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Armand Barragan
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Armand Barragan
Rio Secco Golf Club
Rio Secco Golf Club
2851 Grand Hills Dr
Henderson, NV 89052-3085
United States
Telephone
Overview
Rees Jones, known as the “Open Doctor” for his work on prominent U.S. Open venues, renovated his original design at Rio Secco in 2017. With the redesign, Jones enhanced the playability for the average golfer, creating many new tees and greens. A former member of Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Public Courses, Rio Secco provides exciting elevation changes and views of the Las Vegas Strip. And, if your round didn’t go as planned, the Butch Harmon School of Golf is on property to help.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
100 Greatest Public: Ranked 91st, 2003-'04.
Best in State: Ranked inside the top 5, 1999. Ranked inside the top 10, 2001-'05. Ranked 15th, 2023-'24. Ranked 16th, 2025-'26.
Previous ranking: 15th.
2025-'26 ranking: 16th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“They decided not to overseed 2 holes because of water issues. Looks bad. They have rebranded from Rio Seco to Serket. They forgot to improve the golf course."
Read More2025
Review
“Rio Secco Golf Club is a semi-private resort course carved into the Henderson, Nevada desert. Designed by Rees Jones and playing at only 6,992 yards from the back tees with a slope of 138 and rating of 73.7, Rio Secco’s challenge is not in the length but in the narrowness of the front nine fairways, difficult green complexes, wind and elevation changes requiring thoughtful club selection. There is a good mix of long and short holes at Rio Secco, especially the long par 4 2nd, 11th, and the 589-yard par 5 9th offset by the short par 4 4th, 7th and 15th. There is also a good blend of doglegs with 6 lefts and 5 rights, so no particular shot shape is favored. Elevation changes abound with 10 holes playing downhill, some substantially, and the 10th, 13th, and 15th playing somewhat uphill. Combined with typically breezy conditions, club selection is of paramount importance. Rio Secco offers many options off the tee with few forced carries other than on some of the par 3s. Any shot shape will work although the doglegs encourage certain types to permit shorter approaches. If the wind kicks up, lower, penetrating, ball flights would be very helpful. Bunkers guard the corners but can be avoided with well struck shots. Most greens, other than a couple par 3s and the short par 4 4th, allow running or lofted approaches to all but a few pin positions. The proximity to Las Vegas offers some very nice views of the strip and other larger Las Vegas properties during the round. That is the highlight of the aesthetic appeal unless large homes shoehorned close together are your thing. Some decent views of the local hills exist but most are blocked by the omnipresent homes, although they do not crowd the course. The front nine has some polarizing holes that some people will love and others not so much. I personally thought that the stretch of 2-7 were a bit contrived and gimmicky and did not really flow with the rest of the course. Conditioning at Rio Secco was difficult to evaluate. Some parts were very good with firm, consistent greens and good bunkers. The fairways had some significant bare patches but growing grass in the heat of the summer in the desert must be quite a challenge so some small amount of forgiveness may be warranted. The areas not affected were very good offering good lies and playability, but it is hard to completely overlook the barren areas. Rio Secco was a challenging round of golf, mainly due to the steady wind, tight front nine, and green complexes. Like most desert courses, bad misses are death and there were certainly plenty of opportunities to visit the local reptile population. If you can keep the ball in play off the tee with moderate length, you can score but being out of position will make par very difficult. I enjoyed the round at Rio Secco and believe repetition would enhance the experience. Perhaps some of the quirky front nine would grow on me as I learn how best to play the holes. If the course-wide fairway conditions could improve (which I feel certain is true in the non-summer months), Rio Secco would be a fun, resort round of golf, certainly in the top 5 or 6 Las Vegas area course accessible to the general public."
