We were going to be coming south from Yellowstone through Utah on our driving trip, and I included this course on the itinerary based on the enthusiastic reviews posted by GKer 24hourgolf. I was fortu... Continue »

We were going to be coming south from Yellowstone through Utah on our driving trip, and I included this course on the itinerary based on the enthusiastic reviews posted by GKer 24hourgolf. I was fortunate to catch the course just a few days before their planned maintenance shutdown.

The course is in a state park and plays up and back into a secluded, beautiful peaceful canyon, with lots of multi-colored foliage announcing the coming of autumn. The course reminded me of Mountain Meadows in regards to terrain but had better overall conditioning.

I played on Monday, 10/10/16, @1130 with a local twosome; we played the white tees (5,787/67.2/120) as that was their preference. One of them was a course marshal, but he didn’t bother to tell me about cart rules (areas where you weren’t supposed to drive), and didn’t fix any of his cart’s divots in the fairways and rough and tees. I guess in preparation for the maintenance, most of the tees were forward; most of the par 3s played very short (7-iron or less). All the par-3s on the back nine were blue (back) flags.

Greens were very firm, and they rolled smooth and quick – above the hole was doom. There was no stopping the ball close from up there, and you really had to watch the long downhill rollouts. On-course greens were faster than practice green. Fairways had good coverage, but were not lush, and the ball seemed to sit close. There were many unrepaired/unfilled divots in the fairways.

Rough was 2-3 inch deep and very dry and playable – but required a solid strike for good results. Tees were in good shape but most were sloping to the left or downhill. Sand had good depth and playability, although it was somewhat damp/heavy.

It was windy after noon; leaves were blowing across the greens, and there was no way to always keep your putting line clear. 4 of the 5 downhill par-5s give longer hitters a chance to go for the greens, but hazards and difficult angles await. The driving range sloped to the back; the scruffy turf there was torn up from use over the weekend and the tee areas had not been moved. Gas carts; nice bathrooms; and lots of wild turkeys roaming the course.

I recommend the course as a fun play if you are in the area.