Sand Hollow Championship Course (Hurricane, UT)

#33 Top 100 Public  (Golf Magazine)

#44 Top 100 USA Resort Courses (GolfWeek)

#54 Top 100 USA Public Courses (GolfWeek) 

#1 Best Courses in Utah (Golf Magazine)

 

Even as I’m writing this a few days later, I still can’t believe I took the picture above. What a setting!! The five hole stretch (11-15) on the back nine at Sand Hollow is pure exhilaration. There are simply some places that must be seen to be believed, and this is one of those places! 

(The 447/432/414 opening hole drops downhill to a green that slopes away from the golfer. A drive down the left is gifted a superior view and a funnel to work the ball off the slope and onto the putting surface. Note the giant red rocks next to the clubhouse. From the start, the location grabs your attention.) 

(The 577/556/545 yard par five second brings the red rocks into play as they guard the right side of the green. There’s plenty of short grass to bail out left, especially the long hitter going for it in two.) 

Sand Hollow was designed by John Fought and Andy Staples in 2008. It was constructed in the native red sand of southern Utah and rolls across the topography like a links style course. The fairways are generous with a lot of movement in them while the greens are large with multiple levels. I used the word “levels” instead of the word “tiers” because the change between sections is more cascading and not abrupt. The desert holes play between sagebrush and red sand traps with rock outcroppings in play a few times. (The red sand is firm, almost like it’s wet. You don’t splash greenside shots. The ball rolls out.) 

(This view from behind the fourth green explains exactly what mean when I say levels. Note the little pockets of low areas and higher levels or sections.) 

At most courses, people discuss the front and the back, but here, the conversation is the cliff holes and the desert holes. The desert holes have classic architectural themes to them. There are optimum positions when hitting to specific pin locations. The par five seventh has a punchbowl feature that fronts the green, asking the player to trundle the ball on. The par five seventeenth has Hell’s Half Acre dividing the fairway, demanding you make the carry on your second shot if you want a good chance at birdie. Both nine and eighteen play uphill and have difficult approach shots. It’s solid golf and compliments the cliff holes well where the views and intimidating shots will be the thrust. 

(The 565/535/515 yard par five tenth demands you pick a good line from the tee before tacking your way up the hill. Note the sagebrush outlining both sides of the fairway. It is playable with the question being how far can you advance it?)

(The 190/164/154 yard par three eleventh is a redan where a shot struck to the left will kick to the right and funnel to the hole. A bunker behind the green will catch those who are too aggressive.) 

(Wow!! The 443/432/372 yard par four twelth is as difficult as it is beautiful. Long and uphill, it will take your two best shots to reach this in regulation. Anything left is gone…
…this view looking back shows the splendor of the southern Utah landscape. Note the rock wall. It’s possible to error on that side and hopefully get a fortunate bounce back into play. A bogey is an acceptable score.) 

(Here’s your chance to get that stroke you lost on twelve back. The 320/304/261 yard thirteenth is a driveable par four. A centerline bunker complicates the direct route and forces a decision off the tee. A narrow green awaits your approach shot. Many consider this one of the best short par fours in America.) 

(When Sand Hollow first opened, many were saying the 230/191/158 yard par three fifteenth was comparable to Cypress Point’s famed sixteenth hole. While that is a bit of a reach, there is no denying the pure grandeur of this hole. With multiple tee boxes including one between two rock spires, the fifteenth will long be in your memory after the round.) 

Sand Hollow’s location two hours north of Las Vegas and thirty minutes from Zion National Park makes it a great destination and easy trip with the family or the guys. It’s an unbelievable setting, and deserves to be ranked much higher than #33 on the Top 100 public list. The only drawback is the driving range and clubhouse which are both just average. I give Sand Hollow a 9 (incredible)(worth planning a vacation around).

[I played with a young man from Salt Lake City. He played the yellow tees 6,893 yards and I teed off from the green tees at 6,462 yards. His birdies on both ten and eleven were fantastic. He hit the par five tenth in two shots, leaving himself a fifteen footer for eagle, and then played the Redan perfectly as his ball kicked right and funneled back to within ten feet. The cliff holes were not kind to me and I was +7 for the five holes which included four 3putts. Utah is another new state I golfed in, pushing my total to 31. The cost is $286. It is cheaper in the summer when the desert heats up.]

(Zion National Park is awesome! If you enjoy hiking and/or connecting with nature, then this is a bucket list trip.) 

Riverside Golf Club (Cambridge Springs, PA)

I knew I arrived two weeks too soon when the lady behind the counter only charged me $15 to walk eighteen holes. The course was just coming out of its winter hibernation and the lack of drainage didn’t  allow them to cut their fairways. The greens however looked just fine although they putted slow. Despite the spring thaw, the course had enough interest, especially on the back nine, to warrant my trip. 

Riverside was designed by Englishman Herbert Lagerblade. (Lagerblade was the first competitor to use steel shafted clubs in a US Open) He completed nine holes for the Riverside Hotel in 1915 and returned to add a second nine in 1923. It originally was a par 69 but they stretched a couple holes bumping it up to a par 71. The front nine is the more difficult side, boasting three par threes over 180 yards including the 236 yard sixth. The 427 yard par four fifth and the 436 yard par four ninth are no slouches either.  Things change quickly on the back as the land becomes more rolling with concepts that demand nuance and strategy. The tenth for instance has a wall of sand that covers most of the hill. Even though the green is twenty yards beyond, the giant hazard will throw off your depth perception. The 128 par three eleventh is cool. The tiny target sits by itself with falloffs on every side. Don’t forget to take a peek at the par three thirteenth as you leave eleven tee box.  The green crashes from the back to front and might be the steepest putting surface you’ll ever see! 

(The 351 yard par four tenth is visually striking as the bunker captures your gaze from the tee box. The green does not extend as far as the sand and is actually smaller than the hazard would have you believe.) 

(The 128 yard par three eleventh is a “Short” template with a serious false front. Any shot that fails to hit the green will leave the player scrambling for par. Long is death! This is my favorite hole on the course.) 


(The 193 yard par three thirteenth is the one hole you won’t believe. The green descends from the side of eleven tee. Note the golfer in picture and how the green rises above him!) 

I’m using the Penn-Ohio Golf Trail as a guide to play courses I haven’t seen yet, and Riverside is the first.  I’m actually familiar with the area, and I have played both Culbertson Hills in Edinboro and Venango Valley in Venango, two courses that are close by. Unfortunately I didn’t get to experience it at its best. Courses of this ilk (110 years old) usually have cool architecture, and while the back nine had its moments, most of it was pretty straightforward. Nonetheless, the layout is solid and a fine challenge. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-40 minutes to play). 

[I played the white tees at 6,019 yards. Or at least I think I did. They didn’t have any tee markers out. The course conditions were very soft, and you could hear the water draining towards the creek that snaked through the property. I hit some good shots, but the driver is still giving me issues. There were three par fours I couldn’t reach in two. Ok score for the time of year.]

(While not in use today, this halfway house sits where nine tee and eleven tee meet.)