Las Vegas golf and the Super Bowl: A match made in heaven
LAS VEGAS -- Okay, here are the choices: Pony up $2,500 -- or more -- for a quick trip to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl. For your money, you can expect to get a middle-of-the-road hotel room, a nose-bleed seat to the game and, maybe, a couple trips to Denny's.
Or, you can make your reservations for a four-day, three-night stay in Las Vegas, play a couple of rounds of golf on lush, top-of-the-line courses, take in a show or two on the Las Vegas Strip and indulge in a wide range of dining and drinking options.
All that for the same money -- or maybe even a little less.
"The energy and excitement during Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas is something you can't miss," said Josh Hill, Walters Golf's director of sales and marketing. "The Super Bowl parties, the sportsbooks, the restaurants and, of course, the golf."
See you on the first tee.
Look for package deals
Most of the resorts or golf courses have more than their share of package deals that include just about everything. Check out your favorites and start the reservation process.
Locations with multiple golf courses -- such as Harrah's with Rio Secco Golf Club, Cascata and Las Vegas National; Walters Golf with Bali Hai Golf Club, Royal Links Golf Club and Desert Pines Golf Club; Las Vegas Pauite Golf Resort with the Snow Mountain, Sun Mountain and Wolf course; The Revere Golf Club with Concord and Lexington courses and others -- can set players up with multiple rounds at different courses in the blink of an eye.
Las Vegas off course
The action here will start from the minute you land at the airport or see the welcome sign as you drive up the famed Las Vegas Strip. From shows (singing, dancing, magic and much more) to fine dining (steaks to die for, flown-in-fresh seafood and the greatest choices in spirits anywhere) to thrill rides galore (check out the rides atop the Stratosphere Tower, if you dare), there's something for everyone in this 24-hour-a-day paradise. There are spas everywhere. There are enough shopping choices to wear out your gold card. There are late-night hotspots with A-list celebrities guaranteed to be on hand to celebrate their time in Vegas.
And, best of all, you're here to take it all in and enjoy the atmosphere.
On Super Bowl weekend, timing is everything
Plan on getting into Las Vegas at least by Friday to get your bearings -- and to get in an early round on Saturday on one of the more than 50 golf courses in Las Vegas and the surrounding area.
Many of these courses will have a shotgun event on Super Bowl Sunday, so make your Saturday night plans accordingly (in other words don't stay out until 5 a.m.). Get to the course early on the big day and grab a bite to eat. After the round, you'll have time to get back to the sportsbook, make a wager or two and join a thousand of your closest friends as the big game kicks off. There will be big-game parties everywhere, but get there early, as the seats will go fast.
After the game, the fun isn't over in Vegas. There will still be plenty of action available.
Make sure you save time on Monday for a farewell round of golf as you say goodbye to Las Vegas. And if you've had good luck at the tables, the slot machines or in the sportsbook, you may even leave with a few more dollars than you arrived with.
A trip to Vegas and the Super Bowl? Thousands and thousands of guests who spend the weekend here every year can't be wrong.
"What better place to enjoy multiple days of fun as opposed to one day of excitement," said Dennis Piekarski, director of sales and marketing for The Revere Golf Club. "The value in playing golf and seeing what Las Vegas has to offer far exceeds the benefit of being at the big game. From wagers on the big game, evening excitement, world-class golf and hotels, there is not one city in the United States that offers all of that for the price of a nose-bleed ticket for the Super Bowl. Dallas is a great city, but comparing three hours of fun at the game, to the multiple days of fun makes Las Vegas the guaranteed winner -- hands down."
Well, what are you waiting for? The flights into Vegas, hotel rooms, show tickets -- and golf tee times -- will go fast.
January 4, 2011
Bill Bowman, Contributor
Bill Bowman is a Las Vegas-based writer who has more than 35 years in the sports writing business. He's spent the past eight-plus years covering the golf scene in Vegas and has teed it up for magazine profiles with celebrities including comedian Bill Engvall, actor Jeffrey Donovan (USA's Burn Notice), ESPN personality Colin Cowherd, NASCAR's Kurt Busch, Collective Soul's Ed Roland, the Baltimore Ravens' Jonathan Ogden and many others.
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