Vegas Golfer - Our local golf magazine is a 1st class, enjoyable & informative magazine about golf happenings in Las Vegas. The articles are written by some of the best known players on all three tours, and sometimes can give you an inside look at their lives on the tour. I completely recommend that you check them out and subscribe if you regularly visit Las Vegas or just want to read the best local type golf news magazine published. Do I sound biased ? Heck yes, - I have seen a lot of the other local type golf magazines. This one is printed on "slick" paper, not the newspaper type, just to give you a partial idea of the magazine. You may also reach them by telephone at 1-888-584-6533 (toll free). The subscription rates are very reasonable - $9.95 per year, and includes their "Guidebook to Golfing Las Vegas". You can even subscribe on line at their web site.

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Golf Shops
Las Vegas has a good representation of nationally advertised discount golf shops, all open 7 days/week - naturally. Their approximate location is noted on the . map . with BLACK numbers.

1. Golf Augusta Pro Shop - 8450 W. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, (702) 307-4653

3. Golfers Depot - 2381 E. Windmill Lane, #18, Las Vegas, (702) 914-7667
Located at Eastern & Windmill Lane, it is a good local shop with competitive prices, friendly and courteous staff and open 7 days a week. If you call or drop by, say hello to Dolly, a super friendly lady.

6. Hohl In One - Cornor of S. Eastern & Horizon Ridge Pkwy., Henderson, (702) 565-7865
No - the spelling is right - a great local shop that stocks just about everything. The staff seems to go out of their way to help you with what you need.

5. In Celebration of Golf - In Venitian Hotel, Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas
The most unique golf store you will ever run across. Read about it at this article:   Not Your Average Golf Store

2. Las Vegas Discount Golf ( HQ in LV ) - 4211 Paradise Rd. - 702-892-9999
and 2200 S. Rainbow - 702-362-9904
Now the oldest remaining golf shop in town. You know this store chain - you've seen their ads in all the golf magazines. Las Vegas is, of course, the national headquarters for the chain and they have two fantastic stores for you to visit.



Additional Golf Shop Notes
Edwin Watts - In the planning stages of opening a shop here. Location unknown at this time.

Roger Dunn - Closed its store here.
Nevada Bob's - Closed its stores here.

If your in need of a club repaired, new shafts or grips, try these shops out. I have used the ones listed, so I know the quality of their work and can recommend any of those listed.

7. R C's Golf Shop - 3310 S. Nellis Blvd. , Las Vegas - 434-8880
Shop #1, the oldest club repair and custom club making shop in town.

8. R C's Golf Shop #2 - 5120 W Charleston, Las Vegas - 877-0999
Shop #2, the oldest club repair and custom club making shop in town.

9. JT's Golf - 3475 S. Jones Blvd. Las Vegas - 368-4331
Also does custom club making.

10. Desert Inn Golf Enterprises - 2300 E. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas - 734-3434
( They even offer an after hours service, pickup & delivery to your hotel room ).

The following players have connections to Las Vegas by either their residence, attended college or employment here. I have also included any web page information relating to the player, where available.
You can see by the list, Las Vegas is making a name for itself in the golfing world, not only with the tournaments but also with the courses and the players on the tour.
For specific bios on these or any of the tour players, go to PGA TOUR and select "PLAYERS", then choose the name of the player desired.

Champions Tour ( was Seniors PGA)

Buddy Allin -Lives in Boulder City. Turned Pro in 1969, Joined PGA in 1970, Senior PGA in 1994. Winner of 5 PGA titles, 1980 New Zealand Open. Last win: 1997 SPGA American Express Invitational. Nominated for 1995 SPGA Rookie of the year. Tied the Senior Tour course record of 61 in 1995 FHP Health Care Classic.

Jim Colbert - Lives in Las Vegas. Has won 8 PGA titles, 18 Senior PGA titles. 1991 Senior Rookie of the Year. 2X leading money winner: 1995, 1996; SPGA Player of the year: 1995, 1996; SPGA since 1991, all time career money: $8,351,346. Turned Pro in 1965, joined PGA in 1966, SPGA in 1991. Battled and won against colon cancer in 1997, and is back on the tour playing almost as hard as ever. He was also a golf analyst for ESPN. Jim somehow also finds time to write a column for Vegas Golfer Magazine.

Robert Lendzion - Lives in Las Vegas. Bob Turned Pro in 1973, and has won the 1977 and 1978 PGA Assistants Championship, 1986 PGA Club Professional Championship, 1993 Chile Open, 1997 Long Island PGA Championship, and the 1998 Beko Classic in Turkey in his second start on the PGA European Seniors Tour. He has played in the winter on the Australian, Asian and South African Tours. Currently plays on the US Senior Tour and the PGA European Seniors Tour. Currently he ranks 82nd in All-Around Ranking on the Senior PGA Tour.