Read More2025
Review
“Rio Secco Golf Club is a semi-private resort course carved into the Henderson, Nevada desert. Designed by Rees Jones and playing at only 6,992 yards from the back tees with a slope of 138 and rating of 73.7, Rio Secco’s challenge is not in the length but in the narrowness of the front nine fairways, difficult green complexes, wind and elevation changes requiring thoughtful club selection. There is a good mix of long and short holes at Rio Secco, especially the long par 4 2nd, 11th, and the 589-yard par 5 9th offset by the short par 4 4th, 7th and 15th. There is also a good blend of doglegs with 6 lefts and 5 rights, so no particular shot shape is favored. Elevation changes abound with 10 holes playing downhill, some substantially, and the 10th, 13th, and 15th playing somewhat uphill. Combined with typically breezy conditions, club selection is of paramount importance. Rio Secco offers many options off the tee with few forced carries other than on some of the par 3s. Any shot shape will work although the doglegs encourage certain types to permit shorter approaches. If the wind kicks up, lower, penetrating, ball flights would be very helpful. Bunkers guard the corners but can be avoided with well struck shots. Most greens, other than a couple par 3s and the short par 4 4th, allow running or lofted approaches to all but a few pin positions. The proximity to Las Vegas offers some very nice views of the strip and other larger Las Vegas properties during the round. That is the highlight of the aesthetic appeal unless large homes shoehorned close together are your thing. Some decent views of the local hills exist but most are blocked by the omnipresent homes, although they do not crowd the course. The front nine has some polarizing holes that some people will love and others not so much. I personally thought that the stretch of 2-7 were a bit contrived and gimmicky and did not really flow with the rest of the course. Conditioning at Rio Secco was difficult to evaluate. Some parts were very good with firm, consistent greens and good bunkers. The fairways had some significant bare patches but growing grass in the heat of the summer in the desert must be quite a challenge so some small amount of forgiveness may be warranted. The areas not affected were very good offering good lies and playability, but it is hard to completely overlook the barren areas. Rio Secco was a challenging round of golf, mainly due to the steady wind, tight front nine, and green complexes. Like most desert courses, bad misses are death and there were certainly plenty of opportunities to visit the local reptile population. If you can keep the ball in play off the tee with moderate length, you can score but being out of position will make par very difficult. I enjoyed the round at Rio Secco and believe repetition would enhance the experience. Perhaps some of the quirky front nine would grow on me as I learn how best to play the holes. If the course-wide fairway conditions could improve (which I feel certain is true in the non-summer months), Rio Secco would be a fun, resort round of golf, certainly in the top 5 or 6 Las Vegas area course accessible to the general public."
Read More2025
Review
“Course winds through real estate for most of the whole time. Some interesting ups and downs in the otherwise flat desert."
Read More2025
Review
“This upscale public course was designed by Rees Jones(1997, renovated 2017) and is located 30 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip in Henderson, Nevada. It’s home the Butch Harmon School of Golf. It’s a desert course with elevation changes , challenging and interesting holes and will well maintained."
Read More2025
Review
“Great course! Nice views of Las Vegas."
Read More2024
Review
“Fun course with great views of the strip. Front nine is a bit tight but back nine opens up. A solid choice not too far from the strip."
Read More2024
Review
“Really fun course that was an unexpected delight. There are some really good and fun golf holes here. Some really good true short par 4s that are drivable, and the front 9 has some real challenging holes…hole number 2 being a particularly good example. One often finds it hard to recall specific holes after playing a public course that is a desert course such as this, but all 18 holes are fairly distinctive here. Love the 8th and 9th holes back to back par 5s. Really strong feature with the hazard at 300 yards downwind on 8 that makes player really think. Overall very fun course and we need more courses like this that encourage scoring for good shots and defended by firm greens and wind."
Read More2024
Review
“If you are looking for public access golf in Las Vegas at a reasonable rate (I played in January), it's hard to do better than this place. It has gorgeous views of downtown and winds through the hills and mansions south of the city. Hospitality is on point with beverage carts circling, halfway house, and golf carts with all the bells and whistles. The course is also kept in great shape with some very challenging holes, but approachable from the right tee boxes and if you know where your bail out area is. One downside is many other folks have the same idea as you, so pace of play could be an issue if you get caught behind a large group trip"
Read More2024
Review
“One of the better courses open to the public in the Las Vegas area. Conditions are usually top-notch. Great practice facility. Design was constrained due to the deep ravines many holes are built in. Several holes require precision off the tee to have a decent shot at par or better. Always a fun round at Rio Secco."
Read More2024
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