Hooked On Golf Blog

I’d better bust out my thesaurus now because I can tell I’m going to run out of words to describe how amazing Sand Hollow Golf Course is…

Above: Sand Hollow’s 13th hole

My review queue is fairly long.  I’ve got course reviews on my list from a year or more ago, and products can be months.  I’m shoving all of those items down one slot and I’ve put my Sand Hollow Golf Course review at the top of the list.  It is been 31 hours and six minutes since I walked of the 18th hole at Sand Hollow, making a par after missing about a five foot uphill birdie putt.  Missing birdie putts, though a common occurrence during my round yesterday, didn’t matter. In fact, if I would have made a double bogey on every hole I wouldn’t care.

Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite thing in the world to do is golf, and a close 2nd place is exploring the red rock country of southern Utah.  I can hike for miles in the desert red rock.  I’m like a little kid, discovering new adventures and letting nature’s wonder inspire and humble me.  Sand Hollow humbled me.  Like the Willey Nelson line, Sand Hollow is always on my mind.

Overview

Sand Hollow is a 27 hole golf course located just outside of Hurricane (pronounced Hurricun by the locals) Utah.  The first 18 are the primary golf course, while the 3rd set of nine is called the “Links Course.”  I’m reviewing the first 18.  I attempted to play the Links Course, but was rained out before I could tee off.  Trust me.  I’ll be back soon to get in another round and experience that 3rd nine, even if I have to start walking the 300 miles from my house now.

Design

Sand Hollow was designed by John Fought and Andy Staples.  These are the two newest members of my favorite golf course designers list.  There are now a total of four on the list, the other two being Baxter Spann (Black Mesa in New Mexico) and my all time favorite Tom Doak.

John and Andy probably had a relatively easy design job really.  They didn’t move much earth.  They let the sandy terrain of the area dictate the rolling hills of the fairways and undulations of the putting greens.  In true links style, Sand Hollow has hard fairways with many humps and bumps.  Flat lies are uncommon.  The player must stay focused on all shots or the small variations in terrain will cause errant shots or produce errant and unexpected bounces.

Sand Hollow is a tale of two nines, or perhaps a tale of the first eight and last ten holes.  The first eight holes are very linksey (I just invented that word).  The links holes wind through the red sand dunes, defined by the areas of uncut sagebrush and spires of red rock.

Starting with hole #9, elevation changes become much more dramatic, crescendoing with the incredible trio of holes, the 12th, 13th and 14th.  More on those later.  And stick around will you?  These holes are unbelievable.

Practice Facility

Sand Hollow has a large driving range and short game areas for fine tuning your game.  I hit a few balls and practiced putting before my round.  Right next to one practice green is a great red rock mountain.  I love it.

Tees

Like many links courses, the tees at Sand Hollow are not unnatural or constructed by moving a ton of dirt.  Many of the tees on the links holes are very unassuming and find themselves fitting in with the surroundings.  Views from the tees show green landing areas over and enclosed by sand dunes and sage.  Looking out over the course is fascinating; rolling hills, contrasting green grass, red rock, gray sage and red sand.

On the more “desert plateau” style holes, the tees are in some very cool places.  Some are elevated, up on cliffsides while others are down below the holes, requiring more club.  Just wait until you see the tees on the signature par-3 15th hole.  Amazing.

Fairways

The fairways at Sand Hollow are fairly wide, though some may not look that wide from the tee because you may not be able to see them in their entirety.  Size alone doesn’t mean you can hit any part of the fairways and be in a good position, or even in play for that matter.  Hitting the wrong side of a fairway at Sand Hollow can mean a bad position for the next shot or even worse, a lost ball in the desert sage.

Above: Sand Hollow’s 10th hole

With all of the mounds and slants of the fairway, bounces are “interesting” to say the least.  Some good shots can catch penalizing bounces, while some bad shots may bounce into better than expected positions.  The mounds of the fairways can produce very interesting lies as well.  Top level concentration is required to hit the correct shot type from the many different stances.  For instance, I had many shots which called for a fade to the green, but the lie was influencing a draw.

