Closed to public play since June 2025. A Jack Nicklaus tribute course converting to a private luxury club.
Bear's Best Las Vegas closed to public play on June 28, 2025. The course, which Jack Nicklaus designed in 2002 as a tribute layout featuring recreations of 18 of his favorite holes from courses around the world, was acquired by Mulligan Holdings for $30.5 million. The new ownership group, led by Andrew Pascal and Mike Mixer, is investing up to $300 million to transform the property into a private, members-only luxury club.
Redevelopment began in September 2025, and the projected reopening as a private facility is October 2026. Fifteen boutique villas are expected by December 2027. The course will not return to public play.
For the years it operated as a daily-fee course, Bear's Best offered an unusual proposition: 18 holes, each modeled after a specific Nicklaus design from his global portfolio, assembled into a single routing in northwest Las Vegas. The concept was a greatest-hits collection, and the execution was polished enough to attract golfers curious about Nicklaus designs they might never visit in their original locations. The par-72 layout played 7,194 yards from the tips with a slope of 137, placing it firmly in the accessible range for a course of that length.
The closure of Bear's Best removes one of the more distinctive public options from the Las Vegas market. Golfers who had planned to include it in their itineraries should consider Reflection Bay, the only remaining Jack Nicklaus design open to public play in the Las Vegas area, or one of the three Paiute courses at comparable price points.
Closed to public play since June 28, 2025. Converting to a private, members-only luxury club. No public tee times are available.
A Rees Jones design in Boulder City with a 418-foot waterfall cascading through the clubhouse. Nevada's 8th-ranked course.
The only Jack Nicklaus Signature Design in Nevada, with multiple holes along the Lake Las Vegas shoreline. Former host of the Wendy's 3 Tour Challenge.
Formerly Rio Secco. A Rees Jones desert-canyon layout in Henderson with dramatic elevation changes and the Butch Harmon School of Golf on site.
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The original Pete Dye course at Paiute and the most forgiving of the three layouts, with a 126 slope that welcomes mid-handicappers.
The most playable of Pete Dye's three Paiute courses, with railroad-tie bunkers and undulating greens on open desert terrain.
A PGA TOUR-managed facility in the desert canyons northwest of the Strip, with six sets of tees and tournament-standard conditioning.
The longest course in Las Vegas at 7,604 yards and the most demanding of Pete Dye's three Paiute layouts. Desert links on tribal land.
The only golf course on the Las Vegas Strip. Six par 3s, a finishing hole beneath a waterfall, and a flat rate that covers everything.