How Can I Play TPC Summerlin?

The Las Vegas course boasts stunning desert scenery and challenging holes, but how can you play it?

The 15th hole at TPC Summerlin
(Image credit: Getty Images)

TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas takes full advantage of its rugged Nevada Desert terrain to combine a stern test of any player with breathtaking scenery.

The course was designed by Bobby Weed in consultation with Fuzzy Zoeller and opened in 1991. Nowadays, it's the regular host of the PGA Tour’s Shriners Children’s Open. Formerly known as the Las Vegas Invitational, it was that tournament held at the same course where Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event in 1996. 

Woods' maiden win isn't the only piece of history attributed to the course, though, the 17th is the scene of another PGA Tour first. In 2010, Jonathan Byrd was embroiled in a three-man playoff in the Shriners Children’s Open. After the first three playoff holes finished tied, he hit the first walk-off ace in the Tour’s history to win the trophy. A plaque at the hole commemorates the unforgettable moment.

The second hole at TPC Summerlin

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Creeks and canyons are commonplace against the rugged backdrop of the surrounding desert. Meanwhile, the course has some challenging elevation changes, and players are tested further by the tricky green undulations. While tackling those, players are frequently treated to views of either mountains or the famous Sin City skyline. They would be wise not to let the stunning surroundings distract them though. That’s because water and bunkers are also prevalent while that unforgiving desert terrain lies just beyond the fairways.

The closing holes are memorable, too. The par 4 15th has a green that’s elevated and has dramatic undulations, while the 16th has a lake protecting the front of the green with bunkers waiting to swallow any shot that goes beyond it. After the par 3 17th, which inevitably evokes memories of Byrd's playoff feat, the round finishes with a testing 18th that features a canyon to the left and water guarding the green.

The 18th green at TPC Summerlin

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The course is private, and there are reportedly initiation fees of between $25,000 and $50,000 to become a member. Anyone wishing to join has no fewer than 11 options to choose from, with details of each available on request via the official TPC website. Members also have access to TPC Las Vegas and other TPC golf courses around the country. Another option is to play as a guest of a member.

Can You Play TPC Summerlin?

TPC Summerlin is private with initiation fees reportedly between $25,000 and $50,000. As well as the course, TPC Summerlin members can also take advantage of the club's PGA Tour-calibre practice facility, tennis courts and pool. 

Can The Public Play TPC Courses?

Of the 30 TPC courses, 14 are public. They include TPC San Antonio and TPC Louisiana. Any member of a club in the TPC Network can play other TPC courses whether they are private or public. 

Mike Hall
Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.