Bunkering

The bunkering at Sand Hollow is amazing, stunning, dramatic.  A great item of note on the bunkers, is that basically all they are is holes in the ground.  No sand was brought in.  The sand in the bunkers is the native red rock sand.  I have a bottle of it at home above my mantle.  This sand is so fine and consistent.  When I found a bunker I was able to read a carbon copy of the dimple pattern of my golf ball within the trails the ball left in the sand.

Greens

The greens at Sand Hollow are very large with many distinct quadrants.  Subtle and not-so-subtle mounding and tiers make putting a difficult but fun challenge.  Creativity around the greens is required to score. The greens are firm and fast, requiring control on approaches and chips.

On the par-5 17th hole I was short-sided left in two shots.  I was about 15 feet off the green, and the pin was on the other side of a large hump about another 15 feet.  In order for me to get the ball close I had to play a bump-and-run shot up the fringe and die it at the top of the hump, letting it feed down and left to the hole.  I had to play a British Open style shot.  This particular shot I executed with an 8-iron and a putting stroke to perfection.  My one foot birdie was the only birdie putt I’d make all day, though I had many opportunities within 10 feet.  I told my playing partner after that putt, “I’ve found my range: One foot.”

Signature Stretch

There are several holes which could be “signature holes” at Sand Hollow.  But the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th holes are a stretch of golf holes like no other I’ve ever seen or played.  In fact, nothing I’ve experienced to this point on a golf course really can compare to the stunning views and awe inspiring scenery of these holes.

I got my first glimpse of #12 from the 11th green.  11 is a very cool par-3 with a huge drop off to the right of the green, protected by a massive and deep bunker.  I was in that bunker and short sided.  The hillside where the green lay was so slanted, I blasted my bunker shot out, far past the pin and off the green up the hill, watching it roll back to the pin to about five feet.  Unfortunately my putting woes continued and I carded a bogey.

But while on #11 I caught a glimpse of what is now one of the most visually amazing golf holes I’ve ever seen.  Hundreds of feet below, down the cliffside, was a golf hole.  It was so strange to see just a sliver of the hole, so many hundreds of feet down and away, that it didn’t even look real.

As I got closer to #12 (below)I was awestruck. Elevated tees on a red rock cliffside to a fairway with a cliff rising to the right and another cliff dropping off hundreds of feet left.  The hole is very steeply uphill as well, with an elevated green guarded by many big bunkers.  The green was at the top of this small cliffside canyon.

Above, I’m teeing off on the par-4 12th.  Left of the fairway is a cliff which drops 100’s of feet.

My drive was in the left rough, three feet from dropping hundreds of feet into the desert abyss.  My heels were almost on the edge of the cliff as I thrashed my 17 degree hybrid.  I was over 200 yards out and severely uphill.  I caught a great bounce, then the ball rolled up onto the green about five feet above the hole.

I was actually shaking over this putt, like I was putting to win my first green jacket or something.  I wanted to birdie this hole bad.  Somehow my downhill putt came up about one inch short, or I would have birdied one of the most visually stunning and difficult holes I’d ever played.  Still, a one inch par putt is a no-brainer.

#13 (first image) is a great risk/reward hole.  320 from the tips.  When we played it, the yardage I lasered from the tee we were on was 287.  We all took out driver and went for it.  I ended up in the bunker short of the green, and was saved from going in the right greenside bunker by the rake.  My running chip was too hard and I couldn’t make the recovery putt.  The view of this hole from the next tee, off a small cliff, is stunning as you can see:

#15 (pictured below) is Sand Hollow’s signature hole, though 11, 12, 13 could qualify for such status as well.  This par-3 has more sets of tees than I can count, and they’re all at different angles and elevations.  The shots to this beautifully framed green can vary greatly.  One set of tees which is down below where I played from, is framed by two red rock spires on each side of the tee.

Above: I’m about to knock an 8-iron to three feet!

I knocked an 8-iron to about three feet on this beautiful hole, and once again couldn’t convert the bird.  But by that point I was so humbled and in such awe of this golf course that I didn’t even care about my score.