PGA & Nationwide (was BUY.COM ( which was NIKE ))



Jeremy Anderson - 2000 UNLV graduate, announced in the late summer of 2000 that he is turning pro, and will begin on the 2001 tour. He was the only player from the college class's of 2000 to gain his TOUR card. During his college golfing career, Jeremy established himself quite well. As a senior he opened the 1999-2000 season ranked at No. 11 in the preseason edition of the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings. He was named to the PING/Golf Coaches Association of America All-America first team in 1999 and 2000, (and became the first golfer in UNLV history to earn first-team honors more than once) and a second-team choice as a sophomore in 1998. As a Junior, he was named the 1998-99 UNLV Olympic Sports Sportsman of the Year. Anderson was selected by the men's Olympic sports head coaches to receive the honor. He was named a 1999 first-team All-American, and is UNLV golf's first recipient of that honor since 1994. He won two individual titles this season and was named the WAC Player of the Year. Holds four UNLV school records: low 18 (63), low 54 (198), low season scoring average (70.85 in 2000) and low career scoring average (72.01). He was twice named the conference player of the year and is a two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American, and a member of the UNLV National Championship team in 1998. Concluded his career as a Rebel in May 2000 with a 10th-place overall finish at the NCAA Championships. Jeremy started playing golf at age 5 and was No. 1 on his high school team in Lake Mary, FL which included Matt Kuchar. Jeremy plays out of Shadow Creek Golf Club.

Tommy Armour III - Bishop Gorman high school graduate, had home off Legacy Golf Course, in Henderson. Now lives in Dallas, Texas.

Craig Barlow -A new addition to the PGA Tour in 1998. Craig placed tied for 26th in the 1997 "Q-School". He lives in Henderson and his name is all over the list at Black Mountain Golf & Country Club as he is a Basic H.S. graduate and virtually grew up on this course. Winner of the 1994 Nevada State Amateur Championship, qualified for the 1994 U.S. Open as an amateur, 1995 Nevada State Match Play Champion, named 1994 Southern Nevada Golf Association Player of the Year. He is a very nice young man that is going to go places - look for him on the winners list. Craig plays out of Reflection Bay at Lake Las Vegas.

Chris Berry - A 1999 UNLV graduate and former UNLV golf standout, and was a member of UNLV's 1998 NCAA championship team. Chris played on the Hooters Tour and finished third in a tournament May 5th (2001) weekend. You'll be seeing more of him in the time to come. Chris is a great player and will only continue to get better.

Chad Campbell - Graduated from UNLV in 1996 ( Hotel Administration ), two time All-American, qualified in Oct 2001, for the regular PGA tour by his winnings on the Buy.com Tour at the Monterey Peninsula Classic, the Permian Basin Open and the Richmond Open. By winning three times, he earned an automatic promotion the the PGA Tour. His tour record setting single-season earnings for the Buy.com Tour was $394,552, and has been selected as golf's Player of the Year on the Buy.com Tour. Well done, Chad! Player Biographical Information: Chad Campbell

Jerry Foltz - Born in Las Vegas, Western High School graduate, now lives in Chandler Az. Turned Pro in 1989. Has won two Nike Tour events. He is now a featured on course commentator for "The Golf Channel"

Eddy Fryatt- 1990 Chaparral HS graduate, 1994 UNLV graduate, lives in Las Vegas. 1997 Leading Money winner on Asian Tour, three 1st place wins. His last win was the 1997 Classics Indian Open in Calcutta, India. Eddie represents the Badlands Golf Club ( # 3 ). He qualified for the 1997 U.S. Open, and finished tied for 24th, just 11 strokes behind winner Els, and 1 behind Tiger. And I might point out that only one player had a better final round than Eddies 69, and was one of only six to shoot a sub-par round on the final day! His scores were 72-73-73-69 for a total of a 7 over 287. A very good showing for his first major play. He received an exemption and played in the 1997 Las Vegas Invitational, October 22-26, 1997 - where he finished tied for 11th place. This time he was only 8 strokes behind the leader and 6 strokes better than Tiger Woods. Congratulations to Eddie!
In the 1997 Sarazen World Open in Brazelton, GA., Eddie placed T15th, along with such players as Craig Stadler and Ian Woosnam. I believe that Eddy also will be one of the special players to watch.

