Oasis (Palmer)

Those who are familiar with the fantasyland layout made famous by Wolf Creek in golf video games will understand what The Oasis Club in Mesquite, Nevada is selling: Views, views, more views, and quality golf to go with it. The Palmer Course is both the higher-ranked and the more playable of the two courses at Oasis.

Although players will face the No. 1 handicap hole early, at No. 3, the real reason for their visit will appear at No. 5: Players will drive from an elevated tee box down to a fairway that runs through a canyon created by the rising rock formations that rise across the property. This reachable hole will be followed by a par four with similar surroundings, and then a par three where the green poses ahead of a canyon. Beautiful, but potentially deadly for your scorecard!

Granted, the term “oasis” brings water to mind more so than stone, and so when players exit the rockworks on No. 7, they’ll be thinking about a lake they need to clear on the way home at this par five. The mix of rock hazards and water hazards continues into the back nine.