St. George Utah Spectactular

[Matty 3-Putts]

After watching videos from BustaJack and Zac Radford, I knew I had to schedule a trip to the St. George area. I started planning in March and scheduled tee times for mid-June for a 3 day golf extravaganza (my first golf-centric vacation ever). Plan was to drive from Colorado Springs (11 Hrs), play 3 courses in 3 days and drive back. Had to leave some time to do some touristy stuff with the GF. 

Itinerary was such: Sand Hollow Resort on Thursday, Copper Rock on Friday, Sky Mountain on Saturday. I stayed at the Hampton Inn SunRiver south of STG.

Sand Hollow - This place did NOT disappoint. Staff was friendly and amenities were excellent. Even the short drive to the practice area had incredible rock formations, with a top-tier driving range and putting green. Club house is beautiful and a solid pro shop. Range balls were fresh Callaways and plastic tees were provided on the range. Playing as a single paired with a 3-some, they actually let me go off early by myself and me and the gf got to enjoy the scenery together (Didn't even charge me an extra rider fee). 

The course itself was in excellent condition. There were few if at all GUR areas or scorched fairway spots, but the greens were excellent and the fairways and rough were lush. My only real complaint about the course is the red clay bunkers; these are incredibly difficult to hit out of and due to the nature of native dirt, they were bumpy with small rocks throughout. Very penalizing.  

The back 9 is certainly where this place shines. While the front 9 had plenty of rock formations and great scenes, the views coming up to and through hole 12 were spectacular. Even the cart ride down hole 12 was like a scenic tour. The Par 3 15th is brutal from the tips, 235yds with death everywhere!

I shot 81 from the tips with a few doubles. It's not an overly difficult course, wide fairways and everything is playable if you can find it (no OB on most the course). Very fun course to play, and just a surreal setting. Even the final hole gives you 1 more spectacular view as a classy parting gift.

Price: $145, Views: 5/5, Layout 4/5, Condition 5/5

Copper Rock - Starting with a drizzly morning, the course seemed quite empty and we once again were allowed to tee off solo. The clubhouse was small but very nice, with a small pro shop and eating area but with quality goods (their merch was the best of the trip IMO). The cart drive to the practice area and 1st tee was a good distance and worried to get lost, but once again had an excellent practice area with good range balls and tees available.

This course really exceeded my expectations. While it doesn't have the flash of Sand Hollow, the setting was unique with the cliff face in the backdrop of every hole. Course was in excellent condition, great rolling greens and nothing to complain about in that regard. I played 1 tee box up from the tips, the course is LONG from the far-back, with many of those tee boxes 50-75 yards back from where I was playing. It was a comfortable distance with the cold weather hurting my distance (been years since I smashed driver and only saw 270 off the tee.. Ball was just not carrying)

The layout may have been my favorite of the week. Lots of chances to hit the big dawg and a good mix of strategic holes, risk/reward, and punishing areas. I love a place that isn't afraid to put a short/challenging Par 3 when it's beating you up with distance the rest of the time, like you get here with the 17th.

The weather held out for us and got sunny as the round closed. The overall aesthetic of the surrounding homes and structures, course, manmade creeks and ponds really was spectacular. Given that Sand Hollow was the pièce de résistance of my trip, this place was the big surprise to me. I shot 80 with a double to finish and plenty on the table for next time.

Price: $88, Views: 4/5, Layout: 5/5, Condition: 5/5

Sky Mountain - In summation, I would describe Sky Mountain as a $50 course with a Million Dollar view. It had the feel more of your normal public muni, lots of people and an outdated clubhouse. I was charged for range balls here, which was a mix of old range balls and other randos in the mix. The putting green was nice however, and the course may have the best view off the driving range of anywhere I've played.

I was paired with a 3-some and we played 1 up from the tips. The course is tight and not very long whatsoever, in fact my distance probably hurt me from these tee boxes and I had a hard time keeping it out of trouble. 