Jeff Gallagher - Another new 1998 PGA Tour card holder. Jeff won his PGA card for 1998 by placing tied for 26th (along with Craig Barlow - see above ). Congratulations Jeff. Jeff lives in Henderson, NV, plays out of Dragon Ridge Golf Club. Golf is really in his family, with brother Jim Gallagher, Jr ( PGA Tour ) and sister Jackie Gallagher-Smith ( LPGA ). On the 1997 Nike Tour, Jeff tied for 5th on the scoring list, and 45th on money list. Won the 1991 Cleveland Open (Nike Tour). Has been a member of the Nike Tour since it started and played in 89 of the first 90 Nike Tour events. Jeff won the Buy.com South Carolina Classic in April. 2000. He can be a fireball so watch for his name at the top during the coming year.

Robert Gamez - Born in Las Vegas, Clark high school graduate, and still lives in Las Vegas. Turned Pro in 1990. 1989 College Player of the Year - Arizona, Rookie of the year for the PGA Tour in 1990. Won the first tournament for his Pro debut (1990 Northern Telecom Open, Phoenix, AZ. ) Has won 3 tournaments, and passed the 2 million dollar mark in 1996. Holds an annual February charity tournament in Las Vegas, and writes a column for Vegas Golfer. His brother Randy is sometimes his caddy.

Skip Kendall - Chapparell High School & UNLV graduate, ( also plays on Nike Tour ). Placed 3rd in 1997 Sprint International ( Aug 3), and did well at the Buick Open (Aug 11). Skip also played in the 1997 LVI, shooting a 3-over for the tournament. Now, you see his name often in the top of the PGA events.

Michael Kirk - A 2000 UNLV graduate, (originally from Johannesburg, S. Africa) recently turned pro, playing his first event as a pro in the Oct 12-15, 2000 buy.com tour's New Mexico Open. After his first round, was 2 strokes behind the leaders, by shooting a 3 under par 67. The 2nd day he did the same thing - a 3 under 67, which tied for 4th place, and made the cut. The 3rd round, Michael shot a 1 under 69 and was 4 behind the leader. A final round of 2 over 72 put him tied for 12th position at 9 strokes behind the winner. It was a great opening for a first timer! Kirk also played in the 2000 Invesys Classic ( Las Vegas Invitational ) on a special sponsors exemption and finished with a -16 which tied him for 40th position. I'll bet we hear a lot more from this young man in the years to come.

J. L. Lewis - Former Pro at Las Vegas Country Club, now lives in Briarcliff, Tx. Turned Pro in 1984. Winner of the 1994 PGA Cup Team, four time Player of the year in South Texas PGA.

Bob May Bob moved to Las Vegas in 1993 and makes his home in the Summerlin area. He has risen from #132 in 1996 to #109 in 1997, and 49th on the 1998 European money list. Bob placed 71st in the 1998 Open Championship, his first appearance. And did you see his run at the PGA Championship in August of 2000? 2nd to Tiger Woods is not bad at all! See stats and details at: Bob May -
There is a great article about Bob in the Sept-Oct 2000 issue of Vegas Golfer, giving some good insight about him. Read Bob May: A bi-continental breakout.

Ted Oh - Played for UNLV during 1996 & 1997. Left UNLV for the Asian Tour in August 1997, and will play the Asian tour. He received enough Asian endorsements and sponsorships ( from what I heard - about $1,000,000 ) to allow him to compete on the Asian tour. Sure hated to see him leave UNLV, but wish him the best and much success.

John Riegger - John turned pro in 1985, and is a Henderson resident since 1998 when he married a local girl and set up his roots here. Winner of the 1997 Colombian Open and the 1988 Milan Open. By placing 10th on the Buy.com 2000 tour, he has earned his 2001 PGA card and will play on this tour for the 5th time.

Chris Riley - UNLV graduate & UNLV All-American, placed 9th on 1997 Hooters money list. Heartbreakingly missed his 1998 PGA card by one stroke, but made it in 1999. He is one that will be a force to contend with on this tour, and believe that Chris will be one of the special players to watch. I might add that his name is also prominent at the Black Mountain Golf & Country Club.
SPECIAL NOTE: Chris came in 3rd at the 2002 PGA Championship to win a check for $374,000, but more importantly, he garnered an invitation to the 2003 Masters for finishing in the top four. This win jumped Chris to 29th on the money list with $1,231,687. It was his fourth major, and the first in which he finished in the top 20. He tied for 51st in the 2001 PGA Championship, 22nd in the 2002 British Open. As an added note, Chris is getting married to LPGA player Michelle Louviere on Dec. 14, 2002.
RILEY's FIRST WIN:After last week - 3rd in the PGA Championship - this week (08-25-02) Chris won his first PGA tournament - the Reno-Tahoe Open and the 1st place check of $540,000. It also jumped him to 19th on the 2002 money leaders list. How fitting that his first win should come in his home state. Very well done Chris! See article: Life of Riley in full swing

