First golf course in Las Vegas is built in the vicinity of what is the Las Vegas Hilton today; it no longer exists
Las Vegas Golf Club opens, designed by William F. Bell

1952
Desert Inn Country Club opens, designed by Lawrence Hughes. This prestigious course will flourish until 2004 when Steve Wynn buys the course and the hotel and creates a new course designed by Tom Fazio. Over the years, presidents, celebrities and other dignitaries played the course, and multiple PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour events were played over the DI’s 18 holes, with such champions as Nancy Lopez, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and many more.
1953
Al Besselink wins the PGA Tour’s inaugural Tournament of Champions. Besselink’s four-round total of 8-under-par 280 is good enough for the top prize, $10,000. It is the first of 15 straight years the event was held in Las Vegas. It was held at the Desert Inn from 1953-1966 before moving to the Stardust Country Club in 1967 and 1968. All of the big names were here with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead among the winners.
Eddie Draper, 2004 class of Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, wins Northwest Open
1955
Gene Littler wins the first of three-straight Tournament of Champions titles at the Desert Inn.
1957
Charlie Teel, a member of the Las Vegas Hall of Fame’s Class of 1991, wins the first of two Nevada State Amateur titles.
Black Mountain Golf & Country Club opens, designed by Bob Baldock.
Valley View Golf Association created. This predominantly African-American golf association still thrives 50 years later and Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame inducted Louis Redden is a member.
1959
Dunes Golf Course opens.
1960
1961
Mickey Wright wins the LPGA Championship held at the Stardust. She wins $2,500 of the $15,000 purse. It is one of her 10 wins on the season and is the first of five-straight years that the LPGA Championship, a major tournament, is held at the Stardust. She also won the tournament in 1963 and finished her career with 82 victories.
Tropicana Golf and Country Club opens.

1962
Arnold Palmer claims the Tournament of Champions crown, one of three he would win in Las Vegas.
Craig Ranch Golf Club, designed by JC Stimson.
Sunrise Vista Golf Course opens, designed by Ted Robinson, Sr.
1963
Jack Nicklaus is the Tournament of Champions winner and would go on to win the event again in 1964.
1964
Winterwood golf course opens, designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee. Currently called Desert Rose Golf Club.