Fairways and greens were okay, they weren't rolling as well as the days previous (big surprise) and ground under repair was a somewhat common occurrence throughout. I got caught in several areas with poor lies due to spotty rough or fairway. I also felt like they didn't really take advantage of the amazing view from the practice area. You pretty much had the opening hole pointing down at the rock formations, then turned away through houses, and came back to pointing at it in the final 2 holes.

I personally was not a massive fan of the layout. There were very few "good holes," and while it wasn't a down-and-back city park course, they seemingly added doglegs and obstructions in places to try to make it more interesting, but still came off as bland. It may have been more exciting if I played it first, but I was a little unimpressed after what I had the days prior. This was slightly disappointing in addition to them charging for range balls and the extra rider, which brought the price of the round over Cooper Rock, which they are not even in the same league. That said, I would still consider this a place you must go to just to get the full St George experience. If you need a filler round that shouldnt be as expensive, I would still recommend it. I shot 80, once again with a double to finish. I just can't seem to finish strong out here!

Price: $90, Views: 5/5 mixed with some 2/5, Layout 3/5, Condition 3/5

Final notes - St. George may have turned into my new favorite vacation destination! I didn't even come close to playing everywhere I could have, leaving plenty of room to come back. Next on my list to play would be Ledges, Coral Canyon, Black Desert, and I would like to play the Dixie Red 9 hole, but I could not go back again without playing Sand Hollow and Copper Rock. Pricing around the area was very reasonable and cheaper than where I live overall from hotel pricing, food, gas, and the actual price of tee times. On the minus side, Utah really needs to get their sh** together with their liquor laws... Bev carts can't start serving till 11:00, nothing other than 5% beer anywhere you go, and absolutely zero night life to speak of. Thankfully I dont have to drink to have a good time on the course, but with the amount of complaining I heard from other people, it does put a damper on the fun you COULD have if they lightened up. Just play golf all day and go to sleep early and you shouldn't be too disappointed! Just pack your own provisions if you have to.

 

[Ben_Howell34]

Enjoyed reading this. Me and some guys are playing here in April of 2024. Playing Sand Hollow, Coral Canyon, Ledges, and Wolf Creek in Mesquite with a night in Vegas as a send off. Looks like Sand Hollow is worth the money. 

[Matty 3-Putts]

6 hours ago, Ben_Howell34 said:

Enjoyed reading this. Me and some guys are playing here in April of 2024. Playing Sand Hollow, Coral Canyon, Ledges, and Wolf Creek in Mesquite with a night in Vegas as a send off. Looks like Sand Hollow is worth the money. 

Oh very nice, I think that will be a good time of year weather-wise before it heats up too much.

Sand hollow is definitely worth the money. Its a premium resort facility and i would highly recommend it. I'd be curious how Ledges and Coral Canyon compare to copper rock, I was blown away by that place as well.

If I can manage to get out of STG next time, wolf creek is also on the list. Do you know what tee times are costing there lately? I haven't checked.

Edited July 24, 2023 by Matty 3-Putts

[Ben_Howell34]

Nice. We were going to play Copper Rock but they are having the Epson Tour event that same week there. The guy who set it up for me seemed to think Coral Canyon and Ledges were better anyway. Thanks for the tip on Sky Mountain, I looked into that one also but glad we aren’t going there. 
 

We are paying around $900 for all 4 courses plus 3 nights of lodging per person through the Ledges. Wolf Creek is by far the most expensive and it’s the premium time of year I think and it’s around $360. So most I’ve ever paid for a round ha. 

[Ben_Howell34]

On 7/19/2023 at 12:41 PM, Matty 3-Putts said:

After watching videos from BustaJack and Zac Radford, I knew I had to schedule a trip to the St. George area. I started planning in March and scheduled tee times for mid-June for a 3 day golf extravaganza (my first golf-centric vacation ever). Plan was to drive from Colorado Springs (11 Hrs), play 3 courses in 3 days and drive back. Had to leave some time to do some touristy stuff with the GF. 

Itinerary was such: Sand Hollow Resort on Thursday, Copper Rock on Friday, Sky Mountain on Saturday. I stayed at the Hampton Inn SunRiver south of STG.

