Sand Hollow Golf Resort (Pictures)

[Peter Ferlicca]

Sand Hollow is located in Hurricane, Utah just outside of St. George.  The drive is quite beautiful with a country road for about 5 miles leading back to the course (very private club feeling road).  Once you get their it is quite a good piece of property, and offers everything a person would want.  The driving range is nice, the 18 hole putting course is out of this world (almost himalayas like), and the 9 hole links course is just amazing.  I could spend a whole day just playing the 9 hole links course and the putting course and be just fine.  I walked the 9 hole links course and then make you take a cart for the championship course.  I will start you out with pictures of the 9 hole links course and then the full 18 hole championship course, (which is was very impressive to say the least).  I haven't played any other courses in Utah, but I can imagine this will rank as the top public in the state.  It is well worth the hour and half drive from vegas if you are in the mood for some good golf.  It is planning on making it a big community, but houses will only encroach on 4 holes (2,9, 17, 18).

Here is the Putting Course



Here is the 9 hole Links Course
Hole 1 Par 4



Hole 2  Par 4  This is a cool hole with a stone wall that crosses the fairway



Hole 3 Par 5



Hole 4 Par 3  I think this is a copy of the Eden Hole, sloping very hard from back to front


Hole 5 Par 4  A great hole with a stone wall going down the right side the whole way, almost like a road hole tee shot, but the green isn't like the road hole at all



Hole 6 Par 3  Very good par 3, I imagine this is supposed to be a copy of the Short, about 145 yards to a very sloping green.


Hole 7 Par 4



Hole 8 Par 4


Hole 9 Par 5






Here is the Championship Course 18 holes
Hole 1 Par 4

On the approach there is a cool looking George Thomas bunker on the front right side of the green


Hole 2 Par 5




Hole 3 Par 3 About 210 yards


Hole 4 Par 4



Hole 5 Par 4 This is good short par 4


Hole 6 Par 4   This is my favorite hole on the front nine, I love tee shots that go over a hill and bend in one direction.  It is about 490 yards but the second shot into the green plays about two clubs less.



Hole 7 Par 5


Hole 8 Par 3


Hole 9 Par 4




Now the start of the back nine, I must say this is one of the best nines I have played, there is only one weak hole being the 16th.  Every hole offers great views, two awesome par 3's, a fantastic driveable par 4 in the 13th, and the two par 5's are just perfect risk reward holes.  Holes 12-15 is about as good as it gets. 


Hole 10 Par 5



Hole 11 Par 3


Hole 12 Par 4   This is the start of the 4 holes that run alongside the 100 foot cliff on the left side
This is the view when you drive down the cart path to get to the tee




Hole 13 Par 4  Like Matt Ward was saying, this hole has it all.  Plenty of risk all around, the green is long and and about 10 yards wide


Hole 14 Par 4



Hole 15 Par 3   The pictures don't do justice how cool looking this hole is



Hole 16 Par 4


Hole 17 Par 5



Hole 18 Par 4

[Michael Dugger]

Diggin' the bunker sand!

[Phil McDade]

Some really nice looking holes here -- I think it's interesting to have the different bunker looks/surrounds on the nine-hole vs. the 18-hole course.

[Chip Gaskins]

Wow, that looks really cool.  I suppose the holes on the cliff look a little out of place from the links type holes, but I also suppose that is what the land looks like there...Hey, I have been to St. George....

[Will MacEwen]

I did a St George trip about 3 years ago and was a little underwhelmed.  Maybe a return visit at a different time of year, with a different mix of courses would be in order.  Entrada had some nice condo units, but the course did nothing for me.

[Eric_Terhorst]

These courses look like a lot of fun, thanks for posting.  The Utah landscape is compelling, too.

Many of your pics lack the intrusive cart paths one sees often on these modern western designs.  Did you edit your pics or is that a nice feature of the design?  I spy some players pushing trolleys I think in one of the  cliffside pics.  Is the course walkable?

[Peter Ferlicca]

These courses look like a lot of fun, thanks for posting.  The Utah landscape is compelling, too.

Many of your pics lack the intrusive cart paths one sees often on these modern western designs.  Did you edit your pics or is that a nice feature of the design?  I spy some players pushing trolleys I think in one of the  cliffside pics.  Is the course walkable?

