Published October 15, 2026
What You Get At Shadow Creek, One Of The Most Expensive Tee Times In Golf
At $1,250, you gotta’ really want it.
This piece originally ran in the GTG newsletter. Subscribe here for free.
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Let me say this up front: I do not believe there is a golf course on planet earth that’s worth north of $1,000 for a round.
Not Pebble Beach (up to $695). Not the Old Course at St. Andrews ($450). Not Pacific or Bandon Dunes (each $375).
But curiosity is getting the best of me today, and so I hope you’ll come along as I explore how Shadow Creek justifies its otherworldly greens fees of $1,250, and what exactly you get when you ante way, way up.
Let’s start here: ​Shadow Creek​ is attached to MGM Resorts, the luxury casino resort operator that owns places like the Bellagio, MGM Grand, ARIA, and many other spots along the Las Vegas strip. MGM took over the Tom Fazio design in 2000, a decade after it was built for an astonishing $120 million in today’s dollars ($47 million at the time).
With that money, Fazio created something you’d never expect in the region, “carving rolling hills and canyons from the flat desert floor north of Las Vegas and pumping in plenty of water,” Golf Digest ​writes​. The publication ranks Shadow Creek the 3rd-best public golf course in America. Its raters are higher on it than those at GOLF and Golfweek: on our ​composite top 100​, Shadow Creek slides in at 9th.
In 2025, when we hunted down ​greens fees across the entire top 100​ U.S. publics, Shadow Creek came in more than $500 higher than anyone else in the top 10.
So, how about that experience?
For starters, there’s a definite (and perhaps obvious) level of exclusivity at play here. To get on without a member, you’re going to need to stay at an MGM property and, as GM Monte Montgomery ​told​ the Subpar podcast a couple years ago, likely target a Monday through Thursday for a tee time.
Your greens fee does include transportation via private limousine to and from your resort. It also includes a forecaddie. Once you’re there, you’re treated to an almost surreal escape from Vegas, with towering pines, waterfalls, ultra-lush and well-conditioned fairways, and no real hint of the dusty desert. Those that have experienced the place tend to rave about it.
Most mere mortals will find a four-digit greens fee unpalatable. But, sure, if you have $1,250 burning a hole in your pocket and are after the ultimate high-roller golf indulgence, you might as well give it a whirl.
Pricing details
Golf:
• MGM resort guest: $1,250
Travel considerations
• Shadow Creek is about 20 minutes from the Las Vegas strip.