Golfweek's Best: Top 50 Casino Golf Courses in the U.S.
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If there was a redeeming element to “The Match: Tiger vs. Phil,” it was that golf fans finally got a chance to see Shadow Creek Golf Course, the perennial No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best Casino Courses list.
Tom Fazio arguably has been the most influential course architect of the past half century. He certainly is the most decorated if we’re basing that distinction solely on top-100 rankings. It’s unlikely any of the courses he has built are a better reflection of his work than Shadow Creek, if only because it sprung wholly from his imagination on a godforsaken patch of desert in North Las Vegas.
Well, his imagination and casino magnate Steve Wynn’s money. It’s never been clear how much money Wynn spent building the course – $40 million? $50 million? $60 million? More? – but he was determined to produce something special, cost be damned. He and Fazio certainly accomplished that. Shadow Creek has become as sure a thing as the New England Patriots in the AFC East; your biggest question is, “Who’s playing for second?”
In this instance, not surprisingly, it’s another Fazio creation: Fallen Oak in Saucier, Miss.
Fazio is responsible, solely or in part, for seven of the 50 courses on this list:
Golfweek's Best: Top 50 Casino Golf Courses
| Rank | Course | Location | Designer | Year Opened | Avg. Rating |
| 1. | Shadow Creek | North Las Vegas, Nev. | Tom Fazio | 1990 | 8.08 |
| 2. | Fallen Oak | Saucier, Miss. | Tom Fazio | 2006 | 7.24 |
| 3. | The Greenbrier (Old White TPC) | White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. | Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor, Lester George | 1914 | 6.80 |
| 4. | Pete Dye Course at French Lick | French Lick, Ind. | Pete Dye | 2009 | 6.75 |
| 5. | We-Ko-Pa (Saguaro) | Fountain Hills, Ariz. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 2006 | 6.69 |
| 6. | Salish Cliffs | Shelton, Wash. | Gene Bates | 2011 | 6.53 |
| 7. | Wilderness at Fortune Bay | Tower, Minn. | Jeff Brauer | 2004 | 6.51 |
| 8. | Barona Creek | Lakeside, Calif. | Gary Roger Baird, Todd Eckenrode | 2000 | 6.49 |
| 9. | Nemacolin Woodlands (Mystic Rock) | Farmington, Pa. | Pete Dye | 1995 | 6.45 |
| 10. | Spirit Hollow | Burlington, Iowa | Rick Jacobson | 2000 | 6.41 |
| 11. | The Preserve | Vancleave, Miss. | Jerry Pate | 2007 | 6.34 |
| 12. | Ak-Chin Southern Dunes | Maricopa, Ariz | Brian Curley, Lee Schmidt | 2002 | 6.23 |
| 13. | Turning Stone Resort (Atunyote) | Verona, N.Y. | Tom Fazio | 2004 | 6.17 |
| 14. | Donald Ross Course at French Lick | French Lick, Ind. | Donald Ross | 1917 | 6.16 |
| 15. | Firekeeper | Mayetta, Kan. | Jeff Brauer, Notah Begay | 2011 | 6.16 |
| 16. | We-Ko-Pa (Cholla) | Fountain Hills, Ariz. | Scott Miller | 2001 | 6.13 |
| 17. | Edgewood Tahoe GC | Stateline, Nev. | George Fazio | 1968 | 6.13 |
| 18. | Yocha De He at Cache Creek Casino | Brooks, Calif. | Brad Bell | 2008 | 6.12 |
| 19. | Sweetgrass | Harris, Mich. | Paul Albanese | 2008 | 6.12 |
| 20. | The Meadows at Mystic Lake | Prior Lake, Minn. | Garrett Gill, Paul Miller | 2005 | 6.12 |
| 21. | Tatanka | Niobrara, Neb. | Paul Albanese | 2015 | 6.05 |
| 22. | Circling Raven | Worley, Idaho | Gene Bates | 2003 | 6.02 |
| 23. | Sandia | Albuquerque, N.M. | Scott Miller | 2005 | 5.93 |
| 24. | Lake of Isles (North) | North Stonington, Conn. | Rees Jones | 2005 | 5.92 |
| 25. | The Greenbrier (Greenbrier) | White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. | Seth Raynor (1924), Jack Nicklaus (1977) | 1924 | 5.92 |
| 26. | Sewailo | Tucson, Ariz. | Notah Begay, Ty Butler | 2013 | 5.91 |
| 27. | Turning Stone Resort (Shenendoah) | Verona, N.Y. | Rick Smith | 1998 | 5.81 |
| 28. | Journey at Pechanga | Temecula, Calif. | Steve Forrest, Arthur Hills | 2008 | 5.79 |
| 29. | Belterra | Florence, Ind. | Tom Fazio | 2001 | 5.79 |
| 30. | Blue Top Ridge | Riverside, Iowa | Rees Jones | 2007 | 5.78 |
| 31. | Inn of the Mountain Gods | Mescalero, N.M. | Ted Robinson | 1976 | 5.76 |
| 32. | Talking Stick (North) | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 1998 | 5.74 |
| 33. | Dancing Rabbit GC (Azaleas) | Philadelphia, Miss. | Tom Fazio, Jerry Pate | 1997 | 5.74 |
| 34. | Seneca Hickory | StickLewiston, N.Y. | Robert Trent Jones Jr. | 2011 | 5.73 |
| 35. | Turning Stone Resort (Kaluhyat) | Verona, N.Y. | Robert Trent Jones Jr. | 2003 | 5.70 |
| 36. | Dancing Rabbit (Oaks) | Philadelphia, Miss. | Tom Fazio, Jerry Pate | 1999 | 5.69 |
| 37. | Apache Stronghold | San Carlos, Ariz. | Tom Doak | 1999 | 5.68 |
| 38. | Eagle Falls | Indio, Calif. | Clive Clark | 2008 | 5.63 |
| 39. | Sevillano Links | Corning, Calif. | Mike Stark | 2007 | 5.57 |
| 40. | Shell Landing | Gautier, Miss. | Davis Love III | 2002 | 5.51 |
| 41. | Whirlwind (Cattail) | Chandler, Ariz. | Gary Panks | 2002 | 5.46 |
| 42. | Talking Stick (South) | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 1998 | 5.43 |
| 43. | Mohegan Sun at Pautipaug | Baltic, Conn. | Geoffrey S. Cornish, Robert McNeil | 2012 | 5.43 |
| 44. | Whirlwind (Devil's Claw) | Chandler, Ariz. | Gary Panks | 2000 | 5.42 |
| 45. | Sequoyah National | Whittier, N.C. | Robert Trent Jones Jr. | 2010 | 5.25 |
| 46. | Cherokee Hills | Tulsa, Okla. | Tripp Davis, Perry Maxwell | 1924 | 5.18 |
| 47. | Bali Hai | Las Vegas, Nev. | Brian Curley, Lee Schmidt | 2000 | 5.13 |
| 48. | Windance | Gulfport, Miss. | Mark McCumber | 1986 | 5.13 |
| 49. | The Bridges | Bay St. Louis, Miss. | Arnold Palmer | 1997 | 5.11 |
| 50. | Contraband Bayou | Lake Charles, La. | Tom Fazio | 2005 | 5.09 |
(Note: This list appears in the December 2018 issue of Golfweek.)