Bear's Best Las Vegas: Premier Summerlin Golf Course with Strip Views

Quick Takeaways

• What it is: An 18-hole Jack Nicklaus design in Summerlin where every hole replicates a favorite hole from one of his courses around the world (reported context).
• Where it sits: Summerlin's elevated western edge near The Ridges, with wide valley and mountain views and Strip views from the higher ground (reported, described generally).
• The golf: Roughly 7,100-plus yards from the back tees with real elevation change, forgiving landing areas and approaches that ask for a second thought, with service and conditioning consistently praised (reported context).
• The 2024 note: Ownership reportedly changed in 2024. Check current access and fees rather than assume the old daily-fee arrangement.
• Who it fits: Avid golfers, visitors, Summerlin residents and relocating buyers who weigh golf access as part of lifestyle.

What Is Bear's Best Las Vegas?

The concept is simple and, as far as I know, still unique in the golf world. Jack Nicklaus has designed more than 270 courses around the globe, and at Bear's Best he assembled 18 of his favorite holes from across that body of work into a single course. One round here is a sampler tour: a hole that echoes one of his layouts in one country, then a hole that recalls a different design somewhere else, all edited together into one desert course rather than simply cloned onto the same land.

The reported facts, and I would label all of this reported context rather than something I can personally guarantee: the course opened in the early 2000s (reported as 2001-2002), it is set in Summerlin near The Ridges, it has operated as a semi-private course, and it plays roughly 7,100-plus yards from the back tees with notable elevation changes. Service and conditioning are consistently praised in reporting and player reviews. The character of the course is really the combination of all of it: the variety of the replica holes, the desert elevation, the views and the conditions on any given day.

Where Is Bear's Best in Summerlin?

The course sits on Summerlin's elevated western side, near The Ridges and minutes from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Fairways thread through a high-end residential setting, which means the course is part of everyday scenery for the neighborhoods around it rather than a destination you drive out to. The terrain gives wide valley and mountain views across much of the round, and from the higher vantage points, the Strip skyline comes into view on a clear day.

That description is reported context and deliberately general. I have not walked every tee box to give you an exact view list, and the specifics change with the light and the season anyway. What holds is the setting: this is a course built into one of the most scenic corridors in the Las Vegas Valley, and that is a big part of why it feels different from a flat desert layout.

What Makes the Golf Experience Distinctive?

The greatest-hits concept is the headline, and it does the heavy lifting. Because each hole is modeled after a different Nicklaus design, the round runs through different shot values and different looks: a forgiving fairway followed by an approach that asks you to think twice, a short par four followed by a long one that plays into the breeze. No two holes feel alike, and that kind of variety is rare on a single course.

Add the desert variables on top of the design. Wind off the mountains can change club selection hole to hole, and the elevation changes mean a yardage on the card does not always play the way it reads. As reported, the fairway landing areas tend to be forgiving while the approaches are where the course asks for a second thought, and carts are equipped with GPS. Locals and visitors both play it, which is its own kind of review: a course that tourists seek out but that people who live here keep coming back to.

One thing golfers planning a trip should know: as reported in 2024 news, the course changed ownership that year, and reported coverage describes a longer-term shift toward private-club status. I am not going to quote current green fees or reservation details here, because that kind of information can be stale the moment it is written down. Search current access, or ask directly, before you build a trip around a round.

Why Do Golfers Moving to Las Vegas Care About Bear's Best?

Golfers relocating to Las Vegas routinely ask about nearby courses, and Bear's Best comes up constantly. Part of it is the reputation of the design. Part of it is the setting. And a big part of it is simply location: the course is minutes from the newer western villages of Summerlin, the corridor where a lot of relocating buyers end up looking first.

The Ridges sits right around the course, with Stonebridge and other western Summerlin villages in the same neighborhood. When a signature course sits inside a master-planned community, it shapes how that community feels, not just how it looks on a map. Fairways become part of the daily landscape, golf cart paths connect neighborhoods, and the course becomes a gathering place as much as a place to play.

I am not going to claim that living near a golf course raises a home's value or guarantees anything. Real estate does not work on guarantees, and proximity to a course matters differently to every buyer. What I will say is that golf access is a real part of the lifestyle equation for a lot of relocating buyers, and this course is one of the reasons the western side of Summerlin gets the attention it does.

Who Is Bear's Best a Good Fit For?

No two golfers want the same thing, so here is who the course tends to suit, and it is a broad list:

• Avid golfers after a memorable round: The replica-hole concept alone makes a round here feel like a small world tour, and the desert setting gives it drama no flat course can match.
• Visitors to Las Vegas wanting a top-tier course experience: The course has drawn out-of-town players for years as one of the valley's headliner layouts, worth checking for current access before planning around it.
• Summerlin residents wanting a premier local course close to home: For people who already live in the western villages, this is the course in the backyard, and conditions and service are the things locals mention first.
• People relocating who weigh golf access as part of lifestyle: If the question is whether a community fits how you actually want to live, course proximity deserves a spot in the conversation alongside commute, schools and amenities.

How Does Sandy Help Golfers Buying Near Bear's Best?

For home buyers who play, I can pair the course with the communities around it: The Ridges, Stonebridge, and the other Summerlin villages you would actually consider. I have spent more than 36 years in Las Vegas real estate, including about 20 years earlier in my career as a licensed residential appraiser before giving up that license in 2013, and both of those experiences shape how I compare properties, pricing and neighborhoods. That background is not a promise that any specific home is the right one, but it means the answer you get is based on evidence rather than pressure.

I know which areas of Summerlin give easy access to the course without me pitching you a community because it happens to be what I am selling that week. My job is to understand what you are weighing, run the comparisons honestly, and represent your interests first. If you are relocating, we start with how you want to live and work back to the neighborhoods, which is exactly how the Summerlin community guide, the Ridges village page and the Stonebridge village page are written.

FAQ: Bear's Best Las Vegas, Answered

Golf and Summerlin Resources on This Site

• → The Summerlin community guide
• → The Ridges in Summerlin (village guide)
• → Stonebridge in Summerlin West (village guide)
• → Top 10 Golf Courses in Summerlin
• → Summerlin trails and Red Rock Canyon