Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 1
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 1
A pond protects the first green at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 2
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 2
A back pin on the par-3 second hole at Southern Highlands Golf Club means an extra club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands G.C. - 5th
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Southern Highlands G.C. - 5th
From the 284-yard white tees, there's a green light to try and drive the green beyond the pond on the fifth hole at Southern Highlands G.C. in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - 3rd
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - 3rd
The par-5 third hole on Southern Highlands Golf Club doglegs left to reveal a daunting watery approach and a beautiful setting. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - 8th
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - 8th
A caddie runs to the par-3 eighth green of Southern Highlands Golf Club to take stock of the birdie putts. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands GC - 9th hole
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Southern Highlands GC - 9th hole
Waterfalls roar near the ninth green at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 10
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 10
The par-4 10th hole at Southern Highlands Golf Club climbs high above the Las Vegas desert. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - 11th
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - 11th
The views from the elevated 11th tee at Southern Highlands Golf Club stretch out for miles. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands golf course - 14th
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Southern Highlands golf course - 14th
The par-4 14th hole at Southern Highlands Golf Club tumbles downhill between the bunkers. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 15
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 15
The 480-yard 15th hole is the longest par 4 at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands golf course - 16th
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Southern Highlands golf course - 16th
The 16th hole, a short par 4 with a risk-reward tee shot, might be the most fun at Southern Highlands Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 18
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Southern Highlands Golf Club - hole 18
Trouble is everywhere on the par-5 18th hole of Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Southern Highlands GC
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Southern Highlands GC
Golfers can enjoy the views of The Las Vegas Strip from the clubhouse of Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
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Southern Highlands G.C. in Las Vegas: A private golf Shangri-La owned by Pacific Links

LAS VEGAS -- As beautiful as the 7,374-yard golf course is, it might be tempting just to hang out all day at the gorgeous Tuscan-style clubhouse at the private and exclusive Southern Highlands Golf Club.

The 42,000-square-foot clubhouse, perched on high ground overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, has been named the no. 1 clubhouse in the country by the Golf Digest Index. The Spa Southern Highlands inside rivals any resort with a fitness center, treatment rooms, a lap pool and outdoor Jacuzzi and poolside cabanas.

Golfers are spoiled with just as much opulence outside.

Each nine of the design by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. (completed in 2000) finishes with an epic par 5. Waterfalls cascade into a pond protecting the left side of the ninth fairway and green. A winding stream zigzags through the 603-yard 18th hole. The hazards on both holes are as beautiful as they are intimidating.

As the home of the UNLV men's golf team, Southern Highlands hosts the Collegiate Masters every spring. Pacific Links, a Canadian company that operates a network of private clubs and public courses around the world, owns two other high-end private clubs near Las Vegas -- DragonRidge Country Club and SouthShore Golf Club -- but it's hard to beat a day at its fabulous Southern Highlands Golf Club.

Jason Scott Deegan has reviewed and photographed more than 1,100 courses and written about golf destinations in 25 countries for some of the industry's biggest publications. His work has been honored by the Golf Writer's Association of America and the Michigan Press Association. Follow him on Instagram at @jasondeegangolfpass and Twitter at @WorldGolfer.
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Southern Highlands G.C. in Las Vegas: A private golf Shangri-La owned by Pacific Links