Sand Hollow - This place did NOT disappoint. Staff was friendly and amenities were excellent. Even the short drive to the practice area had incredible rock formations, with a top-tier driving range and putting green. Club house is beautiful and a solid pro shop. Range balls were fresh Callaways and plastic tees were provided on the range. Playing as a single paired with a 3-some, they actually let me go off early by myself and me and the gf got to enjoy the scenery together (Didn't even charge me an extra rider fee). 

The course itself was in excellent condition. There were few if at all GUR areas or scorched fairway spots, but the greens were excellent and the fairways and rough were lush. My only real complaint about the course is the red clay bunkers; these are incredibly difficult to hit out of and due to the nature of native dirt, they were bumpy with small rocks throughout. Very penalizing.  

The back 9 is certainly where this place shines. While the front 9 had plenty of rock formations and great scenes, the views coming up to and through hole 12 were spectacular. Even the cart ride down hole 12 was like a scenic tour. The Par 3 15th is brutal from the tips, 235yds with death everywhere!

I shot 81 from the tips with a few doubles. It's not an overly difficult course, wide fairways and everything is playable if you can find it (no OB on most the course). Very fun course to play, and just a surreal setting. Even the final hole gives you 1 more spectacular view as a classy parting gift.

Price: $145, Views: 5/5, Layout 4/5, Condition 5/5

Copper Rock - Starting with a drizzly morning, the course seemed quite empty and we once again were allowed to tee off solo. The clubhouse was small but very nice, with a small pro shop and eating area but with quality goods (their merch was the best of the trip IMO). The cart drive to the practice area and 1st tee was a good distance and worried to get lost, but once again had an excellent practice area with good range balls and tees available.

This course really exceeded my expectations. While it doesn't have the flash of Sand Hollow, the setting was unique with the cliff face in the backdrop of every hole. Course was in excellent condition, great rolling greens and nothing to complain about in that regard. I played 1 tee box up from the tips, the course is LONG from the far-back, with many of those tee boxes 50-75 yards back from where I was playing. It was a comfortable distance with the cold weather hurting my distance (been years since I smashed driver and only saw 270 off the tee.. Ball was just not carrying)

The layout may have been my favorite of the week. Lots of chances to hit the big dawg and a good mix of strategic holes, risk/reward, and punishing areas. I love a place that isn't afraid to put a short/challenging Par 3 when it's beating you up with distance the rest of the time, like you get here with the 17th.

The weather held out for us and got sunny as the round closed. The overall aesthetic of the surrounding homes and structures, course, manmade creeks and ponds really was spectacular. Given that Sand Hollow was the pièce de résistance of my trip, this place was the big surprise to me. I shot 80 with a double to finish and plenty on the table for next time.

Price: $88, Views: 4/5, Layout: 5/5, Condition: 5/5

Sky Mountain - In summation, I would describe Sky Mountain as a $50 course with a Million Dollar view. It had the feel more of your normal public muni, lots of people and an outdated clubhouse. I was charged for range balls here, which was a mix of old range balls and other randos in the mix. The putting green was nice however, and the course may have the best view off the driving range of anywhere I've played.

I was paired with a 3-some and we played 1 up from the tips. The course is tight and not very long whatsoever, in fact my distance probably hurt me from these tee boxes and I had a hard time keeping it out of trouble. 

Fairways and greens were okay, they weren't rolling as well as the days previous (big surprise) and ground under repair was a somewhat common occurrence throughout. I got caught in several areas with poor lies due to spotty rough or fairway. I also felt like they didn't really take advantage of the amazing view from the practice area. You pretty much had the opening hole pointing down at the rock formations, then turned away through houses, and came back to pointing at it in the final 2 holes.

I personally was not a massive fan of the layout. There were very few "good holes," and while it wasn't a down-and-back city park course, they seemingly added doglegs and obstructions in places to try to make it more interesting, but still came off as bland. It may have been more exciting if I played it first, but I was a little unimpressed after what I had the days prior. This was slightly disappointing in addition to them charging for range balls and the extra rider, which brought the price of the round over Cooper Rock, which they are not even in the same league. That said, I would still consider this a place you must go to just to get the full St George experience. If you need a filler round that shouldnt be as expensive, I would still recommend it. I shot 80, once again with a double to finish. I just can't seem to finish strong out here!