Sand Hollow Images

Unfortunately the day was overcast with occasional rain when I played Sand Hollow.  Even in unfavorable lighting conditions I shot over 150 photos, all of which are posted in my Sand Hollow Image Gallery.  I plan on heading back down for the 3.5 hour drive when the weather is right, and spending some time on the course not only with my golf cubs, but with my Nikon.

Conclusion

I’m still in awe of this incredible golf course.  I’m already looking at my calendar, trying to find a date I can go back and play the course for 2-3 straight days.  Sand Hollow golf course is tough, but not unfair.  The course allows for ball striking and short game creativity with the rolling hills and links style play.  I was quite satisfied that I managed my way around the whole thing with one golf ball.

The scenery at Sand Hollow is 2nd to none.  When you play this course, and you WILL, let me know and I’ll meet you there.  And bring your camera.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf, Golf Courses, Golf Reviews Golf Utah, Sand Hollow

I’ve been saving this one, my review of TPC Sawgrass, until the right time.  Obviously the week of THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP is a great time to post it.  This piece could shape up to be the longest one I’ve ever written and for good reason.  There’s a lot to tell.

I was at the PGA Show Friday doing my thing, interviewing people and checking out all the gear.  I was talking to Fuzzy Zoeller when my phone rang.  Obviously when you are talking to Fuzzy Zoeller, whoever is calling can go to voicemail.  When I checked the message it was my buddy Eddie from Black Mesa in New Mexico.  His message, “Hey Tony we’re here at the show.  Come over and visit us at the food court.  We’re playing TPC Sawgrass tomorrow and we have an open spot.  Did you bring your clubs?”

I had goose bumps.  One second I was planning on a busy Saturday at the show, complete with interviews of Ian Poulter and Erica Blasberg.  The next second I knew I was going to be blowing off Ian and Erica and playing one of those “must play” courses of a lifetime.

The TPC isn’t exactly close to Orlando.  It was about a 2.5 hour drive.  To get there in time to warm up we left at 5 a.m.  Needless to say, after hanging out having some adult beverages and stogeys with my two buddies from Boggy golf until the wee hours, I was tired.  So was Tom Velarde, head pro from Black Mesa.  He almost fell asleep at the wheel.  Imagine the story:  “Four golfers die in car crash on the way to play TPC Sawgrass.”  Fortunately we made it.

The space, and plenty of it

The first thing you notice about TPC Sawgrass is how big and spacious everything is.  The area is huge, at 417 acres.  That’s mor than double what many average courses occupy.

Amenities

I’m going to hit my coverage of the  TPC in the order of appearance for me.  The amenities were first.  That would be the clubhouse, pro shop, locker room, cafe etc.

The clubhouse is impressive.  It is big.  77,000 square feet big and nicely appointed.  It could easily handle a large event like say, a really big PGA Tour tournament… They ought to try that sometime.  The locker room is nice and spacious and it is cool to see the lockers of famous players there.  I wonder if Tiger Woods changed shoes in that same chair I sat in?

The pro shop is very big and has tons of TPC gear in it.  It was looking like rain, so I bought a waterproof bucket hat with a TPC logo on it.  Naturally it never rained, but had I not bought the hat it would have rained all day.

I can’t attest to the dining or food at the TPC since I didn’t eat there.  I did peek in to the “Nineteen” bar and “Champions” restaurant.  They looked very nice and I understand the restaurant has won some awards for fine cuisine.

Practice

If you want to score well at the TPC, you’ll need to hit the range.  When we got to the range it was freezing, almost literally.  There was talk of a frost delay and we were very cold while hitting range balls.  I almost laughed when they said “frost delay.”  When I was playing the TPC there was two feet of snow on the ground at my home course.  That’s a frost delay.  A six month frost delay.

The range is big and spacious.  That’s were I met my caddy too.  He was already working, cleaning clubs and helping out while we were hitting balls.  All my drivers went to the right on the range.  Call that winter rust, being tired and being so cold that my back was tight as a drum.

