A Laughlin golf weekend: three days, three rounds, no wasted time

A Laughlin golf weekend fits three rounds into three days: a quick par-3 nine in Bullhead City on Friday afternoon, Laughlin Ranch on Saturday morning and Mojave Resort on Sunday before the drive home. Stay on Casino Drive, keep every drive under 30 minutes, and play early so the afternoons are free.

A long weekend leaves no room for slack, so this plan keeps the driving short and the courses varied. It assumes you arrive by road on Friday, most likely from Las Vegas, and leave on Sunday afternoon. If you can shift the weekend by a day or two, the section on weekday prices shows what that saves. Rates were seen in October 2026 and will change.

Quick facts

• Rounds: three (one short course, two full 18s).
• Base: a Casino Drive hotel; Laughlin Ranch is about 9 minutes away and Mojave Resort about 27.
• Weekend premium: Laughlin Ranch costs $10 more Friday to Sunday than Monday to Thursday in its winter and peak bands on the table seen.
• Rooms: about $55 on weeknights and $93 on weekends (aggregator data), plus resort fees.
• From Las Vegas: about 99 miles, a 2 hour 19 minute free-flow estimate.
• Clocks: Bullhead City courses run one hour ahead of the casinos from Nov 1, 2026 to Mar 14, 2027.

The Laughlin golf weekend schedule

Drive times are free-flow estimates from our research. Riverview's price was a GolfNow deal for late October to early November 2026.

Friday: arrive and warm up

Leave Las Vegas by late morning and you are on Casino Drive by early afternoon. Check in, then cross the bridge to Riverview, a 1,160-yard par-3 nine among palms and water inside an RV resort in Bullhead City. Non-residents can book public tee times on GolfNow, where deals ran $10 to $13 plus a $0.99 booking fee in late October 2026, and carts were listed at $10.

The alternative is Chaparral, Bullhead City's original course: a short nine played as a par-60 loop, now owned and run by the city. It was closed for reseeding until November 10, 2026, and no current rate card is published, so call 928-758-3939. It has a restaurant and bar, which makes it an easy first stop.

Both are on Arizona time. In winter, a 2:00 PM tee time there is 1:00 PM on your hotel clock, so do not cut it fine. In the evening, the Riverwalk links the casinos along the river.

Saturday: Laughlin Ranch

Saturday is the big round. Laughlin Ranch is a hilly David Druzisky course in the foothills east of Bullhead City, with forced carries over desert washes, elevation changes and river views. It plays 7,155 yards at a 143 slope from the Gold tees and 6,565 yards at 137 from Zinc. A cart is mandatory and included, and outside food and drink are not allowed.

Weekend rates on the table seen in October 2026: $147 from November 20 to January 31, $157 from February 1 to 21 and $169 from February 22 to April 11, all non-resident with cart. Pricing is dynamic and can go higher, and cancellations inside 24 hours cost 50%. Book the earliest time you can, because morning tee times go first in winter. The Laughlin Ranch course guide has every rate band.

Lunch at the SLATE restaurant in the clubhouse, then take the afternoon off: the free classic car collection, bowling and cinema at the Riverside, or a drive to Davis Dam just upstream.

Sunday: Mojave Resort, then home

Play Mojave Resort on Sunday morning. It is a flat Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley layout beside the Avi Resort & Casino, with wide fairways, wind-shaped dunes and mountain views. Wind is the main defence, so an early start is a good idea. The par-3 17th carries a $100,000 hole-in-one prize offer.

Mojave Resort runs on Pacific time, the same as your hotel and Las Vegas, so Sunday has no clock arithmetic. The club publishes no 2026-27 rate card; call 702-535-4653. A cart is included in the green fee, per GolfNow, and there is a driving range. Finish by early afternoon and you are back in Las Vegas by evening. The Mojave Resort course guide covers the layout.

Swap: if Mojave Resort is full, Huukan in Fort Mohave (about 28 minutes, Arizona time) is run by the same operator and is a gentler, tree-lined round.

Where to stay for one or two nights

For a weekend, stay central and keep it simple. Laughlin Ranch's Stay & Play partners include the Riverside, Harrah's, Golden Nugget, the Aquarius, Edgewater and Tropicana, where the hotel books the tee time with the room. Prices are not published, so compare a package quote with booking the room and golf yourself.

• Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort is nearest the bridge to Bullhead City, about 11 minutes from Laughlin Ranch, with bowling and a cinema for the evenings.
• Golden Nugget Laughlin is a compact, roughly 300-room casino hotel mid-strip, quick to check in and out of.
• The Avi Resort & Casino puts Mojave Resort about 3 minutes away, reported no resort fee and offers its guests reduced rates at the course, but it is about 10 miles south of the strip.

See where to stay in Laughlin for golf for the full comparison.

Weekend vs weekday: what shifting a day saves

Laughlin Ranch rates are non-resident with cart from the table labelled 2027 on its rates page; hotel figures are Kayak aggregate data seen in October 2026, before resort fees. A Sunday-to-Tuesday "weekend" saves about $10 a round at Laughlin Ranch and roughly $38 a night on the room, before resort fees of about $18 to $27 a night at most casino hotels. Our Laughlin golf trip cost guide adds it all up.

Getting there for a weekend

From Las Vegas it is about 99 miles from the airport rental car center via US-95 south through Boulder City and Searchlight, then NV-163 east over the mountains to Laughlin. Free-flow estimates put it at 2 hours 19 minutes; it is commonly quoted at about 1.5 to 2 hours. Las Vegas shares Laughlin's Pacific clock all year.

From Phoenix it is a longer haul, about 228 miles and 4 hours 44 minutes on free-flow estimates via US-93 and Kingman, which makes a Friday-to-Sunday weekend tight. Phoenix drivers are on Arizona time, so in winter their watches already match the Bullhead City courses and run an hour ahead of the casinos. The Las Vegas to Laughlin guide covers the drive in detail.

Which weekends to pick

November and March weekends have the best weather, with average highs of 74.1F and 77.4F. January and February are cooler, with mid-40s mornings that can bring frost delays. Avoid:

• Mid-September to mid-October, when courses close in turn to overseed. Mojave Resort was closed from September 8 to October 8, 2026.
• The Laughlin Desert Classic off-road race (October 15-19, 2026), which fills casino rooms.
• Late-April rally week, when the Mayhem Motorcycle Rally in Bullhead City (April 23-26 in 2026) brings heavy traffic and higher rates.
• New Year's Eve, when rooms fill for the fireworks.

The best time to golf in Laughlin guide goes month by month.

Want more than a weekend?

If you can stay four days, the Laughlin golf trip itinerary adds Huukan and Rivers Edge. Groups should read the Laughlin buddies golf trip guide for room blocks and group tee times.

Plan it on the map

The Laughlin 3D map shows every course and hotel in this weekend, with drive times and the rates seen in October 2026. Swap a course or a hotel and the $30 plan lays out your days, with each tee time on the right clock.