Adam Scott - Ex-UNLV Junior student, Adam moved back to Australia (where he had won both the Australian and New Zealand Junior titles) to turn pro. Well, after the first two rounds, he was leading the Standard Life Loch Lomond at 6-under par, and tied with such big names as Nick Faldo and Ernie Els. Scott had been the No. 1 golfer on the UNLV team before returning to his native Australia. Looks like what he learned at UNLV is going to help him after all - look what he has since accomplished: Winner of the 2001 Alfred Dunhill Championship on the PGA European Tour…third at the English Open and Volvo Andalucia, T3 at the Scottish Open and T4 at the Volvo Scandinavian event. Adam will now make his first apperance at the Masters Tournament for the year 2002. Well done Adam, and good luck.
Scott's 2002 Wins:Adam had an eagle-birdie-eagle finish for a 9-under-par 63 Sunday and a 10-stroke victory at the Scottish PGA Championship, with a tournament record 26-under-par 262. The victory was the second of the year for Scott, who had a six-stroke victory at the Qatar Masters in March.

Warren Shutte - 1993 UNLV graduate, was the 1991 NCAA Invidual Champion, 1992 U. S. Amateur Public Link Champion, qualified for the 1992 U. S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and played in the 1993 Masters with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

Phil Tataurangi - A resident of Las Vegas for a while, Phil was born and raised in New Zealand. I do not have much information on him, just that he turned pro in 1993, and mostly played on the Nike Tour, with bursts into the PGA Tour. Phil qualified for the 1998 U.S. Open, and played out of Las Vegas during 1998/99. He now has a home in Dallas, TX and New Zealand. Won the 1996 NIKE Tri-Cities Open. Phil won his first PGA tourny here in Las Vegas (how fitting) - the 2002 Las Vegas Invensys Classic.

Vic Wilk - Graduate in 1982 from California State University - Northridge with a business major, Vic is now a resident of Las Vegas. He was a tennis All-American in high school, child actor, appearing in TV commercials as a youngster and had roles on tv soap operas until the age of 17. Winner of 1982 NCAA Division II tournament and three-time Junior World champion. Vic won the 1994 NIKE Knoxville Open, and became the first left-handed player in the Buy.com Tour history to win, collecting first-place check of $36,000.

Dean Wilson - Born in Hawaii, graduated from Brigham Young University in 1992 with as a Secondary Education major, Dean now lives in Las Vegas. Medalist at the 1991 Western Athletic Conference Championship. Member of the 1990-92 WAC championship teams at Brigham Young University. College teammate for three seasons at BYU with PGA TOUR member Mike Weir. He turned professional in 1992, playing on the mini tours and on the Japan Golf Tour from 2000-2002, where he won six times. He was JPGA rookie of the year in 2000. Dean is now a Rookie on the PGA TOUR in 2003. earning status for the 2003 season by finishing T11 at the 2002 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. As a side note, Dean's interests runs toward the extreme side of sports: surfing, cliff skiing, sky diving, Bull riding-both real and mechanical bulls, and running with the bulls. (Man, don't this guy know he can get real hurt with some of these?)

Also, playing on the other mini tours are players: Ernie Gonzalez, Billy Harvey, Charley Hoffman (ex UNLV Rebel Team), Eric Meeks, Mike Louden, and Bill Lunde

Ladies PGA Susie Berning - Currently a teaching pro at Stallion Mountain . She won 11 events including the U.S. Womens Open in 1968, 1972, & 1973. On LPGA tour for 31 years. Moved to Las Vegas in 1996. Latest win: April 1997 - Sprint Title Holders Senior Challenge, Daytona Beach, Florida.


Natalie Gulbis - At the age of 14, Gulbis became the youngest player to Monday qualify for an LPGA tournament (1997, Longs Drugs Challenge). Natalie turned professional in July, 2001. She moved to Henderson in the spring of 2003, and has a home at Lake Las Vegas.
Has her own website at www.nataliegulbis.com/.

