It’s pitch black and I have no clue where I’m going. Well, my GPS does, but even that has been slightly spotty given my surroundings. I’m in St. George, a city in Southwest Utah just north of the border with Arizona and less than 50 miles east from the Nevada state line.
Situated in the desert among geographical marvels including Zion National Park, Snow Canyon State Park and Sand Hollow State Park, I begin my early-morning trek toward the latter and nearby Sand Hollow Resort.
Boasting the day’s first tee time means I begin my journey in the dark of night and, boy, is it a lot darker out here than in New York City where I call home. After successfully navigating detours from new construction as the Greater Zion area continues to expand and evolve—thanks in part to becoming a growing golf destination—I arrive.
Waiting for the sun to peek out, I go to the driving range with other tired golfers seeking to shake off the morning chill that’s a combination of Hurricane, Utah, being more than 3,200 feet in elevation and it being a mid-fall day.
Sufficiently warmed up and with just enough sunlight to see our tee shots, we begin our round at the Sand Hollow Resort Championship Course.
Playing Sand Hollow Resort
I don’t know if you’ve played golf on another planet but if you haven’t, Sand Hollow might be the closest thing to it, especially if we’re talking about Mars.
Opened in 2008, this John Fought-designed course boasts red rock outcroppings, natural vegetation, indigenous red sand bunkers and rolling fairways, getting progressively harder—and more breathtaking—as you trudge on. There’s a reason it’s celebrated as one of the top courses in the state and region.
Like the sun’s steady climb into the sky, a round at Sand Hollow is a slow build. The first fairway is pretty open to give golfers much-needed early confidence which, much like errant tee shots on the back nine, can easily go downhill.
The 573-yard par-5 second features a bunker in the middle of the fairway and some tumultuous terrain to the left of the green so it’s best to aim right or short just to be safe. Utilize the big rock on the left side off the tee on No. 6 as a line to aim right of if you want to conquer the course’s No. 1 handicap hole.
Certainly no slouch heading out, the back nine is where Sand Hollow shines the brightest.
No. 10 is a long downhill par-5 followed by the par-3 11th with a huge hill and massive bunkers to the right of the green so attack the pin at your own risk. A taste of what’s to come, particularly as you wind through a steep cart path to get to No. 12, the next few holes will leave you wanting to grab your camera more than your clubs.
Played on the side of a cliff, the picturesque hole is all about precision. If you miss to the left, you can say “goodbye” to that ball as it is probably still rolling down into a desert canyon. Large boulders and outcroppings of red rock provide a barrier off the right of the fairway so you can either be afforded a fortuitous bounce or lose your ball pinballing among the rocks.
With two par-3s and two par-5s on the back nine, you end up soaking in the scenery as much as you do good golf shots in one of the more unique settings in the country. Don’t be frightened by any scurrying jackrabbits, road runners or chipmunks you may encounter but be wary of snakes, especially if you’re searching for errant shots among the desert terrain.
As if you couldn’t get enough of the views and topography, a winding path through red rocks as you return to the clubhouse leaves a lasting impression.
MyGolfSpy Experiences: Final Thoughts
Coming from the Northeast where the majority of golf courses are surrounded by pine trees and expansive green grass, visiting Greater Zion and playing Sand Hollow was a welcome escape from the norm. I’ve played a bunch of desert golf in Arizona but Southwest Utah is truly one of a kind.
St. George and the surrounding area is an adventurer’s paradise with any outdoor activity you can think of, golf being no exception. After Dixie Red Hills opened as the region’s first golf course in 1963, today Greater Zion boasts 14 courses in a 20-square-mile radius.
While Black Desert Resort has earned much of the recent fanfare as the latest high-end golf resort in the region and host of the 2024 Black Desert Championship—the first PGA Tour event in Utah since 1963—the Championship Course at Sand Hollow Resort is a must-play if you’re in Southern Utah.