The practice area has everything you’ll ever need from a great range and practice green, to practice bunkers.

One thing the TPC here has which you never see another course do, is put the practice facility and it’s yardages in the course’s yardage book.  Nice touch.

First tee

I was playing with Eddie, principal at Black Mesa, his head pro Tom Velarde and Tom’s assistant pro.  Tough crowd.  All of these guys can play.  Tom’s and Eddie’s tee shots went in the trees left.  There are trees on this course and a lot of them.  And they’re big.  Tom and Eddie hit mulligans and ended up in the fairway.

My tee shot leaked right, just like on the range.  I caught the back end of the water hazard on the right.  They never show the 1st hole at the TPC on TV, but there’s water and I found it.  Brand new ProV1 in the drink on the first shot.  I however, did NOT hit a mulligan.  I just don’t do mulligans.  I wanted my golf experience at the TPC to be as pure as possible, even if that meant a higher score.  I really wanted to know what I’d shoot there.  Unfortunately my winter rust and the cold would combine to produce a really mediocre number, 88.  But that 88 has a story to tell.

Caddy

(Continuing my nuggets in order of appearance)  The caddy worked hard and was great at handling the yardages for our group.  He told us the right shot and helped us all out with managing the course.

Before we putted the caddy told us, “unless I tell you, these greens don’t break.” He was pretty much right.  I had the greens read pretty well and he knew it.  He told me he’d only give me reads if I asked because he could tell I had the vision for them.  I did ask him for help a couple of times and his reads were dead on.  That is a good caddy, knowing when to not give you information.

The caddy has a story to tell

One thing the caddies are supposed to do at the TPC is “story telling.”  There are many stories of great shots at the TPC, from the Tiger Woods “better than most” bomb of a putt he made on #17 to the two Hal Sutton hole-outs for eagle on #4, to the amazing shot Davis Love III hit on #16 from the trees in his rain suit.

It was cool when the caddy said “you’re standing right where Hal Sutton holed out for eagle, twice” and “there’s where Steve Elkington hit his approach shot from to be the only winner to ever win THE PLAYERS by birdieing the 18th, even to this day.”

TPC Design

Pete Dye is one of the most famous golf course designers in golf history.  He’s designed many great courses from Crooked Stick to Whisling Straights.  I’ve played a few Dye courses including Desert Pines, LV Paiute, Carmel Valley Ranch and The Ledges (Dye’s nephew).

The routing of the TPC is tremendous.   The course covers the 417 acre spread well.  Almost all the time the hole you are playing feels like the only hole within a quarter of a mile.  The space between fairways is big.

There’s a definitey personality or vibe to the holes at the TPC.  They are all precisely shaped and formed by Mr. Dye.  The fairways and hazards are all shaped with the doglegs.  Most every par-4 and par-5 has a set of key elements, fairway, waste bunker/sand trap, water, which are all shaped parallel to the shape of the hole.  The water and sand hazards are very long and big.  And we can’t forget that every water hazard must have that trademark Dye/TPC railroad tie retaining wall.

One interesting twist to the long bunkers was the fact that they double as a cart path on several holes.  You drive the golf cart right down the middle of the trap!

Playing the course.  Would I melt down on the 17th like thousands of others before me?

I hadn’t picked up a golf club in nearly eight weeks and my first round back is the freakin’ TPC Sawgrass?  That’s the ultimate in pleasure and pain!  If I miss four days I lose about 50% of my very limited game.  Going eight weeks is almost like starting over.

Above: Teeing off on #10

I struggled on the front nine since I was super rusty and since it was very cold.  If I mishit a shot my hands would go numb for 5-10 minutes.  The temps came up a bit on the back nine and my swing improved with the temp.  I started to feel pretty good about my ball striking on the 10th tee.

As the temps increased my level of play increased.  I started parring holes and hitting solid shots.  By the par-4 14th hole I was feeling it.  #14 in THE PLAYERS is the 2nd hardest hole on the course and the longest par four of the TPC at 481 yards.  I knocked my 7-iron approach to TWO feet.  My first birdie of 2009 was on the 14th hole at the TPC Sawgrass.

