With this being my de facto (early) birthday trip, I decided to splurge for a stay and play deal at Entrada. Unless you know a member or have some other sort of connection/reciprocal, staying at the I... Continue »

With this being my de facto (early) birthday trip, I decided to splurge for a stay and play deal at Entrada. Unless you know a member or have some other sort of connection/reciprocal, staying at the Inn at Entrada is generally the only way to play here as an unaccompanied guest. Definitely expensive (the room much more than the golf this time of year, which was actually only $70 at twilight) and probably a better investment as a couple's trip or with some golf buddies to share the lodging expenses. I had a 1:00 tee time, but went off around 12:40 as a single behind a couple other member singles. They played fast and I never pushed much. We all played through a couple groups along the way, but it was another very quick round on a very hot afternoon in Utah. The course was in good overall shape for summer. I'd say pretty comparable to Ledges, just maybe one notch better on most fronts. Great tee boxes. Fairways solid with some thin/burnt/weak areas scattered throughout, which is to be expected in late summer here. Rough pretty lush for the most part, but not always consistent. Bunkers very nice. Greens also nice. Very receptive and rolling smooth at medium/fast speeds. As for the layout and setting, Entrada lived up to the hype as probably the best overall course in the St. George area (not quite on Wolf Creek's level if you are expanding the region to include Mesquite). Sand Hollow is obviously in this conversation, as well. Very scenic and fun Johnny Miller layout. He sure doesn't create boring courses. Huge greens with ample undulations, but not as much as most Miller greens I've seen. Front nine is very picturesque with the red rock canyon walls in the background throughout and a lot of nice aesthetic touches. Then, a few holes into the back nine, the course goes into a wildly different landscape with jagged black (lava?) rocks everywhere. It's like going from red Mars to the dark side of the moon. This stretch was cool how integrated everything was into the look and layout, and it is a completely different change of pace from the rest of the course. Definitely a neat course that is worth seeking out if you don't mind spending extra for the stay and play. Speaking of the "stay," I am at the Inn now as I type this. Awesome accommodations! It's not really an inn or hotel style setup. It's basically a private gated neighborhood and you get your own street address and detached condo. Personal garage with remote, private little patio with an awesome view. Really cool and quite luxurious, so I can't wait to finish these reviews up to chill out and enjoy the plush personal space.