Golf in Winchester

King Putt takes the rigors of an outdoor ground game and translates them into an indoor glow-in-the-dark experience. The ultimate mini golf package spoils players with two rounds of mini golf, two glow-in-the-dark necklaces, and one game of air hockey. King Putt's northwest course encourages birdies and eagles amid a jungle environment of jolly, golf-enthused animals. The southeast locale near Henderson provides an Egyptian backdrop, with Anubis heads and black-lit sarcophagi setting the scene for each stroke. Mini golfers can also celebrate the earth's habit of walking in circles by purchasing a birthday package ($215, not included with the cost of this Groupon), then use this deal to invite two additional friends after filling the allotted 10 spots. Partiers enjoy 18 holes of putting-green navigation, a magic show, pizza and beverages, and a private party room.

The swing scientists at Nicklaus Academy at DragonRidge hone in on fostering club mastery, helping golfers of all levels sharpen their game in a climate-controlled coaching studio. Students focus their 45-minute lesson on one of three aspects of their game. The full-swing lesson employs high-speed video capture and analysis in the Jack Nicklaus coaching studio to correct flaws in stroke and dissect the most celebrated sports bloopers. Clients can also choose to galvanize their greens game with a putting lesson, complete with computer-generated stroke capture and analysis in the TOMI putting lab, or smarten their short-shot approach with in-depth instruction in the Nicklaus Academy Short Game Training Area.

Desert Pines Golf Club

From the framed photos of legendary players lining the walls of the stately clubhouse to the last putt on the meticulously manicured 18th green, Desert Pines Golf Club surrounds players with tradition. Named one of the Top 50 Public Courses in the nation by Golf Digest, the Pete Dye design opened in 1997 and received a major overhaul 10 years later, complete with 18 newly designed and rebuilt greens. The course features rolling mounds and thousands of mature pines that delineate narrow fairways, yielding beautiful views and occasional lucky bounces back to safety. Unlike other area courses and driving ranges that double as airport runways, wind isn't much of a factor at Desert Pines, thanks to its low elevation, dense foliage, and zero-gravity tee boxes.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,810 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 70.6 from the back tees
• Course slope of 125 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard:m]]

Royal Links Golf Club

Recognized as the Best Course in Las Vegas in 2006 by the Review-Journal, Royal Links Golf Club honors the game’s centuries-old traditions with a links-style labyrinth of holes modeled after 11 British Open rotation courses. The Dye International design transports players to such famous holes as the Road Hole at St. Andrews and the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon, and commemorates great moments in British Open history with monuments interspersed throughout the course. As players crush their drives down hilly, narrow fairways, professional forecaddies illuminate the hole’s history, warn players of hidden pot bunkers, and squelch rumors about a local ball-eating Nessie lurking in the waterways.

After completing a round, golfers can head to the elegant clubhouse, which borrows architectural details from Scottish castles, or load up on gear at the pro shop, named one of America’s 100 Best Golf Shops in 2004 and 2005 by Golf World.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 7,029 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73.7 from the back tees
• Course slope of 135 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard:m]]

The one-hour golf lesson, which includes all course or practice-facility fees, requires golfers to bring their own clubs to have their golf needs assessed and addressed by a PGA®-certified instructor. The private schooling may include tips on proper alignment, grip, posture, ball position, swing mechanics, and more. Cloud 9 has partnered with golfing professionals and tee-off locales all over the country, including four course and instructor choices in the Vegas area—Silverstone Golf Club with Gary Knapp, Red Rock Country Club with Tom Fisher, Angel Park Golf Course with Tom Leese, and the Revere Golf Club in Henderson with Chris Eastman.

Framed by the amber peaks of distant mountains, Wildhorse Golf Club's 18-hole course winds through rugged desert wilderness for 6,525 yards of challenging tee-to-green terrain. Eight ponds loom at the edges of seven holes, including the majestic ninth, where water hazards occupy both sides of the fairway as it draws nearer to the green, luring wayward approaches and contributing to the hole's rating as the course's most difficult. Sands, rocks, and tumbleweeds with dreams of becoming golf balls await misguided orbs in the unsown desert that flanks each pristine fairway, offsetting the course's lack of imposing tree lines.

Imbued with more history than Gene Sarazen's divot-tool time portal, the course counts Howard Hughes among its past owners and was once a regular stop on the PGA Tour, where players enjoyed its beautiful scenery and the compassionate waterfowl that helped earn the course honors as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-70 course

• Length of 6,525 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 71.4 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 136 from the farthest tees

• Four tee options

• Download scorecard

Colorful flags flap in the wind across Callaway Golf Center's 42-acre grounds, acting as target beacons for golfers as they crush golf balls at the two-tiered driving range or at the nine-hole, par 3 course. Nicknamed "The Divine Nine," the layout earned its moniker with its immaculate greens. Ample lighting keeps the course playable at night as golfers hunt holes in one while dialing in shots from tee boxes stationed anywhere between 110 to 185 yards from the pin.

The distant high-rises of the Vegas Strip serve as a backdrop to the center's driving range, where golfers hone swings at one of 113 hitting bays that overlook five target greens. Former US Amateur Champion Eric Meeks—who also competed in the Masters, the British Open, and the US Open—acts as the director of instruction, presiding over a staff that offers outdoor lessons, custom club-fitting services, and swing analyses. The center also showcases a wide-ranging stock of Callaway clubs and Odyssey putters, allowing players to replace outdated drivers or wedges suspected of stashing golf balls for winter hibernation.