Price: $90, Views: 5/5 mixed with some 2/5, Layout 3/5, Condition 3/5

Final notes - St. George may have turned into my new favorite vacation destination! I didn't even come close to playing everywhere I could have, leaving plenty of room to come back. Next on my list to play would be Ledges, Coral Canyon, Black Desert, and I would like to play the Dixie Red 9 hole, but I could not go back again without playing Sand Hollow and Copper Rock. Pricing around the area was very reasonable and cheaper than where I live overall from hotel pricing, food, gas, and the actual price of tee times. On the minus side, Utah really needs to get their sh** together with their liquor laws... Bev carts can't start serving till 11:00, nothing other than 5% beer anywhere you go, and absolutely zero night life to speak of. Thankfully I dont have to drink to have a good time on the course, but with the amount of complaining I heard from other people, it does put a damper on the fun you COULD have if they lightened up. Just play golf all day and go to sleep early and you shouldn't be too disappointed! Just pack your own provisions if you have to.

 

Question: what time of year did you go? We are going in late April. Did you feel like pace of play was good? Have heard it gets slow out there, but a lot of review forums can’t be trusted either (besides your review of course )

[Matty 3-Putts]

Holy cow $360 is insane for Wolf Creek. I'd probably rather play sand hollow twice tbh lol. I went in early June, which I was told was kinda the start of their off-season.

My experience may not be the best judge for that. I was playing solo so sand hollow offered to move me up to not play with 3 randos. I played through a group on 4 and I don't remember waiting on a group till 10. They let me play through on 11, and I waited on another group on (the) 12th and they let me play through on 13. Was smooth from there out.

Copper Rock, it was a rainy (ish) day and there was nobody there, also went out solo. I ran into a couple groups but I was enjoying the scenery myself and taking my time. I probably played both rounds in 4 hours. Wish I actually took my time to do more rubber necking instead of so focused on my golf.

Sky Mtn was busier and I was paired with 3 others. It was a little slow, but still nothing like I've had at places in CO

[Ben_Howell34]

4 hours ago, Matty 3-Putts said:

Holy cow $360 is insane for Wolf Creek. I'd probably rather play sand hollow twice tbh lol. I went in early June, which I was told was kinda the start of their off-season.

My experience may not be the best judge for that. I was playing solo so sand hollow offered to move me up to not play with 3 randos. I played through a group on 4 and I don't remember waiting on a group till 10. They let me play through on 11, and I waited on another group on (the) 12th and they let me play through on 13. Was smooth from there out.

Copper Rock, it was a rainy (ish) day and there was nobody there, also went out solo. I ran into a couple groups but I was enjoying the scenery myself and taking my time. I probably played both rounds in 4 hours. Wish I actually took my time to do more rubber necking instead of so focused on my golf.

Sky Mtn was busier and I was paired with 3 others. It was a little slow, but still nothing like I've had at places in CO

Thanks Matt. I am sure it is overblown, and it’s a golf trip anyway so not as worried about pace of play. Thanks! 

[crb128]

Fantastic trip!  I love playing the southern Utah areas in & around St. George.  Some great ones just down the highway in Mesquite, NV as well.  Definitely a hidden gem for a "golf-centered" trip with a ton of extras to do if you wanted to take an afternoon or full day away from the course (Zions National Park, etc.).  Glad you had a great time!

[Matty 3-Putts]

On 12/18/2023 at 2:50 PM, crb128 said:

Fantastic trip!  I love playing the southern Utah areas in & around St. George.  Some great ones just down the highway in Mesquite, NV as well.  Definitely a hidden gem for a "golf-centered" trip with a ton of extras to do if you wanted to take an afternoon or full day away from the course (Zions National Park, etc.).  Glad you had a great time!

It's getting to be the time of year to plan another trip, and coming back to this thread has me itching to get back to STG! I will have to hit Zion, that was something we never got to do. On a side note, the dinosaur research center was very cool

Edited December 20, 2023 by Matty 3-Putts