My confidence was really riding high when I got to famous 16th hole.  16 is the par-5 that Davis Love III hit the incredible 2nd shot out of the trees, en route to his TPC victory.  My caddy said, “the best tee shot is to aim at the trees on the right and hit a draw.”  Is it that easy?  That’s exactly what I did!  Unfortunately for me, that was the last instruction I’d be able to follow from my caddy for the rest of the round.

On the 2nd shot of the 16th I could see the water to the right.  It was the water where the famous 17th island green lay.  My caddy told me to hit toward the trees left, a 7-iron.  That would leave me a perfect sand wedge to the pin which was tucked right, by the water.  I completely gagged my 7-iron, chunking it right on line with the green.  It was pure luck that it didn’t bounce in the water.

As I walked to my 3rd shot on 16, I finally got that view I’d been waiting to see for years.  That would be the view of the 17th green from the 16th fairway, which was to instill fear in me.  How many times have we heard the announcers on TV talk about this being the first chance the players get to see the 17th, which they’ve been thinking about all day.  I couldn’t be that weak could I?  I looked over at the 17th and it looked so far away and small.  I realized I wasn’t thinking bout my 3rd shot on 16, I was thinking about 17.

My 3rd shot on 16 was worse than the 2nd.  I bladed my 8-iron over the green.  The caddy said “that may be in the hazard.”  I questioned, “there’s a hazard behind the green?”  Yes there was.  I was lucky.  My blade ended up about three feet from the hazard behind the green.

Somehow I managed to hit one of the best chips ever.  The chip was about 60 feet, but the pin was below a tier which was only 15 feet from the pin.  I had to die that chip just at the top of the tier and let it slowly go down to the hole.  It did!  I knocked that chip to about two feet.  That would be the last good shot of the day.  I gagged on that two foot par putt on 16.  Gagged.  I don’t know if 17 got me or just my LOFT (lack of f&*%ng talent).

Playing the famous 17th island green

The view to the 17th green from the tee is totally unlike I thought it would be.  The shot was about 150 yards.  That is cake right?  But I’ve never seen 150 yards look like 230 yards.  You can’t really see much of the green at all from the tee and it looks so far away.  It is a tiny little patch.

There was a bit of wind in my face and the pin looked to be back.  So I pulled out my 7-iron.  I felt great, until I started my back swing.  When I started my back swing something happened.  I finally “knew” what the TV announcers were talking about with regards to the anxiety and pressure of that shot.  Suddenly I felt like I was swinging a solid lead sledge hammer, with rubber arms.  Tee shot #1 weakly draws left into the water.

Not realizing that I was now swinging a 500 pound sledge hammer with spaghetti noodle arms I casually teed up and hit my 7-iron again.  I compensated for the weak draw this time though.  This time I hit a nice gag fade to the right, missing the green and my 2nd Pro V1 in the drink.  At this point I started to think I couldn’t ever hit the green from the tee.

TPC 17 trivia

They fish out 120,000 balls from the water on #17 every year.  That is an average of three balls per player.  I can only conclude then, that I’m average.  I knocked at third ball in the drink from the tee.  My caddy had already left.

The shot from the drop box was about 100 yards.  Pumped up on adrenaline from gagging three shots into the water already, I flew my 100 yard club over the whole green.  It hit the back of the green and somehow didn’t go in the water.  The ball was between the rough and the trademark railroad ties.  I chose putter, knocked it 10 feet by the hole and two putted for my NINE.  Solid.

Better than most

My buddies had already left the green and were heading to 18 but I took a moment to observe.  I stood right where Tiger Woods hit the famous “better than most” putt.  Let me tell you.  That putt could have been a small wedge shot.   It was freakin’ long with a severe elevation change in the green.  I tried to imagine making that putt, under those circumstances.  All I could do was shake my head and walk off the green in awe.

