The par-3 18th at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.
Brian Oar
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas. Word often leaks. But here’s a tip you won’t hear in the sports books: the next two days, Las Vegas will host the 8AM Golf Invitational, a 36-hole celebrity team-match play competition, starring the likes of Justin Timberlake, Michael Phelps, Caroline Wozniacki and Travis Kelce.
The field will be split into two teams of 12, playing 24 matches in a two-player scramble format. We can’t predict exactly what will happen, but we can tell you precisely where it will happen. The venue is Wynn Golf Club, on the Strip.
Odds are you know plenty about the celebrity contestants, so here are six things you should know about the course.
1. Location, location, location
While there are other Vegas courses near the Strip, this one is on the Strip, directly behind Wynn Las Vegas. You can stroll from the lobby to the 1st tee.
2. It was designed by Fazio. Twice
Tom Fazio did the honors the first time around, with a ribbon cutting in 2005. In late 2019, Fazio returned, this time with his son, Logan, to overhaul the course, refurbishing 10 holes and building eight new ones.
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3. Tee times command a premium
Though it’s not quite as pricy as Shadow Creek, another Fazio-designed Shangri-La in Vegas, the Wynn does not come cheap. Greens fees are $750. But that includes a caddie, and it keeps you away from the slots.
4. It has a rich history
Not as far back as the Old Course. But by Vegas standards, it runs deep. Long before the property became the Wynn, it was home to the Desert Inn, a resort and casino with a course of the same name. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and other members of the Rat Pack were regulars on the grounds, which also hosted PGA, Champions and LPGA events.
5. The caddies are sticks
All the loopers here are good at carrying clubs. A lot of them can really swing them, too. If you peg it here, don’t be surprised if the assistant on your bag is a former collegiate golfer or ex-mini-tour stud.
6. It’s a watery wonderland
At one point, plans were in the works to transform the Wynn course into a water park. But that idea went by the wayside some six years ago, after Steve Wynn stepped aside as company CEO. The course still has plenty of water, though: gurgling streams, crystalline lakes and, most spectacularly, a giant waterfall behind the par-3 18th green. Make an ace, and you’ll have plenty of money to buy drinks. The course gives a $10,000 prize to anyone who makes a hole-in-one on the finale.
