On a brisk January day without a hint of particulate matter in the air and snow capping the Spring Mountains along the horizon, Shadow Creek golf course in Las Vegas might be the most pristine spot on earth. Even the Chinese pheasants which prance around the edges of the greens and tees seem to know from their light step and haughty demeanor that they have it good here.

Each hole at Shadow Creek is a portrait unto itself, sculpted and presented in a way that no other vistas intrude.

Chris Riley, a PGA Tour star and member of the most recent U.S. Ryder Cup team, shared his thoughts on Shadow Creek as he tunes up for the 2005 season. He is hitting four-irons from about 190 yards away, and one after another, the shots land on the front of the green and encircle the hole. There was a day in his college years at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas that one of these shots found the cup at the 14th and, surprisingly, it remains the only hole-in-one Riley has ever made.