Lake Powell National Golf Course

This course was absolutely breathtaking. Very challenging, but also very rewarding for great shots. I live in Tucson and this type of course anywhere in Phoenix or Tucson would start at 150+ dollars. The staff was amazing and truthfully there to create a positive environment for you. The golf carts seem brand new and we’re super comfortable and I think for a twosome we got done in about 3 1/2 hours and we were the second teetime in the morning. Top tier course would definitely recommend, I will definitely be back.

Lake Powell National Golf Course

Played April 23, 2006

Spectacular scenery and views! Course was in perfect condition and I had perfect golf weather. The layout among wind swept mountains and breathtaking canyons, hard surfaced cart paths and 5 sets of tees from Black (7,061 yards) to Red (5,012 yards) supports players at every skill level.

Recommendations: Have the pro shop set you up with a person who knows the course. There are some very long drives from one green to the next tee box, and some cart paths are used on more than one hole. Also, there are many holes with blind shots where problem areas are out of sight.

And while you are in Page, AZ enjoy the multiple hotels and motels, restaurants, e.g. Bonkers and hiking, tours, Hoover Dam and Lake Powell.

Course has lots of variety, beautiful views, and is quite challenging on some holes. Tough for first time players as some blind shots, and desert hazards that you find unexpectedly. Overall was a good experience, course was in decent condition, and would play again.

The staff at the course is friendly and accommodating. This is one reason I keep coming back to play from New Mexico. The course is in great condition. The value is unmatched. There has been some improvements since I played here last and I’m impressed.

Great layout with beautiful views. Awesome course for the money. I really enjoyed it.

Our first time to Lake Powell and to this course. Amazingly beautiful and well maintained. You'd be hard pressed to find another course like it. Challenging and fun with amazing staff too. A little backed up for the first nine and that always messes with your game, but it staggered out after the 9th hole. Beautiful clubhouse as well. Make sure you give yourself enough time to enjoy that too. If we are ever back this way we will definitely be visiting Lake Powell National Golf Course again.

This course is tough! Great views with some greens on the edge of cliffs. Must play if you are in the area. Rack rate of $79 is a steal.

As beautiful views as any course I’ve played in the US including CA, AZ, CO, MN, HI. Elevation changes are challenging and occasionally present blind shots. Would recommend the course mark target zones high poles or flags or develop a guide that says aim for this prominent feature (there are many😀). The views from the balcony of the clubhouse make lunch or a beverage worthwhile even if you are not a golfer.

The view was spectacular and course was in great shape.

The only golf course in Page and it’s worth playing. Course is beautifull and in great Shape. They also have a fantastic driving range. Also great views

Just go over there that greens were great, very unique setting and visually one of the best courses I’ve ever been on

Great experience all around. This course is amazing. It’s a must play if you’re in the area. The scenery is spectacular.

High above the rust-red canyons of Page lies a golf course carved by both elevation and an architect’s imagination. Here, the sight of shadows painted on cliffs by the sun, or vistas stretching into the faraway mountains may well distract one from playing golf. But this is no mere diversion in the desert: Lake Powell National Golf Course tests not only driving power, but also nerve, finesse, and careful play.

The course’s character is defined by varied green complexes, strategic hazard placement, and, above all, elevation changes that appear to follow the ground’s natural contours. These shifts in terrain create a careful balance of uphill and downhill approaches; greens perched atop hillocks proved just as tricky to club as those sitting at the end of a downhill slope. On many holes, trees make cameo appearances, while the desert, which waits hungrily beyond the fairways and their rough, poses the headline threat. Bunkers, by contrast, are more deliberate actors: their placement is cunning, often pulling the eye—and the ball—away from ideal lines. Around the greens, bold mounding is common, and several complexes feature dramatic falloffs. The putting surfaces are generously sized, some splitting into two or even three tiers. Their shapes run the gamut—heart-shaped, hourglass, you name it—never simple, few symmetrical. Some tilt enough to invite three-putting. Wide enough to allow strategic driving, these fairways rumble along with subtle and sometimes bolder undulations under their lush surfaces. Often, then, driving the ball will have an air of unpredictability.

