another good birdie opportunity. Again a good tee shot to the center or left side of the fairway is needed to avoid the bunkers down the right side and out-of-bounds to the left. A good second shot to the center of the green will take the bunkers left, right, and behind the green out of play, allowing a relatively straight and flat putt.
Within the last few years the course has come into its own and the crew have brought Casablanca up to tip-top condition. I wouldn’t pass up a chance to play there.