Uisce reports as ordered. Be forewarned, 'tis lengthy.
My wife dropped me off at 8:00 for a 9:18 tee time. I like getting to the course early even if it means I just sit around and enjoy the sights. I paid up and headed to the range. About what you'd expect from an upscale course. Good range balls and real dirt under the grass. Lots of targets with yardages clearly marked. The only negative was that it was full into the rising sun. There isn't much they can do about that given the configuration of the holes but it doesn't suit for early morning players.
Short game area was pretty good. Severely undulating practice green that although a bit shaggy was pretty fast. Other than the shagginess it is an indication of what to expect on the course. The practice bunker has the lightest, fluffiest sand I've ever played (including quite a few courses in Hawaii.) I had a hard time getting out with my muni-appropriate bunker shots. I actually stopped after six tries as I felt it would get into my head if I kept it up. I just figured I'd avoid the sand on the course. LOL.
I hadn't had breakfast to I went and found some food. The breakfast buritto is very good. Yummy.
Met one of the guys grouped with me. Nice guy, good stick and plays golf almost every day and all over the country plus 50 or so courses in Scotland. Must be nice.
Off to the first tee. The starter warned us that the greens were tough. Very fast and very tricky. He reported they were rolling about 11. Given that I have no idea how that compares to what I usually play I wasn't too worried. I much rather have fast greens than slow.
Tee shot appeared to go right down the middle but ended up really having to search for it in the rough. That was my first clue that the rough was pretty harsh. Not that long but about 60% of the balls seem to drop to the bottom and it's thick and sticky. Dug it out pretty good and put the ball on the back fringe maybe 15 feet above the hole. Good chance for par. That's when the speed of the greens got me. First putt was barely started and still ended up six feet beyond. Missed the come back and got a bogey.
On the par five #3 I hit my approach to two feet and missed the birdie putt. There was probably a cup and a half of break in that two feet. Shoulda rammed it home.
Greenside bunker on #4 and took two to get out. Hit a great putt that very nearly died at the hole yet rolled another twelve feet. Made the second putt for double bogey. At this point I had my first negative thought of the course. That pin position and/or the green countours on the back third of that green are Mickey Mouse. The course designer is Matt Dye and it must be in the genes to make the green complexes difficult. This particular hole location annoys me though. There is a 150 square foot area one might have considered a good approach.
Hit tee shot on #6 about 280-290 yards uphill and across a quartering wind. I spanked it but it must have hit the cart path that crossed the fairway or something. No way I can do that given the setup. Still... I'll take it.
Fifteen foot birdie putt in the center of the hole on #7. By now I'm figuring out that you really have to know where to target your approaches. The ball is going to end up elsewhere on about 50% of the greens. I played this one just how I wanted and got about 25 feet of right to left roll across the green. Very confident over the putt due to a read from another player.
On #8, short par four, I used a hybrid and went through the fairway and into a bunker. After the shot I thought it was perfect though. It's a bit blind and the fairway narrows to maybe 25 feet. The correct shot is a layup. Next time it'll be 4 or 5 iron followed by a short iron. Ended up with a double. Long sand shots out of these bunkers are no easier than the short ones. High bounces sand wedges would have been nice but I'm used to playing out of wet concrete up here in No. Utah. No such club in my possession.
Ended up with a 44 on the front and felt like I left a few out there. I made the two long putts so I guess it evens out. At this point I'm thinking this is a very good course with extremely interesting design choices. The options off the tee are numerous and a little course knowledge would be very helpful.
Seven of the nines holes on the back are on the other side of the highway. Different course altogether. The holes are tighter, a few big elevation changes and very much typical desert target golf.
I hit five of the first six greens and was +1 through #15 with a birdie putt lipping out. I was really playing well which amazed me because the greens aren't any easier not to mention the views are so distracting. I haven't played tons of desert courses but of the dozen or two I have this one is far and away the most beautiful. The vistas on the back are truly remarkable. Spaceage, if you've played Sky Mountain it's a lot like the views there but closer and more of it. A great plot of ground and a very fine course placed upon it.
The bogey in those six holes was on #13, the green I missed. This green is a complete joke. The hole is pretty short, I played a PW to try and land the ball ten yards short of the green. This is the only play as the green slopes away and has three distinct tiers. The hole on Saturday was cut on the back luckily as there is simply no way to land a ball from a downhill lie to a downhill green with tiers that run away. If the hole is cut on the first or second tiers I believe the only play is an intentional pin high miss left or right followed by a chip across the slope. It's the most tricked up and stupid green I've ever played. I missed front and left and had to play a flop shot from the rough. Best shot of the day. Landed on middle tier and trickeled over to the bottom. Still ran off the green. Putted from the fringe, missed and tapped in for a bogey. I believe that's a good score on that hole.
#16 is a little odd in that it's a par five with a completely blind tee shot. Playing it again I'd have the confidence to play long over the target bunkers. There's a ton of room out there but it's tough to believe it from the tee. I ended up with a double here. I was starting to get tired, mentally mostly, and the swing got a bit loose.
Doubled #17 also and bogeyed #18 with a poor tee shot. Ended up with a back nine 42 and 86 overall. Pretty pleased with the score considering an unknown course. I tried not to think about the PB I would have recorded with +2 over the last three holes rather than +5.
I forgot to mention the tees we played. The starter asked us which ones we wanted to use. The blue tees are ~6700 yards with 133 slope. The whites are 6230 with 127 slope. We chose white. I don't think blue would be that much harder as there are a good few layup holes from the tees. However, a couple of the par threes were long enough from white and 200+ from the blues. That might bite you.
Overall, I think it's perhaps the best course I've played in Utah. It's as good and probably better than Coral Canyon as far as design, conditioning and standard of golf goes plus the setting is out of this world. The greens at #4 and especially #13 gave big negatives but I talked to one of the bag boys after the round and he gave me some good news. It seems everyone agrees about #13 and it's slated for a rebuild. He said that #4 isn't that bad if the hole is cut elsewhere. I imagine that's possible so I'm willing to give them the benefit of doubt.
I'll definitely be back.
P.S. Pictures to follow maybe. Depends on how they turn out. Off to check now.
