An 18-hole championship course lying at the foothills of the Black Mountain Range, Rio Secco Golf Club offers beautiful panoramas and a memorable and varied game involving sloping fairways and greens, dramatic elevation changes, and natural desert elements. Designed by golf course architect Rees Jones, Rio Secco can provide a challenging round extending up to 7,332 yards, but the award-winning course offers four tees to offer players of all levels an enjoyable game.

Though popular and well-liked among golfers, Rio Secco is known on the Strip as being a demanding course, in that players will have to bring out their best game in order to conquer the many steep canyons, broad desert washes, and ravines. To give you an idea of the caliber of golfer that plays the course, the course record of 64 is held by none other than Tiger Woods. Most players won’t come anywhere close to that number, but the course is still enjoyable, if nothing else for its lovely landscapes filled with wildlife, desert vegetation, and some magnificent homes.

Immaculately maintained, the course offers a few visually stunning holes with views of the mountains and the Las Vegas skyline. But this beauty has some bite on tricky holes like the par-3 3rd, a short drive over a ravine to a shallow green, and the par-4 9th, a 472-yarder carrying over a patch of desert to a wide fairway that leads to a bunker-surrounded green. The 12th is also one of the most talked-about, a 200-yard par-3 that swoops over a valley to a large, dramatically sloping green. Rio Secco’s layout involves six holes on high ground, six holes playing through canyons, and six holes playing through desert wash.

A major claim to fame for Rio Secco is its Butch Harmon School of Golf. The school frequently brings out PGA stars like Natalie Gulbis, who take instruction from Harmon. Another major draw is the course’s unusual choice in caddies; called T-mates, these female caddies are chosen for their pleasant company and unparalleled knowledge of the course. They’re not bad to look at, either.

Players will enjoy various amenities at Rio Secco, including a full practice facility with a driving range, short game area, and a putting green that emulates the conditions on the course. A European-themed clubhouse overlooking the 7th, 8th, and 9th holes offers a pro shop, locker areas, and banquet facilities, as well as the tasty Janelas Restaurant, which serves breakfast and lunch.

Despite being a public course, guests of the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino are given priority at Rio Secco, and the course offers various Stay & Play packages at the Rio and other Harrah’s properties.