Mr. Glitterati

The holes at Royal Links Golf Club are inspired by the history of the British Open. But if you would like a little more inspiration, you might want to check out the course’s new Par Mates program.

In keeping with the style and sex appeal of Las Vegas, golfers who play Royal Links Golf Club can book one of eight gorgeous young women who act as a hostess throughout the golf experience.

These aren’t your daddy’s caddies – or really even caddies, for that matter. Royal Links already makes available its white-clad walking caddies and forecaddies in the tradition of golf across the pond. Par Mates are part of a course ambassador program, as Royal Links likes to call it. These extremely attractive and outgoing women are there to take your round to the next level.

So far, the reviews from players who have booked Par Mates have been glowing, said Matt Tripp, general manager at Royal Links Golf Club.

“They’re ecstatic to have somebody they can enjoy their time with,” Tripp said. “And make them look good, no matter how bad their game is.”

Plus, if you hit a bad shot with one of these lovelies around for encouragement, it’s probably easier to shake it off. (At least it should be.)

The whole experience starts 20 minutes before tee time. Once introduced, the Par Mate becomes your personal assistant. She can help you with all your course arrangements, like orientation around the facility, or introduce you to course personnel.

She can also call in your food and drink orders, write down your scores or even help you pick out the perfect souvenir in the golf shop for you or your significant other. She can also repair divots, fix ball marks, clean clubs and give you a hand with yardage. She may even help you find your lost balls.

Although the Par Mates don’t really play golf themselves, many of them played in their youth, and all have been trained in all the duties described above, so they know their way around the golf course. They can be hired per individual or foursome – “whatever the customer wants,” Tripp said. The cost is $225 per Par Mate.

The only requirement is that Par Mates be booked at least 72 hours in advance. To do that, simply go the Walters Golf Web site and book your round of golf online. Then download the Par Mates request form and either fill it in online or fax it to (702) 450-8144. You can also call (888) 427-6678 for more information on the program, Las Vegas golf and Walters Golf properties in general.

Diddy will be part of Vanity nightclub’s kick off celebration

Sean “Diddy” Combs is about to open a new nightclub in Las Vegas.

Well, almost: He’s going to help open one.

“(The) Hard Rock is opening a club and I’m supposed to be opening up that new club for them,” he told the Las Vegas Weekly on Saturday afternoon during an exclusive interview at the Paris Hotel and Casino.

“I’m opening up the club so, you know, that’s pretty big in itself,” he said.

The new nightspot, Vanity, is set to open on New Year’s Eve.

Still, the rapper formerly known as Puff Daddy won’t necessarily be at the Hard Rock when the ball drops on 2010.

Instead, he said he is scheduled to host a day or two after the grand opening celebration on or around Jan. 2.

Still, he may very well be there on NYE.

Maybe.

“I may be out here; I may be shooting a television special,” he teased.

Will it be a Vegas-based portion of MTV’s New Years Eve coverage? Will he ring in 2010 live on E!, or will it be part of something else altogether? He declined to say.

“I can’t give you any more details, that’s breaking news,” he smiled.

Still, it’s pretty safe to say Diddy is planning to party somewhere in Las Vegas on Dec. 31.

The hip-hop heavyweight is no stranger to the Las Vegas club scene and likely has a litany of lucrative hosting offers on the table for New Years Eve.

“I’m the black Sinatra,” he said. “I’m supposed to be out here.”

It wasn’t always this way for the rapper/actor/producer/fashion designer/fragrance developer/father/vodka czar.

“I used to come to Vegas maybe once every other year,” he said. “I’ve been out here already four times this year … This is the most I’ve been out here.”

In the modern day Sinatra’s Rat Pack: “Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Tyrese (Gibson), (and) Ashton Kutcher.”

The group will get together later this week, in New York, for Diddy’s birthday party.

The superstar turned 40-years-old on Nov. 4.

By now, you know what to expect from a gentleman’s club: dimly lit corners, a champagne room or two and lots and lots of skin. In other words, it’s ripe for a sea change. All we need is a visionary bold enough to take on the industry from the ground up. And we may have found the first candidate…

Welcome to the Velvet Lion, a revolutionary new take on the gentleman’s club.

Helmed by Tony Verdugo—the man behind legendary Vegas late-night spot Drai’s—the Lion is taking a page (and a few hosts and promoters) from the nightlife industry. The result is something like Body English, just with the emphasis on “body”…and much more akin to the treatment you’re used to at clubs. We’re told this means no inflated door prices and a general ethos of “quality over quantity,” which we guess means they’ve loosened the usual restrictions on cup size.

Throw in a few plush couches, bottle service that doesn’t break the bank and the most body paint this side of Cirque du Soleil, and you’ve got a potentially revolutionary spot. Of course, Verdugo is the ambitious type, so he’s thinking even bigger: The Lion’s stated goal is to put the first topless club in a casino in the next three years.

But they’ll have to reinvent the strip before they reinvent the Strip.

Velvet Lion
3750 S. Valley View Blvd
(between Twain and Viking)
West of Strip
Las Vegas, NV 89103
888-702-3336
official website

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The House of Gucci started when founder Guccio Gucci opened a leather-goods workshop and store in Florence in 1921. By the sixties and seventies, Gucci was one of the world’s premier luxury-goods brands, with loyalists like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Jackie O keeping its cachet elevated. But in the late seventies, family in-fighting and unsound business decisions set things back considerably, and it wasn’t until American designer Tom Ford came onboard in 1990 that the luxury brand transformed again into a contemporary power player, solidifying Gucci as a billion-dollar empire of interlocking Gs. Along with CEO Domenico De Sole, Ford turned the house around in a relatively short time. His breakout collection was fall 1995, with brightly colored fitted blazers over new-disco satin shirts and hip-huggers changing the way fashion looked overnight and establishing him as an international tastemaker—and master of the “sex sells” approach to high design. In 1999, the fashion world was riveted by the battle royale that erupted when French luxury group LVMH tried to acquire Gucci.

However, rival PPR triumphed, created the Gucci Group, and acquired Yves Saint Laurent (which Ford designed for a few years), Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and more. But as Ford’s contract ended, he and De Sole battled with PPR’s executives, and both left in April 2004. Replacing him wasn’t easy; Alessandra Fachinetti quit after two seasons and was replaced by in-house accessories designer Frida Giannini, who runs both menswear and womenswear. She’s fared well so far; her collections have enjoyed commercial success, although she has yet to shake up the sartorial climate on a Ford-esque scale.