1967
Las Vegas International Country Club opens, designed by Edmond Ault. Currently Las Vegas Country Club. The course was built on the land that was once Las Vegas Downs racetrack.
Louis Prima’s Fairway to the Stars opens, designed by the legendary musician himself. Legend has it that this course, that closed in the seventies, was measured by Prima and his drummer. Jimmy Vincent, measured the course, also known as Warm Springs Country Club, with rope.
1971
Lee Trevino wins PGA Tour’s Sahara Invitational.
1973
Louis Redden, a 2008 inductee to the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, starts his run of three straight Las Vegas City Amateur championships.
Boulder City Golf Course opens, designed by Billy Casper and David Rainville.
Tom Storey, Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame class of 2006, wins PGA Tour’s Oklahoma City Open Championship.
1979
1981
Eric Dutt, elected to the Las Vegas Hall of Fame in 2008, helps Purdue win the Big Ten Conference Championship.
1982
Dick Huff, Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame class of 2004, serves as the instructor for Robert Gamez, Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame class of 2002.
The Las Vegas Founders are formed and their hard work pays off when they, led by 2002 Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame inductee Jim Colbert and 1998 inductee James Cashman, Jr., bring the PGA Tour back to Las Vegas.
1983Fuzzy Zoeller wins the inaugural Panasonic Las Vegas Pro-Celebrity Classic with a five-round total of 340 and beating Rex Caldwell by four strokes. Zoeller opened the tournament with a 9-under-par 63 at the Showboat Country Club (currently Wildhorse). The event immediately becomes “Golf’s Richest Tournament” with the first-ever purse of more than $1 million for a full-field PGA Tour event, just about double the largest purse at the time.
Spanish Trail Country Club opens, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Jerry Roberts, 2008 inductee, serves as first head professional and director.
1985
Dunes hotel owner Arthur Shenker wins a $25,000 wager from long-hitter Mike Dunaway, who had bet that in three tries he could land a ball from the roof of the Dunes onto the ninth green of the Emerald Green Dunes Course, some 400 yards away. Two of the three shots ended up on the apron.
Jerry Roberts, Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame member in 2008, earns the first of his back-to-back PGA of America, Las Vegas Chapter, Pro of the Year awards.
Canyon Gate Country Club opens, designed by Ted Robinson, Sr.
1986
Greg Norman posts a five-round total of 333 en route to the title in the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational. His final round 7-under-par 65 was good enough for a 7-stroke victory over Dan Pohl. Two months later he wins the first of his two British Open titles, and he led each major after 54 holes.
1987
Los Prados Golf & Country Club, designed by Jeff Hardin.
Stuart Reid, Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame class of 1991, serves as United States Golf Association rules official at US Open, the first of several.
1989
UNLV Men’s Golf wins first tournament, the New Mexico State Classic.
1991UNLV golfer Warren Schutte wins the NCAA Individual golf title.
Chip Beck becomes the second PGA Tour player in history to shoot 59. He fires the record-round at what was called Sunrise Country Club, then proceeds to hit practice balls at Sahara Country Club without being recognized.
1992
John Cook wins the Las Vegas Invitational and has the honor of receiving the award from his dad, Jim, the tournament manager.
Las Vegas’ Julie Dunn wins the first of 4-straight Nevada State High School Golf championships.
Las Vegas golf course openings
Highland Falls Golf Course, designed by Greg Nash and Billy Casper.
Jim Colbert, 2002 Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame inductee, wins first of two Las Vegas Senior PGA Tour events, the Las Vegas Senior Classic.
Badlands Golf Club, designed by Johnny Miller and Chi Chi Rodriguez.
Snow Mountian at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, the first of three Pete Dye-designed courses at the resort.
1996
Here’s Tiger. Tiger Woods burst into the winner’s circle in professional golf in a big way, winning the Las Vegas Invitational by beating Davis Love III in a playoff. Woods was just dipping his toes into the water as a pro when he hit Vegas, only his sixth PGA Tour event of the season. Look through the PGA Tour record book now and his name is as prevalent as Nicklaus, Palmer, Hogan and the rest of the great ones. Woods played via a sponsors exemption from the Las Vegas Founders, who as a group, were inducted into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.
Desert Pines Golf Club, designed by Dye Designs International with Perry Dye.
The Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge is played in the Las Vegas area for the first of 13-straight times (and counting). The event is played at SouthShore Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas Resort and the PGA Tour team of Fred Couples, Davis Love III, and Payne Stewart wins over the LPGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour.
1997
Butch Harmon, a member of the 2006 Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, opens the Butch Harmon School of Golf at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson. The school becomes the place for the world’s best players to gather and hone their swings. Players who have or still work at the school include: Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Natalie Gulbis and many others.
The Lakes at Primm Valley Golf Club, designed by Tom Fazio. A second course comes in 1998.
Rio Secco Golf Club, designed by Rees Jones.
1998
The UNLV men’s golf team—as a group inducted into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame in 2002–wins the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships, holding on to beat Clemson by three strokes. The Rebels were led by Chris Berry’s 16-under-par effort, good enough for a tie for second individually. UNLV’s tournament-record 1,118 (34-under-par) shattered the previous record of 1,129 set by Arizona. Also on the course for UNLV that week were Bill Lunde, Charley Hoffman, Jeremy Anderson and Scott Lander, and the team was led by legendary coach Dwaine Knight.
Callaway Golf Center, designed by Bob Cupp.
Royal Links Golf Club, designed by Dye Designs International with Perry Dye. Legendary Las Vegas golf course owner Bill Walters opens Royal Links, a themed golf experience that brings to life 18 of the British Open’s historic holes.
1999
The third time was another charm for Jim Furyk as he posted his third Las Vegas PGA Tour victory at the 1999 Las Vegas Invitational. Furyk, who at the time had won just one time outside of Las Vegas, beat Jonathan Kaye by a stroke and pocketed $450.000. He had a five-round total of 331.
The Lexington course at Revere Golf Club opens, designed by Greg Nash and Billy Casper, who later add the Concord course at The Revere.
2000
Bali Hai Golf Club, designed by Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley, opens on the Las Vegas Strip.
Southern Highlands Golf Club, the final course designed by the duo of Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and Sr. This private course owned by Garry Goett goes on to host Las Vegas’ PGA Tour event and becomes the home course for the UNLV Men’s Golf Team, and their home golf tournament, dubbed the Masters of College Golf.
2001
Bear’s Best Golf Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus.
Silverstone Golf Club, designed by Robert Cupp.
2002
Chris Riley, a 2004 inductee of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, earned his only victory on the PGA Tour at the Reno-Tahoe Open. His two-putt par on a playoff hole was good enough for the victory. For the year, Riley made 23 of 28 cuts, had five top 10s and pocketed more than $2 million. He also had his lowest scoring average of his career, 67.4.
The First Tee of Southern Nevada is formed following a merger of the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association and the Southern Nevada Inner-City Youth Golf Association.
UNLV Men’s Golf Head Coach Dwaine Knight is inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. In 2004 he is inducted into 2004 Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.
2003
Tommy Armour III, elected to the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame in 2008, sets the all-time PGA Tour scoring record at the Texas Valero Open.

