The Utah Golfer

Red Ledges Named Best in Utah by Best of State Awards

noreply@blogger.com (GolfShooter) — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:52:00 +0000

Red Ledges, a private golf and four-season recreational community located near Park City, was named Best Golf Course in Utah by Best of State Awards (www.bestofstate.org).

Red Ledges was the only golf course in the state to receive this recognition in 2010 by Best of State Awards. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Red Ledges features 18 holes, each with a stunning view of the Rocky Mountains. Jack Nicklaus, one of the globe’s preeminent designers and the man Golf Inc. Magazine has named “Most Powerful Person in Golf” for five straight years, designed the 7,653-yard course to incorporate and accentuate the existing landscape.

“Red Ledges should be proud of yet another significant recognition in their first year, and we continue to be proud of our association with them,” said Jack Nicklaus. “Utah has such a growing reputation as a four-season destination, with golf as one of the strong attractions. Because of that, the state has a wonderful collection of golf courses. For Red Ledges to be recognized and honored among all of them says a lot about the quality of the project and product.”

“We are honored to receive this recognition from Utah’s premier recognition and awards program,” said Todd Cates, Red Ledges vice president and project manager. “With our second golf season just open, it is very rewarding to be recognized for the work we’ve put into the course and its design. Red Ledges continues to receive the highest marks both locally, from this outstanding organization, and nationally.”

The Best of State awards were created to recognize excellence in our state and community. Red Ledges was the recipient of the Best of State title based on the outstanding course design by Jack Nicklaus and his phenomenal work integrating a mountain golf course with natural red sandstone landscaping. Other judging criteria included the use of innovative approaches and methods as well as a significant contribution to a better quality of life in Utah.

Red Ledges will introduce other world-class amenities down the road, including a Jim McLean Golf School, opening this summer, a nine-hole Nicklaus Design short course and a premier golf clubhouse.

About Red Ledges
Red Ledges is a premier private recreational mountain community in Heber Valley, Utah, which opened its 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in July 2009. Golf Magazine named Red Ledges the No. 1 Best New Private Golf Course in 2009. Red Ledges will encompass approximately 1,200 homes across nearly 2,000 acres, and host such amenities as a Nicklaus Design nine-hole short course; a Jim McLean Golf School; a Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy; a premier spa and fitness facility; an equestrian center with indoor and outdoor facilities; and more. For more information, visit www.redledges.com.

Sand Hollow Links Course - What a Joy!

noreply@blogger.com (GolfShooter) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Usually, I am not big on anything claiming to be "Brittish Inspired", or any golf course that claims it is a "links" course not located on the ocean. That being said, the Links course at Sand Hollow Resort in St. George, Utah has opened my eyes, and is absolutely wonderful to play, I can't wait to play it again and no, its not anywhere remotely near an ocean.

I was honestly not expecting to be impressed with the routing, or the overall design of the "other" course at Sand Hollow, since the championship course has won golf industry magazine awards, and is getting a fair amount of attention in the area as perhaps the best course in Utah. But, the links course may steal the show in my book, its just different, totally refreshing, raw, rugged and a joy to play.

With dirt cart paths, (which I hope they don't change) slightly mowed tee boxes, little to no delineation of fairways, and overgrown scraggly looking bunker blowouts, I was loving the links course from the very first tee. The course continued to pique my interest level, with open playing corridors and greens looking like they are all over the place, and you're not sure which one to fire at, very similar to holes 9 - 12 of the Old Course in Scotland.

Even though the bulk of the course is not perfectly tailored, the greens were superb, rolling at a quick-ish 10.5 stimp or so, and with lots of undulation and interesting mounding in the green complexes. I enjoyed putting on these greens, they were a bit reminicent of again the Old Course putting surfaces, huge and wierd mounding to them.

Now, let chat about bunkers....A golf courses bunkers are like the frosting on a cake, they finish the hole routing, for better or for worse, and I am so sick of oval, round, boring bunkers. The Links course bunkers are the coolest bunkers in all of Utah, and the best use of natural landforms of any course in the area. Sand blowouts, and rugged un-kept bunkers are the way a hazzard should be, if you go in it, its gonna be difficult to get out in one shot. The bunkers on this course are wonderful, and refreshing to see on a modern course.

So, go check it out on www.stgeorgeutahgolf.com, you can book a golf package or tee time for all 27 holes at Sand Hollow Golf Club, you wont be disappointed!

New Courses Take Over Top Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (GolfShooter) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:54:00 +0000

We should feel lucky in Utah that we have had a few new courses open in the past couple years. I think Utah may be home to of only couple dozen new course of openings across the country, too bad we're gonna continue to see a serious slowdown in new courses for a while. Bummer huh!

Sand Hollow in Hurricane has now topped the Golfweek's Best rankings in the Public access courses in Utah, knocking off Thanksgiving Point. After the #1 spot, the top 5 are totally subjective I think, and perhaps even the #1 position is cause for argument? I mean, look at how good some of these courses are; TalonsCove is way cool, South Mountain is stellar, even The Ranches is a strong contender in my book, or how bout' The Hideout in Monticello, don't forget Valley View, or Coral Canyon, and The Gold Course at Soldier Hollow, wow! I guess its just a matter of what one likes in a golf course,....Different strokes for different folks!

On the Private course side, I think a new heavy weight in Victory Ranch is gonna dethrone Glenwild. The only downside to Victory Ranch is you could not walk it, which is big to some purists, but others tend to hate it if you have to walk even two steps from the cart to hit your ball. So, another matter of preference I suppose, but Victory Ranch is wonderful, superb routing, interesting holes, and a finishing stretch of holes that just knocks your socks off.

I guess we'll see what happens on the Private rankings results, but we sure are getting some good new golf courses here in Utah, too bad the economy went to the dumper, there were 4 or 5 more killer courses in the works.

Check out all of the courses above from Utahfairways.com - A Utah Golf Guide.

St. George Utah Golf in Prime Shape!

noreply@blogger.com (GolfShooter) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Its been awesome weather so far! Get your December, January, March tee times booked now!

www.stgeorgeutahgolf.com

The Utah Golfer - Winter is Fully Upon Us

noreply@blogger.com (GolfShooter) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Snow, Cold, Frost....errrr....arggghh. Time to head south to swing the sticks.

These sites should help your quest for green grass and warmer temps!

www.stgeorgeutahgolf.com
www.mesquitegolfcourses.com
www.golflaughlinnevada.com

All of these sites can help you book golf packages and tee times easily with professional help and knowledge of where to play for any budget!