Shadow Creek Golf Club, Las Vegas, NV

This course in the northern Las Vegas desert was built by the resort magnate Steve Wynn and designed by Tom Fazio, one of the contemporary leaders in golf course design. Earth was bermed up around the 350-acre site to hide it from view, and a landscape of ponds, waterfalls, fountains, and gardens, including more than 20,000 trees, was created from bare desert ground, costing a reported $60 million to construct. It opened in 1990, and was very exclusive. Two large private homes were also built into the site, surrounded by the course, including one that was owned by Steve Wynn himself. The development has since changed hands and is now owned by MGM. There are close to 100 golf courses now in the Las Vegas region.