Stephanie (Keever) Louden - Graduate from Cimarron-Memorial High School and golfing standout, she has become one of the top women's college golfer in the country during 2001. A four-time All-American, Stephanie won three collegiate titles and the 1997 Women's Western Amateur and has played in three U.S. Women's Opens. She earned a non-exempt spot on the Tour during the 2001 Qualifying Tournament. As a 17 year old, she had her first introduction to the rigors of professional type playing at the 1996 U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, N.C. Since then she has come a long way. She graduated from Stanford on June 17, 2001 with a 3.3 grade point average and a degree in sociology. After making the second team in each of the previous three years, she finally reached her goal of becoming a first-team All-American during her senior year. Stephanie won two tournaments as a senior, shot a 65 (the lowest round in women's college golf this year) and had five top-5 finishes in her 10 tournaments. She turned professional on June 28, 2001 as played in her first event as a pro on the Futures Tour on that date in Killington, Vt. Stephanie has entered six Futures events and has written several LPGA tournaments in the hopes of landing a sponsor's exemption. Lets wish her all the success that she deserves and I know will come her way. Good going Stephanie, I look forward to seeing your name on the winners list in the future.
The LPGA has a page "Diary of a Rookie" that is written about her first year on the LPGA Tour. Read more at: Stephanie's Diary


Christina Monteiro - Graduated in 1997 from Bonanza HS in Las Vegas, and 2001 from Arizona State with a Marketing Degree. Currently lives in Las Vegas. Christina was always a top ranked player at both schools and her acadamic skills (class valedictorian in 1997, & GPA of 3.49 at ASU ) matched her playing skills. A four-year letter-winner and three-time captain for the Bonanza Bengals golf team, Monteiro was a consistent force throughout her prep career, earning all-Sunrise, all-state and team MVP honors. Was featured in Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus "Faces in the Crowd" in February, 1999, Pac-10 All-Academic Women's Golf Team - 2001. (Her sister, Autumn, is a Juinor on the Hawaii golf team.) Playing in her first tournament as a professional, she won the ladies' division of the Estrella Mountain Ranch Golf Classic, ( The U.S. Challenge Golf Tour ) in April 2002. Way to go, Christina - may you have many more wins.


Kim Saiki - In July 2001, Kim moved to the Summerlin area in NW Las Vegas. She was the 1983 USGA Junior Girls & Junior World Championship, 1986 NCAA All American, 1986 &1987 Broadmoor Invational winner, 7 mini tour victories, 90th on 2000 money list, and 104th on the all time LPGA money list.

Deborah Vidal -UNLV graduate, won the 1981 & 1982 Nevada State Amateur title, LPGA 86-94 until back injury forced her to retire. Now lives in Boulder, Co., writes a monthly column for Vegas Golfer, and was a TV golf commentator for The Golf Channel. Deborah is now host of a new program - "Women in Golf" shown on The Golf Channel. The program is filmed in Las Vegas, will be using different LV courses, and cover a wide range of subjects for women. Her first interview was of Susie Berning.

Well, that's 30+ players with strong connections to Las Vegas, and with the class of golfers turning out from the local high schools and UNLV - it will only grow. Can you find any city in the U.S. with more than that? I told you we were a golfing city! And as if that was not enough, read about our college golf team - UNLV Rebel Golf Team .


College The University of Nevada at Las Vegas has a strong golf presence. The mens team has an NCAA championship to their credit. With the addition of a ladies team during the 2001-2001 season, I have made a separate page for them both. Now, if I can just keep up with all the things going on there. The mens page is at UNLV Mens, and the ladies page is at UNLV Ladies.


High Schools - The high schools of Las Vegas are continually turning out graduates - both young men and young ladies - that excel in golf and choose to further their golf life with scholarships at UNLV and other colleges. You will see more and more of the tour golfers coming from Las Vegas.


Also National Long Drive Champion - Art Sellinger, is a Valley High School graduate.

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Local Organizations
EWGA - LV The Las Vegas chapter of the Executive Women's Golf Association, part of the national organization devoted to women in golf. The Las Vegas chapter is quite active, with their play, tournaments, as well as conducting various seminars on rules of golf, publishes a newsletter, etc. They welcome new members (ladies, of course), regardless of their skill level. You may contact them at: (702) 260-0929. For the national organization's web site, see Executive Women's Golf Association for your local affilated chapter.

LVPGA - The Las Vegas chapter of the PGA is quite active and conducts many tournaments throughout the year. They are the ruling body for the PGA of Southern Nevada.

SNGA - The Southern Nevada Golf Association serves area golfers and is the official representative of the U.S.G.A. for Southern Nevada.

SNJGA -The Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association is very active in Las Vegas and has great support from both the local players, Pros and the courses.

USGA Rules Committee - Stuart Reid - a retired Henderson elementary school principal & one of only four locals elected to the SNGA Hall of Fame, - has been a US Open rules official for over 10 years. NOTE: You might have seen him on TV, as he was the official in the 2nd round threesome of the late Payne Stewart, John Daly and eventual champion Ernie Els, when Daly quit at the turn. He was interviewed on ESPN and other national TV coverage.