Las Vegas' luckiest golf course: Revere Concord can save your wayward drives

By Chris Baldwin, Contributor

Well-mounded fairways that forgive almost any off-line drive make the Concord course at Revere Golf Club in Henderson one of the most fun Las Vegas golf courses for unlucky hackers.

No matter where your drive goes, you're good at Revere Golf Club's Concord course.

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HENDERSON, Nev. - Las Vegas can be a tough town if your luck's not working. The way the odds are stacked in the casinos' favor, it's hard for anyone to be too fortunate here for too long.

Unless you're playing Revere Golf Club's Concord course.

This Henderson golf course is the Vegas-area track that makes every two-bit hacker feel like he or she's been blessed by Saint Tiger. If your game's sickly and your driver's damned, Concord's fairways can cure all.

You don't even have to hit the fairways, at least until around the turn. Send a shot screaming far left or wide right and it's all but certain to bounce off the side hills and end up trickling right back down into fairway grass.

Revere Concord has more mounding than Pamela Anderson, and you'll be almost as grateful for it.

"Groups like to play Concord because it fits all levels of players," said Dennis Piekarski, Revere's sales and marketing director. "The average guy who's teeing it up for the first time in months gets helped out a little, and the good player will be challenged closer to the green."

Playing Concord is like bowling with bumpers, only much more fun. After all, golf isn't like bowling. It's hard enough. A little help never hurts.

"This course is excellent," vacationing Colorado golfer Barry Reid said, wearing the smile of someone who can't believe how many "good" shots he'd hit. "It gives you a chance."

And then some. Playing Revere Concord is like golfing with a guardian angel. Pulled your shot on the par-4 third? No problem, here it comes back, rolling to green grass like Lassie returning to Timmy.

"Can you believe that?" Piekarski marveled when one particularly odoriferous tee shank made its way back to the fairway.

Even those who work here can be stunned by Revere Concord's grace.

If you want a stiffer test, Revere has the Lexington course, with its long holes, forced carries and sky-high views of The Strip. Concord is a little less popular, but a lot more fun to play. As Reid said, "I don't need a 600-yard par 5."

Not that Concord is a coward's choice. No. 18 stretches a good 551 years. It's more like a good host. The most severe mounding is on the first six holes, when a vacationing golfer is most likely to be working off rust and in need of an assist.

By the time you get to the par-3 eighth, though, you're staring down a green fronted by a rock wall, and all the mounding in the world's not going to help you hit it.

Then No. 9 confronts you with the first real uphill shot of the day - and it's severely uphill, especially if one of Las Vegas' nasty winds is blowing in your face.

Billy Casper and Greg Nash aren't the most celebrated names in Vegas' celebrity-design pantheon, but they show a touch for crowd-pleasing holes here.

No. 13 has you shooting from a high, high tee almost straight away to the green. The flag looks a lot closer than the 449 yards on the scorecard, an optical illusion that no doubt fuels many foolish go-for-it drives.

Hey, it's still Vegas. You didn't think 13 was going to be lucky too, did you?

The verdict on Concord at Revere Golf Club

Revere Concord's a good choice if you're looking for a Sin City course where you can hang with your buddies and have a high-fun, low-stress round. This is where the Entourage crew would play if they came to Vegas to golf.

There aren't as many Strip scenes as at Lexington, but the views are good. Just as important, you'll get plenty of cart-girl sightings: The club assigns at least one to each 18, which should eliminate those waits you find at some 36-hole complexes. (You'll also see some of the biggest jackrabbits in creation.)

Revere Concord can set you back $175 in high season, but there are early twilight specials (starting around noon), and beginning May 21 you can get the prime tee times for $95. It's not a cheap course, but it's no Vegas rip-off either. You'll feel like you got your money's worth.

Las Vegas restaurant tip

Wolfgang Puck's Postrio in the Venetian mall is one of the more underrated spots on the Strip. You get super-fresh salads and pastas for Vegas-reasonable prices (out the door for under $40 per person, wine included).

Las Vegas hotel tip

Wynn Las Vegas is the kind of high-end splurge that grows on you. It's no great shakes as a casino, but there are more perks for guests than anywhere else in Vegas, from the nightly light show to a great pool scene.

For those looking for an off-Strip experience, Loews has taken over the Hyatt Regency at Lake Las Vegas and made it even more un-Sin City by getting rid of the in-house casino. The great views of the lake remain.