Aliante Golf Club, designed by Gary Panks.
Tuscany Golf Club, designed by Ted Robinson.
2004
Christie Kerr wins LPGA Tour’s Takefuji Classic at Las Vegas.
Andre Stolz wins the PGA Tour’s Michelin Championship at Las Vegas, the year the tournament format is changed to 72 holes.
2005Wynn Golf and Country Club opens, designed by Tom Fazio, on the land that was once the Desert Inn golf course.
Las Vegas resident Natalie Gulbis wins the Evian Masters in France.
2008
Inbee Park, a Las Vegas resident who won several Nevada State high school championships, wins the U.S. Women’s Open.
2018
Bryson DeChambeau win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods play inaugural The Match at Shadow Creek. Mickelson wins $9 million.

Las Vegas resident Aaron Wise earns PGA Tour Rookie of the Year
Las Vegas resident Scott Piercy wins Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Former UNLV golfer Kurt Kitayama wins Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita and PGM Darulaman Championship
Bishop Gorman graduate Inbee Park wins Bank of Hope Founders Cup
The Summit Club opens in Las Vegas
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang wins Buick LPGA Shanghai
The Dwaine Knight Center for Golf Management opens on UNLV campus
UNLV women’s golf wins Mountain West Championship
UNLV men’s golf wins Mountain West Championship
2019
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang wins Buick LPGA Shanghai
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang plays for U.S. in Solheim Cup
Las Vegas resident Kevin Na wins his second Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas
2020
Las Vegas resident Alex Cejka wins two PGA Tour Champions majors, the Regions Tradition and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa wins PGA Championship
Bishop Gorman graduate Inbee Park wins ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
Covid-19 closes down Las Vegas golf industry for two months
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang wins LPGA Drive On Championship and Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana
2021
Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa wins The Open Championship
Bishop Gorman graduate Inbee Park wins Kia Classic
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang plays for U.S. in Solheim Cup
Legendary UNLV golf coach and Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame inductee Dwaine Knight retires. Las Vegas resident AJ McInerney named interim coach.
UNLV men’s golf wins Mountain West Championship
UNLV women’s golf coach Amy Bush-Herzer earns prestigious 2021 Kim Evans Award from Women’s Golf Coaches Association
2022
Former UNLV golfer Harry Hall earns PGA Tour status
Former UNLV golfer Taylor Montgomery earns PGA Tour status
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang wins Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions
Jean-Paul Hebert named new UNLV men’s golf coach
Former UNLV women’s golf All-America Therese O’Hara (Koelback) inducted into UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame
The Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame Night of Induction continues to be the kickoff event of the PGA Tour Shriners Children’s Open and sells out with nearly 300 people in attendance
2023
Las Vegas resident Alex Cejka wins the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex
Former UNLV golfer Kurt Kitayama wins Arnold Palmer Invitational
UNLV women’s golf freshman Thienna Huynh named Mountain West Freshman of the Year
Atomic Golf opens in Las Vegas at The Strat (Dec.)
The Sphere opens in Las Vegas and provides dramatic aiming target for golfers at Wynn Las Vegas
The Women’s SNGA team wins Silver Cup title on Northern soil for first time since 2001
