The Lake Course at Mountain Dell was built in 1990 by local designer William Neff and is one of two courses on the site. It's located between Salt Lake City and Park City just off highway I-80 as you drive over the mountains. Originally a 18 hole complex, the existing holes were divided among the two new courses most of which were allocated to the Canyon course. 4 of the holes were used on the Lake course, 2 of which were vastly modified.
The Lake course is a par 71 with 5 par 3s and provides awesome scenery of the nearby Wasatch mountains. It also includes views of the original Pioneer Mormon trail as it makes its final approach into the Salt Lake Valley just prior to Emigration Canyon. The course covers a fair amount of ground and it seems some compromises were made to make the holes fit into a somewhat unconvential piece of property. As a result, the course is not very walkable due to 4 long transitions that cross over a road and back on two different occasions, however some interesting holes were created in the process.
While the course doesn't play long at 6000 feet elevation, its narrowness in select spots keeps you honest. It features a bit of quirk including a massive elevated bunker...the longest i'm aware of
. There are several interesting forced carries off the tee, including the 4th hole which is a "bite off as much as you can chew" par 4. The mildy undulating greens feature more break than they look and possess quite a few fall-off areas that can make for some interesting recovery shots. Bunkering is mostly minimal, (with the one notable exception as mentioned), and is often only bunkered around the greens. Fairways are a cross between mildy and severly undulating depending on which part of the property they sit on.
While IMO the course is no more than a 3.5-4 on the Doak scale, its certainly another solid and very affordable public offering for those who live in the area...and with that enjoy the pictoral review of the course!!
Hole 1 - Par 5
A short but tight downhill opener that provides a great chance at birdie if you can keep it in play. The tee shot:
The approach:
Hole 2 - Par 4
A tough downhill par 4 that is both longish and tight. This hole is to be merely survived IMO...the tee shot.
The approach in to a green. (There is a hazard short and right of the green).
Looking back up the hill from the green.
Hole 3 - Par 3
A medium to shortish downhill par 3 where missing left is dead. The tee shot:
A look back from behind.
Hole 4 - Par 4
The epic tee shot on the 4th...this tee shot alone is almost worth the price of admission. Challenge left as much as you dare. This pic is from the blues where I played this day.
The hole plays entirely differently from the whites and reds on the other side of the reservoir. View from whites.
The approach in from the fairway.
Looking back...the black and blue tees are beyond the three white trees across the reservoir.
Hole 5 - Par 5
Pretty straight-forward par 5 that is reachable in two by most. Tee shot.
A look at the green up close with the Pioneer trail route in the background.
Hole 6 - Par 4
The "notable exception" hole with the longest fairway bunker that I've ever seen. Tee shot:
A look in from about 250 yards out...its odd-looking to say the least.
A look back from the right side of the green:
Hole 7 - Par 3
The short uphill par 3 hole..not much to this one other than the green is mostly blind.
Hole 8 - Par 4
A shortish par 4 that can be driven by the long hitters. The tee shot:
The short approach in after a decent drive by my standards!
A good look at the fall-off area to the left of the green...its much steeper than it looks.
Hole 9 - Par 3
A medium length par 3 that plays uphill. This green has a lot of slope as I found out with a 3 jack.
Back 9 to follow...