Summerlin holds Audubon walk

TPC at Summerlin is known as the home course of a PGA Tour championship and as the state's first Tournament Players Club golf course.

But according to Chuck Bombard, general manager and director of golf for the course, TPC Summerlin has yet another distinction as the first golf course in Nevada to receive certification status from the Audubon Society of New York State's Cooperative Sanctuary Program more than a decade ago.

As part of its certification requirements, the course recently hosted a nature walk for area children to explore the wildlife living on the golf course and learn what is being done to preserve and protect their habitat.

On Aug. 5, nearly 20 children and their parents joined Jared Dunlop, second assistant golf course superintendent at TPC Summerlin, for a clubhouse briefing and walking tour of the course.

"From snakes and coyotes to marigolds and lantanas, TPC Summerlin is wonderland of nature," Bombard said. "And no one appreciates the wildlife and flora and fauna more than children. It's a great learning experience and eye-opening for kids to see firsthand all the living creatures that make the golf course their home."

According to Sylvia Von Hake, the mother of two participating boys, Derek and Trevor Von Hake, the Audubon event was a fitting end to a summer full of nature. The family had recently returned from vacations in Utah and Wyoming where the boys had experienced nature firsthand.

"Now we get to observe nature in our own backyard," she said.

Roni Tarr, mother of participant, Adam Tarr, echoed Von Hake's sentiment by saying she and her son were eager to learn more about the animals in the area.

Highlights of the walking tour included bird, snake and even a tortoise sighting, along with feeding the fish and ducks at "Lake TPC."

TPC Summerlin is one of nine golf courses in the master-planned community of Summerlin.

Located in The Hills South village, TPC Summerlin is a private course where Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour championship in 1996. It is one of two TPC courses owned and operated by the PGA Tour in Nevada -- both of which are in Summerlin.

Developed by The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties, Inc., Summerlin began to take shape in 1990 and has consistently ranked among the country's top 10 best-selling master-planned communities.

Summerlin is a 22,500-acre master-planned community located along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

Summerlin is home to 100-plus neighborhood and village parks, more than 150 completed miles of the Summerlin Trail System, and 19 public and private schools.

Single-family detached homes, townhomes, condominiums and lofts are available, priced from the low $200,000s to more than $1 million. Custom home sites in The Ridges are priced from the $500,000s.

For more information on Summerlin, visit summerlin.com or call 791-4500.