Although they are of moderate width, the front nine fairways have enough slope to emphasize straight hitting. By contrast, the back is somewhat more open and adds intriguing risk/reward opportunities. Short par-4s such as seventeen and possibly sixteen are reachable, for example, by big hitters. Ten, the shortest par-5, is short and reachable in two, yet protection from its numerous greenside hazards may give you pause. The twelfth, too, is short enough to allow risk-takers to cut its dogleg.

The course’s architect, Bill Phillips, who designed Lake Powell National in 1995, routed it up and down a mesa (with upper and lower levels) where the lesser slopes are quite scenic as well. His apparent approach was effective: Find every green site that could add challenge, but also build many tees that allowed for a look down–to whatever the degree–on the fairways or greens. This, along with the rough terrain, partly explains the long cart drives from greens to tees. Phillips also added the necessary triangulation among the holes and ‘hole clusters’ since Page can often be a windy place.

Golf Holes of Interest:

The par-5 tenth starts from a high tee and plays downhill to a well-protected fairway. Near the green, sandstone cliffs threaten on the left. Sixteen, a brilliant par-4, begins with a drive to a landing zone backed by a large cross-hazard—a gully—after which the fairway climbs the rise to a small green. Then there is the short but treacherous par-4 seventeenth, where the fairway curls around a pond that essentially fronts the whole of this green, and a gaping bunker sits in front. Even when played conservatively, the seventeenth is a great hole, as it requires a carefully placed drive and accurate pitch. On the other hand, long hitters who successfully drive this green should, if they have a sense of theater, take a bow.

Then there is the brutally tough, 641-yard eighth, which starts off letting you swing with some abandon off the tee. Yet it’s still an ogre of a par-5: the rest of this long, grueling test is about accuracy. On the second shot, you’ll need to carry a wash.

Still, not every hole is ideal: the par-5 fourteenth, for example, seems a bit dull–though its challenge suffices.

Best hole: 7th, par-4, 458 yards:

Seven, the #3 index, plays downhill to an offset fairway from the tee. Hazards? A pond sits on the left side of the landing zone, an imposing sandstone mountain right. Around the green are mounding in the back, the pond (again), and a big bunker to the front/right.

Most interesting hole: 6th, par-3,191:

Given its thirteen-story drop from the tee, the sixth lives up to its signature status. Still, this is one of the “easier” holes: clubbing it is the hard part. But it is watching a tee shot plummet toward the green that tingles the spine.

Aesthetically, this is a singular layout. Starting at the clubhouse (at elevation 4,150) and the very first green, the views seem peerless, but by the third green through the sixth they are almost otherworldly. The vistas are panoramic on this Upper Mesa. Among them, visible in the foreground below, are rugged cliffs tumbling down to the emerald fairways of the golf course, which sit a few miles southeast of the Glen Canyon Dam. There, the Colorado River has cut deep into the red rock and left a dark chasm that contrasts to the vermilion sands around it. Beyond the dam Lake Powell twinkles, slate blue in the midday sun. Look southwest, as well, and the Vermilion Cliffs will be visible; the Kaiparowits Plateau is to the north and northwest.

Conditions:

Overall they were good, but flaws included slow greens (which still rolled accurately) and some patchy spots on a few front-side fairways. In the one bunker I found, the sand was overly compacted. Other than that, the tees, fairways and greenside areas proved excellent.

Playing Experience/Other:

Met up with Andy (a coincidental but fortuitous pairing) who plays here often and reveres this course. He graciously offered thoughts and strategies on every hole and we enjoyed great conversation throughout–an outstanding playing partner. In the pro shop, service was excellent, friendly, and accommodating from the Course Manager, I believe.

Some Conclusions:

One can’t argue with the benefits of playing a course that offers design quality, strategy, challenge, and a continually dramatic visual spectacle. Playing it today, whether grinding through its front nine or considering risk/reward options on back side holes, the layout kept me thinking, almost at all times engrossed in the task at hand.

We were treated like royalty from the minute we arrived. The facility is amazing, the staff is helpful and friendly. One of the nicest covered ranges, and the views are spectacular. This is a "can't miss" if you are vacationing at Lake Powell. Highly recommend!

As a first timer we found the course amazing. The views are incredible! Unfortunately there were multiple times that we didn’t know where the green was. Even with the gps on the cart it was hard to tell. Score card didn’t really help either.