Shadow Creek Tops Golfweek List of the Top 50 Casino Golf Courses in the United States
Posted on: October 6, 2025, 02:10h.
Last updated on: October 6, 2025, 02:10h.
- Golfweek ranks Shadow Creek as the best casino golf course in the US
- MGM owns and operates the top two casino golf courses, with Biloxi’s Fallen Oak in second
- The list provides exceptional playing opportunities for all budgets
Golfweek says Shadow Creek Golf Course, the ultra-exclusive golf playground for MGM Resorts’ biggest spenders, is the top track in the United States that’s associated with a casino.
Each year, Golfweek compiles a list of what it believes to be the top 50 golf courses linked to a casino. The rankings are compiled by the “hundreds of members of Golfweek’s course-ratings panel” who continually review and rate courses based on certain criteria — routing, design integrity, overall land plan, greens and surrounds, variety/memorability of par 3s, par 4s, and par 5s, tree and landscape management, conditioning and ecology, and enjoyability.
For another year in a row, Shadow Creek stands alone. Each year since Golfweek debuted its top casino golf courses in 2014, Shadow Creek has led the rankings.
Shadow Creek isn’t associated with a single casino by MGM Resorts and its marquee properties on the Las Vegas Strip, such as the Bellagio, Aria, Vdara, The Cosmopolitan, and MGM Grand. Staying at one of those properties, however, doesn’t guarantee one access to the exclusive North Las Vegas facility.
High Rollers Only
Golfweek’s top casino golf courses feature great golf for every budget.
While a round at Fallen Oak in Biloxi, another track owned by MGM Resorts that’s ranked second on the Golfweek list, will run you around $275, 18 holes at Yocha Dehe at Cache Creek Casino in California, ranked No. 3, can be booked for just $118, inclusive of practice balls and a cart.
The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, ranked No. 7, is $125 in Minnesota’s peak summer season, with a $10 discount for casino hotel guests. In Lake Charles, the Golden Nugget’s Country Club, ranked No. 22, is $129 during October’s prime season.
Most public rates for the top 50 casino golf courses are $200 or less for 18 holes with a warmup bucket and cart. There are exceptions, of course.
In addition to Fallen Oak, a round at Indiana’s French Lick Pete Dye course (No. 4) is $400 through the week and $450 on the weekends. The Greenbrier’s Old White Course in West Virginia (No. 5) is $550 in the summer.
Shadow Creek, however, easily takes the cake for the most expensive round of golf. MGM limits access to its Strip guests, but there are only a few groups permitted each day. That means, despite staying in a suite at a five-star MGM property, your odds are slim that you’ll get a spot unless you’re a high roller with considerable MGM Rewards status.
If you’re at the Platinum or Noir level and snag a group on Shadow Creek, each player will need to pony up the $1,250 greens fee. That includes private limousine service to the course, but is exclusive of a mandatory caddy fee and all food and beverage. Most insiders say the experience costs nearly $2,000 a person with a caddy, lunch, post-round cocktails, and gratuities.
Tribal Casinos, Fazio Dominate List
According to Casino.org’s count, tribal casinos accounted for 32 of Golfweek’s top 50 casino golf courses.
Famed architect Tom Fazio designed not only Shadow Creek but also six others on the top 50 list. They include Fallen Oak, Turning Stone Atunyote (T9), Wynn Golf Club (No. 15), Dancing Rabbit Oaks (T18), Dancing Rabbit Azaleas (No. 32), and Belterra (No. 39).
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