Playing the 18th

The 18th hole at the TPC is a monster.  The intimidating tee shot of the 17th is history by now and I’m realizing that the 18th is a “big boy hole.”  Tom, the Black Mesa pro, had honors.  He smashed a perfect drive with a bit of a draw on it.  It was an aggressive line.  I literally lost my breath when I saw that impressive drive splash in the water left of the fairway.  I was sure he’d clear the hazard.  Not only did he crush his drive on a great looking line, we weren’t even on the “TPC” tees on that hole.  They were closed.  The TPC tees were a good 20-30 yards farther back.

Naturally Eddie and the assistant pro wet mega-right after watching the Tom’s shot hit the drink left.

When I teed up my shot on 18, I was so humiliated by missing that two foot par putt on 16 and dropping a massive nine on 17, that I didn’t even feel nervous.  I crushed my drive.  I was extremely proud and even my caddy liked it.  My “crushed” drive left me 220 yards to the green, confirming that this really was a big boy hole.

I did my Adam Scott TPC imitation for my 2nd shot, which was near the plaque in the fairway where Steve Elkington birdied from to win the tournament.  He was the only player to EVER do that.  If you don’t know what that meant, I pulled my 2nd shot into the water.  Unlike Adam, I didn’t make a miraculous bogey to win THE PLAYERS.  I limped home with a double.

88*

I can analyze my 88 at the TPC until the cows come home.  I hadn’t played for weeks.  I was cold and stiff.  I was nine over par for the last three holes.   If I par those three I shoot a 78.  If I take that mulligan and count my mulligan par on #1, that 78 becomes a 76.  While I’m enjoying a trip to Fantasy Island I might as well include a hot date with Anna Rawson after the round.  Why set limits?

Despite not playing as good as I would have wanted, I truly enjoyed my TPC experience.  I’m sure everyone has a story to tell after playing there.  My highlights would be my birdie on #14, completing the 17th in honest fashion, and scoring a true round with no mulligans or illegal drops.  I hit some solid shots and shot a score some amateurs would be happy with, on a course which ranks harder than any course I’ve ever seen.

Conclusion

Every golfer has a short list of golf courses to play before he or she dies.  Most lists include playing Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, Augusta National and the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course.  I’m happy I ponied up the $275 plus caddy, to play this amazing course and scratch this one off my list.

Every time someone asks me what playing the TPC is like I can only say one word, BIG.  The course is big.  The fairways are big.  The trees are big.  The layout is big.  The clubhouse is big.  My score was big.  The number of balls I put in the drink on 17 was big.

The TPC is truly like no other course I’ve played.  I really want to take another crack at it.  I’d love to play the course in the summer, when the conditions and temp are better and when my game is better.  I think with a little course knowledge I could break 80 on this course, which rates out at 76.8.

TPC Photo Gallery

I have a photo gallery of well over 100 images, along with the entire 40 page TPC yardage book.  Click here for my TPC Gallery.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf, Golf Courses, Golf Reviews THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC, TPC Sawgrass

Being from Salt Lake City, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics, I have no reason to go somewhere else to ski. I have the greatest snow on Earth and the best resorts 20 minutes from my house. Sorry Tahoe, but I’m calling Utah’s snow better. That being said, I have skied at Heavenly ski resort and at Squaw Valley, both of which provided me a great time.

Give me some summer sunshine and warm temps and I’m all over Tahoe. I’ve camped lakeside several times, and mountain biked the Tahoe resorts in the summer. There’s arguably no more beautiful place than Lake Tahoe in the summer, with the massive pine trees and deep blue water of the lake.

Having been to Tahoe more times than I can remember, there was always a picture in my head as I entered and as I left the south shore. I’ve always lusted at Edgewood Golf Course and wondered why on earth I never played there. I always have the wrong gear in town like tents and mountain bikes. No sticks.

Finally that lust has been satisfied, at least for a very short time.

Edgewood Tahoe Overview

Edgewood is a par 72, tree lined mountain course which tips out at the magical 7445 yards. Why magical? There’s one other course I can think of which has the same yardage: Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament.

wow

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Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Lifestyle, Golf Reviews, Travel

The Lakes course is my 2nd review on courses in the Primm Valley. To read my Desert course review, click here.

