Bear's Best Golf Club in Las Vegas is one of two golf courses in the country that feature a collection of holes previously designed by Jack Nicklaus. Bear's Best Golf Club in Las Vegas was the first of the two golf courses to open. The other is in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jack Nicklaus took a hands-on approach with these golf courses by personally selecting the holes to be re-created. He further went on to incorporate these holes into the existing piece of ground that would become the Bear's Best Golf Club. Surrounding the golf course is an upscale housing development with homes that sit back from the main playing area.

Bear's Best has a high level of customer service for their guests. They are one of a growing number of golf courses in Las Vegas that feature a fore caddy program. Under this program, each group that plays the golf course will be assigned a caddy to provide yardages, rake bunkers, give advice about each hole and help players look for balls in the desert.

Thirteen different golf courses have contributed holes to Bear's Best Golf Club. Many of the golf courses are located in areas that share landscape features with the Las Vegas Valley. These courses include Cabo del Sol, Desert Highlands, Old Works and Castle Pines. The holes have been recreated with the best possible details.

The 4th hole is a long par-3 that measures 229 yards from the back tee. The most distinctive feature about this hole is the black sand that fills the bunkers. This hole was taken from the Old Works Golf Club in Anaconda, Montana. The tee shot must carry a bunker and find this somewhat narrow green. A long iron will be required the find the middle of the putting surface.

Hitting out of this sand is quite easy. The club glides through the surface with little or no resistance, although it can be unsettling to look down on black sand rather than white. Some players will intentionally hit their balls into the bunkers just to say they have played out of them.

Jack Nicklaus was a long driver of the golf ball, and could easily reach most par-5's in two shots. The 8th hole at Bear's Best is a long par-5 measuring 599 yards and was taking from Castle Pines Golf Club. The addition of numerous pine trees frames the fairway and makes it fairly easy to hit. Don't expect to find as many of these trees in Las Vegas, though - pine trees have a tough time surviving the desert heat. Number of trees aside, the golf course does a very good job of re-creating this hole.

The fairway on this hole slopes slightly to the left and the best place to miss is down the right side. This will leave you with the best possible approach to the lay-up area. There is a small swell that bisects the fairway about 120 yards from the green. Usually this area is filled with thick grass and it will be difficult to find your ball in this area.

This is one of the narrowest greens on the golf course and has bunkers both in front of and behind the green. Take care when playing your approach shot so as not to find one of these bunkers.

One of the most demanding holes on the golf course is the par-4 18th hole. This long hole is a replica of the 18th hole at PGA West and requires two good shots to make the green. Measuring 463 yards, the fairway on this hole is quite as large as you would expect to find on a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

The left side of this hole is fairly wide open and is the best place to miss the ball. The right side is guarded by a lake and bunker that travel down the entire length of the hole. Once in the fairway, you will face a shot to a multi-tiered green that has water in front and to the right. Take enough club and hit the ball toward the middle of the green. No need to flirt with the pin if it is near the water.

Bear's Best Golf Club in Las Vegas features many of the greatest holes that Jack Nicklaus has designed. The golfer will find large fairways, appropriately placed water hazards and bunkers, and large, undulating greens. The golf course is always in pristine condition and should definitely be on your list to play anytime you visit Las Vegas.

This is #2 in a series of articles about Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses.

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