Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/39920
The par-4 Hole 3 is 415 yards from the forward tees, 447 from the back. turn to the pine-lined hills of North Carolina. "The thing I hear most from guests is, 'I can't believe we're in the middle of a city,'" Hawthorne says as we strike drives over a stream during a recent round. With its elevated tee shots and rolling hills, meandering creeks and sedate lily-covered ponds, stately pines and blossoming flowers, the Wynn Golf Club seems closer to bucolic Pinehurst, North Carolina, than the bustle of Las Vegas Boulevard. But then you look up at the hotels and landmarks in the background that can serve as target points for some shots, and you realize it can only be Vegas. "Between the elevation changes, the contouring, the landscaping and the conditioning, it's just an outstanding experience," says Fazio, whose designs include Butler National near Chicago and two courses (Nos. 6 and 8) at Pinehurst Resort. Fazio says he wasn't trying to re-create North Carolina in the desert. "We just wanted to create something that looked as natural as pos- sible," he says. "Having the diff erent placements of creeks, streams, ponds and trees made for a great variety of holes." The genius of Wynn and Fazio's creation, apart from adhering to Fazio's philosophy of making the course a challenging test for low- handicap players and an enjoyable day for high-handicappers, is the way the 18 holes are buff ered from each other despite being carved into such a compact area. The 7,042-yard, par-70 course sits on 137 acres and has five par-3s and only three par-5s, but it still plays plenty long from the championship tees. All the par-4s, except for one, are longer than 400 yards from the back tees. WYNN 69 PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN AND JEANNIE HENEBRY