About Primm

Primm is a border town between Nevada and California, about 30 minutes South of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Trying to get info online about Primm is confusing because essentially the whole town is in Nevada and the two golf courses (Desert & Lakes) are technically in California.

Primm is where the famous Wiskey Pete’s and Buffalo Bill’s resort casinos are. These are the places you see at the Nevada/California border when driving from L.A. to Vegas.

I stayed in Buffalo Bill’s and even rode on the famous Desperado roller coaster. I rode the Desperado once. With the desert heat and the massive g-forces, I thought my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head and I had a mind splitting headache after…

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Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Lifestyle, Golf Reviews Nevada Golf, Vegas Golf

When I used to think of New Mexico a few things came to mind. I’d think of nuclear testing and Indian reservations. I’d mostly think of Roswell, where the alien ship crashed in 1947. Golf certainly wasn’t on the radar, alien or domestic.

No longer do I think of aliens when I considering New Mexico (barring a certain alien face which I’ll mention later). Now the first thing that comes to mind is Black Mesa Golf Club in the town of La Mesilla, 30 minutes from Santa Fe.

Design

Black Mesa’s architect is Baxter Spann, newest member of my exclusive “favorite golf course architects” list. This is a tough list to get on, since Tom Doak is the only other guy on the list.

I’m a big fan of courses whose designs fit the terrain. I’m not as big a fan of the “Earth mover” designs, who’s engineers seem to ignore the natural contours of the landscape and force their vision with tractors and dump trucks. Black Mesa’s native New Mexico desert terrain is a dream landscape which Baxter Spann brilliantly utilized and complimented. Black Mesa is a visual orgasm from virtually any point on the course, tee-fairway-green.

Not just your average set of tees

Many boring golf courses have one or two teeing areas where they place their multiple tee markers. The only difference between the markers is yardage, not angles or elevation. How many courses have you played with one tee box and three or four sets of tee markers who’s only difference is a few yards? Boring!

Black Mesa’s FIVE tees are far from boring. Each hole has several different tee areas which are not only different distances, they’re completely different angles and elevations. By playing different tees from one round to the next, you could be playing what seems like an entirely different course. Playing different tees makes all the angles to the fairway, or greens on par-3’s, different.

The par-3 fourth hole is a great example (see picture below). The black tee measures out at roughly 205-210 yards and has an elevated attack angle where you can see most of the green. The lower blue tee (or possibly an alternate for the black tee) is a good 40 yards left of 210 tee and is at about 175 yards. That 40 yard left difference is huge, since the angle of attack from there makes the back half of the green blind due to a conical badlands hill in front. A back left pin would be hidden from that angle.

The very cool fourth hole at Black Mesa with it’s conical badlands dome guarding the green.

Most of the holes at Black Mesa have these wonderful tee variations. For instance, the first hole provides a blind shot from the blue and black tees over a badlands hill. You need to use the aiming flag or the signal bunkers to align your shot. Yet if you move up to the front tees, you can see almost all of the fairway.

Fairways

Black Mesa’s fairways aren’t what I’d call tight. The landing areas are fairly wide, or at least they look wide when you’re standing ON them. The fairways don’t look that wide from the tee however. The visual effect of the fairway shaping, combined with the fairway bunkering and adjacent badlands makes them look very slim. There’s a real mental game you can play with yourself on each tee. You can try to decide just how much of the dogleg to cut off, knowing that an errant shot may result in a cactus sandwich or at worst a lost ball.

Bunkers

Black Mesa’s fairway and green-side bunkers are rugged, ragged, rigorous and down-right rude! I’m a big fan of making bunkers actual hazards, like they’re supposed to be. Many golf courses make their bunkers too pristine and pretty. The lies are too sweet. On the PGA Tour these bunkers can actually be easier to play out of than the surrounding rough.

At Black Mesa the native grasses and plants can be found growing right into the rough edges of the bunkers. The grass around the bunkers is longer and more punishing than the rough. The bunkers are not unfair, but they do penalize bad shots which find them and bad shots made in an attempt to vacate them.

