Desert Rose Golf Course to close for major flood control project

Don’t plan on putting at Clark County’s golf course this summer.

County commissioners voted Tuesday to terminate an agreement with the operator of the 18-hole Desert Rose Golf Course starting Friday.

The course will be closed for the summer and the 2014 golf season to make way for a $50 million project planned by the Regional Flood Control District to protect the area from flooding.

Deadly floods in 2012 that inundated the course and killed a worker also damaged about 73 homes and nine businesses in the neighborhood.

The county and the course’s operator, Billy Casper Golf Management, a Vienna, Va.-based company, both agreed to end their agreement, which was put in place in 2009.

Officials with the Flood Control District were already eyeballing the area for flood control improvements before 2012, including the golf course, which doubles as a flood channel, and the Las Vegas Wash. They had set aside $35 million for improvements. Since the floods, they have boosted the project to $50 million and broadened it to the Flamingo Wash.

The golf course is at the confluence of both washes.

The district is selecting a contractor, and work is expected to start in early 2014, said Joe Damiani, principal civil engineer for the district.

The project will require heavy excavation work to make the golf course’s flood channel wider so it can contain more water when floods hit.

The work will reduce the flood zone for the area, reducing the insurance rates for homeowners who will have a reduced risk of flooding.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who sits on the flood control board, said a committee of pro golfers and residents gave feedback when the project was planned.

As a result of that input, the project will be done all at once instead of in phases. The benefit is better continuity in the turf’s quality, she said.

“They’ll get a brand new golf course,” Giunchigliani said.

The golf course, which was built in 1964, is southeast of the intersection of East Sahara Avenue and South Nellis Boulevard in her district.

In the long term, she is looking for funds to rehabilitate the clubhouse, which needs an upgraded kitchen and improvements required under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.

The county plans to reopen the course after the project is done. Then it will be required to seek proposals from potential operators.

Officials at Billy Casper Golf Management couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. Staff at the golf course declined to comment, citing the company’s media policy.

One guarantee: The redone golf course still will have 18 holes.

Contact reporter Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.