Reviewing the new Black Desert Golf Course in Greater Zion, Utah

IVINS, Utah - Rare is the golf course that can equally deliver a beautiful landscape, a fun playing experience for amateurs and a design good enough to test the best players in the world.

Black Desert is indeed that rare golf course. Black Desert, a Tom Weiskopf creation that debuted in May 2023, is the type of bucket-list course that can elevate a good regional golf destination into a must-play national one. Even though it's surrounded by two of the most Instagram-worthy golf courses in the world - Sand Hollow in nearby Hurricane and Wolf Creek in Mesquite, Nev. - Black Desert still elicits a wow factor as good as either one. Although its relatively flat site is much less dramatic, Black Desert delivers a colorful golf rainbow - the black of the lava rock juxtaposed against the blue water and sky, the white sand bunkers, the green grass and the awe-inspiring red rock backdrop of the Greater Zion region in southwest Utah.

These views will be showcased on TV when Black Desert hosts the PGA TOUR in October 2024 and the LPGA Tour in May 2025 - the state's first tour events in more than 60 years. The 7,400-yard, 19-hole course is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Weiskopf, a major champion who passed away in 2022. Black Desert could eventually prove to be his finest design.

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Black Desert will eventually be the largest golf resort in Utah. The resort component is scheduled to open next fall and eventually include 3,000 rooms; a water park with lazy river, rapids, wave pool and surfing simulators; a 15,000-square-foot spa and wellness center; more than 20 places to eat, including a pedestrian-only boardwalk full of restaurants and shopping; a convention center and meeting facilities; an indoor/outdoor concert and sports venue; 6 miles of hiking trails (foot only) open to the public; a nature center; and a beach with sand volleyball, tiki huts and paddleboards. Real estate opportunities are also a part of the 600-acre development.

Many of the golf amenities were still under construction during my visit in September, but they will be impressive. Golfers will check into a 25,000-square-foot pro shop home to the “20th Hole” sports bar. A nearly two-acre, 36-hole putting green highlights the massive short game facility, driving range and chipping green, where music plays throughout to keep the energy up. On the course, players will have access to two comfort stations, where they can load up on food, snacks and drinks (excluding alcohol) included in the $250 green fees.

The course itself is classic Weiskopf, a thoughtful, compelling routing where a pair of short par 4s ("drivable" isn't quite the appropriate term) require measured aggression. The 320-yard 5th hole finishes at an elevated green protected by a bunker, swales and rock. The green of the 326-yard 14th hole sits in a bowl hidden behind a wall of lava rock on three sides. Layups on either hole can lead to chances at birdie and (hopefully) easy pars. The temptation of a heroic swing, however, might be too tough to overcome for many players.

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Weiskopf, and fellow architect Phil Smith, play tricks with golfers in other ways, putting a bunker in the middle of the third green (a 196-yard par 3) and sprinkling in enough water (holes 6, 11, 13) to enhance shot-making demands. The par-5 7th winds through a compelling maze of black-rock formations. The 151-yard 17th is Weiskopf's "spin-off" of the famous Postage Stamp par 3 (no. 8) at Royal Troon, where he won The Open Championship in 1973.

Part of the charm of the whole round is the cart ride weaving through the black rock. Turning every corner reveals another beautiful golf hole, which triggers the GPS to start a flyover of the hole narrated by Weiskopf. It's this attention to detail that make Black Desert one of golf's most inspiring new courses.

Enjoy our photo tour below.