It’s pitch black and I’ve no clue the place I’m going. Properly, my GPS does, however even that has been barely spotty given my environment. I’m in St. George, a metropolis in Southwest Utah simply north of the border with Arizona and fewer than 50 miles east from the Nevada state line.
Located within the desert amongst geographical marvels together with Zion Nationwide Park, Snow Canyon State Park and Sand Hole State Park, I start my early-morning trek towards the latter and close by Sand Hole Resort.
Boasting the day’s first tee time means I start my journey in the dead of night of night time and, boy, is it so much darker out right here than in New York Metropolis the place I name house. After efficiently navigating detours from new building because the Higher Zion space continues to develop and evolve—thanks partially to turning into a rising golf vacation spot—I arrive.
Ready for the solar to peek out, I’m going to the driving vary with different drained golfers looking for to shake off the morning chill that’s a mixture of Hurricane, Utah, being greater than 3,200 toes in elevation and it being a mid-fall day.
Sufficiently warmed up and with simply sufficient daylight to see our tee pictures, we start our spherical on the Sand Hole Resort Championship Course.
Taking part in Sand Hole Resort
Courtesy of Brian Oar
I don’t know for those who’ve performed golf on one other planet however for those who haven’t, Sand Hole is perhaps the closest factor to it, particularly if we’re speaking about Mars.
Opened in 2008, this John Fought-designed course boasts purple rock outcroppings, pure vegetation, indigenous purple sand bunkers and rolling fairways, getting progressively tougher—and extra breathtaking—as you trudge on. There’s a motive it’s celebrated as one of many prime programs within the state and area.
Just like the solar’s regular climb into the sky, a spherical at Sand Hole is a sluggish construct. The primary fairway is fairly open to present golfers much-needed early confidence which, very like errant tee pictures on the again 9, can simply go downhill.
The 573-yard par-5 second includes a bunker in the midst of the golf green and a few tumultuous terrain to the left of the inexperienced so it’s greatest to goal proper or brief simply to be protected. Make the most of the massive rock on the left aspect off the tee on No. 6 as a line to goal proper of if you wish to conquer the course’s No. 1 handicap gap.
Definitely no slouch heading out, the again 9 is the place Sand Hole shines the brightest.
No. 10 is a protracted downhill par-5 adopted by the par-3 eleventh with an enormous hill and large bunkers to the best of the inexperienced so assault the pin at your personal danger. A style of what’s to return, significantly as you wind via a steep cart path to get to No. 12, the subsequent few holes will go away you desirous to seize your digital camera greater than your golf equipment.
Courtesy of Brian Oar
Performed on the aspect of a cliff, the picturesque gap is all about precision. In case you miss to the left, you may say “goodbye” to that ball as it’s most likely nonetheless rolling down right into a desert canyon. Massive boulders and outcroppings of purple rock present a barrier off the best of the golf green so you may both be afforded a fortuitous bounce or lose your ball pinballing among the many rocks.
With two par-3s and two par-5s on the again 9, you find yourself soaking within the surroundings as a lot as you do good golf pictures in one of many extra distinctive settings within the nation. Don’t be frightened by any scurrying jackrabbits, street runners or chipmunks you might encounter however be cautious of snakes, particularly for those who’re trying to find errant pictures among the many desert terrain.
As for those who couldn’t get sufficient of the views and topography, a winding path via purple rocks as you come back to the clubhouse leaves a long-lasting impression.
MyGolfSpy Experiences: Ultimate Ideas
Courtesy of Brian Oar
Coming from the Northeast the place nearly all of golf programs are surrounded by pine timber and expansive inexperienced grass, visiting Higher Zion and taking part in Sand Hole was a welcome escape from the norm. I’ve performed a bunch of desert golf in Arizona however Southwest Utah is really considered one of a sort.
St. George and the encircling space is an adventurer’s paradise with any outside exercise you may consider, golf being no exception. After Dixie Purple Hills opened because the area’s first golf course in 1963, right now Higher Zion boasts 14 programs in a 20-square-mile radius.
Whereas Black Desert Resort has earned a lot of the current fanfare as the newest high-end golf resort within the area and host of the 2024 Black Desert Championship—the primary PGA Tour occasion in Utah since 1963—the Championship Course at Sand Hole Resort is a must-play for those who’re in Southern Utah.
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