The cart paths are hidden on a lot of holes so that they aren't even in view from the tee.  You must be seeing things  with people with trolleys, because walking is only allowed on the 9 hole links course and for the full 18 hole course that make it mandatory to take carts.  It is walkable, I wish I could have walked, but they all have gps in the carts so walking would be hard to gauge distances without anything marked.  I was the only one who was walking the 9 hole links course which was fairly flat and an enjoyable walk.  I can't emphasize enough how nice this whole facility is.

[Matt_Ward]

The pics are fantastic ... but being there only intensifies the design elements.

Many of those elements appear rather subdued in the photo form. You also need to emphasize how much of a factor daily wind conditions can play on such an exposed piece of property.

I too share your love for the links nine but the tee and fairway areas need to be as groomed as the main 18. When I was there two weeks ago that was not the case. On the flip side -- the greens on the links side were awesome stuff -- well done contouring and plenty of fascinating shapes and dimensions.

For those who have been to St. George and played some of the earlier works there -- Sand Hollow clearly makes a significant bump up in overall qualities. I will say this the cliff holes at Sand Hollow from #12 thru #15 -- if they had an ocean to the left of each of them would be capable in being mentioned with any of the great holes you see highlighted in the world with similar attributes. The short par-4 13th is a gem of a short hole and as Peter alluded to the par-3 15th is way better overall than what the photo provided (no disrespect to your photo prowess).

I'll go out on a limb to say Sand Hollow is clearly a bonafide contender for honors in the best new public area -- especially for those that charge under $150 to play.

[Rob Rigg]

What kind of grass did they use?
In that type of environment could they have gotten away with fescue (like they did at Tetherow)?

I am only asking because the fairways look sooo lush and green - does it play F&F on the links and/or championship course? Or is the bump and run not a real option?

From the pics, the courses look stunning so it must be truly amazing in person. I really like that they chose to use bunker sand that meshes seamlessly with the environment instead of going with the "white as hell" sand that seems out of place at many courses.

Add me to the list who think setting can make a good golf hole a great one. The cliff edge on 12 through 15 is awesome.

Thanks for the great pics! SH has been added to the list of "wanna plays"

[Matt_Ward]

Hey Rob:

I believe the grass is a rye variety with bent grass on the greens.

The course does provide sufficient roll out so firm and fast is doable and was present when I played there.

Hats off to the course superintendent and staff for the superior playing surfaces for such a young layout. The Links Nine just needs work on the tees and fairways. The greens there are, in my mind, the best of what you find at Sand Hollow.

The cliff holes are indeed impressive but there's more to the course than just that series of holes.

Certainly a "must" play for those venturing through the I-15 area to and from Vegas and points west.

[John Kirk]

Bumped to augment Tom Doak's new thread on Sand Hollow.  Another excellent report by Peter Ferlicca.

[Tom_Doak]

John:

Thanks for bumping.  Fortunately they are not striping the fairways as much right now, so I liked it more than what shows in these pics.  It was still very very green, they probably just finished their overseed.

I really thought the routing was exceptional in taking advantage of all the visuals.  Holes like 7 and 17 and 18, that aren't on the most dramatic terrain, play off the rock outcrops in the background as key sightlines, lining up with the greens or landing areas.  When you're playing down 14 you are looking right through the green to 15 green behind.  That sort of thing.  They've also got a pretty good set of greens, though there are many holes up against a severe bank where it's hard to do anything counter-intuitive.

[Connor Dougherty]

The bunkers look awesome. They deserve a lot of credit for going with the red bunkers. They blend into the landscape so well, and it seems like the course would feel a lot different if they din't go with that.

[Will Lozier]

The putting course looks fantastic and I personally like the scruffy look of the bunkers on the 9-hole links course better than the championship course.  Still, what a place to play everyday!!!!

Cheers

[John Kirk]

One more bump to coincide with an ongoing thread.

[Jason Topp]

I had forgotten how good that short par four was on the front.  I hit driver and wound up with an awkward shot over the bunker to a tight pin.  My opponent laid up and had a very easy wedge shot.  I lost the hole 4-3 and realized I was in trouble as soon as we got to our tee shots.  I questioned my opponent's manhood.  He kicked my butt. Pretty much my definition of a great hole.