Approach

Like the tee areas at Black Mesa, the approaches of the greens present many options for the player. Many different, yet well executed shot selections may result in equally rewarding results. Most of the approaches allow the player to choose to fly it, run it or even putt it onto the green. The hills in and around the greens provide many attack angles for the player to bounce or deflect shots to the correct green location.

Some approach angles force the approach issue into the air via green-side bunkers, grass bunkers, hazards or badland areas. If you hit the wrong part of the fairway your positioning may dictate the type of approach shot you’ll need to hit.

Greens

Remember the aforementioned boring golf courses? They’re also the ones with flat, round greens. You won’t find any of that at Black Mesa. All of the greens at Black Mesa are uniquely shaped and contoured. The fringes and hills around the greens also provide contours and shaping while still being one with the terrain.

Putting on the greens at Black Mesa is a blast. The many humps, bumps and bowls provide a creative putter and short game player with a ton of shot and line options. Some hole locations can be reached by going at several different angles with your putt or chip, and letting the lay of the green and gravity work the ball.

Though the greens at Black Mesa are large and have a myriad of breaks, they’re not unfair. A skilled player could place a shot to the correct section of the green and have a great shot at birdie.

Alien face?

I mentioned an alien face in my introduction. My pal Jay has said, and I’d have to agree, the 16th green is the “alien face” green. Looking at this green from a distance you can really see an alien face. Check the picture above, looking down from the top of the alien’s head. Perhaps this is some sort of alien version of Stonehenge looking up at the sky to signal the next coming of an alien ship to New Mexico?

I stood on the bridge of the alien face nose and dropped golf balls, rotating 3-4 feet. Just a 3-4 foot difference in where a ball started rolling, sent them rolling for dozens of feet in many different directions.

Playing the course

Unfortunately my game was in a bit of a shambles when I played Black Mesa. My normally deadly accurate driving suddenly turned into a deadly hook. Plus, I had a hard time concentrating on hitting decent golf shots because I was so busy admiring the course and the terrain. I shot 120 pictures on the first day alone, during my round!

I found myself in the badlands quite often, but surprisingly I found my ball every time. In fact, I played with the same ball the whole first 18. That would change on day two, when 30-40mph winds kicked up.

I had a blast playing the black tees on my first round and didn’t find the course to be over-the-top long at a little over 7300 yards. Keep in mind that Black Mesa is over 5000 feet above sea level and has dry air. The ball flies. 300 yard drives are not uncommon. I did have to hit a driver on the 238 yard par-3 8th hole though, as a strong wind was shooting right up the canyon.

I loved the amazing views from the elevated tees. Many tees were at the tops of badland hills or mesas and you could see for miles in every direction.

Above: The beautiful 15th hole at Black Mesa

The contours of the fairways and greens presented me with a ton of opportunities for fun shots. If I got careless I’d pay the price by missing the green and having a tough bunker shot or up-and-down from a collection area.

The putting greens at Black Mesa are amazingly fun. With all the contours (like the alien face), a creative putter could have a great time playing breaks and utilizing the hills on and around the putting surface. On a couple of holes I actually putted my approach putt OFF the green, up a hill and back onto the green, leaving myself a tap-in 2nd putt!

I managed a 41/41 round of 82 on this par 72 layout for my tipped-out first round. Normally an 82 for me is pretty bad. But in this case, not knowing the course layout is a huge disadvantage and I was moderately happy. On many shots I had no idea where to go or even where the fairway was unless I drove past the badland hills blocking my view. The more course knowledge here the better.

On the 2nd day, the winds were furious and it was cold. I played the blue tees and was enjoying getting a completely different flavor and look than I’d gotten from the blacks the day before. The 30-40mph cold winds beat me down pretty bad though and I shot about a million. I eventually stopped keeping score and focused on enjoying the layout and the New Mexico surroundings.

I fully intend to make many trips back to Black Mesa to see what I can really shoot if I play my A-game.

Amenities

No snooty attitude. No gaudy, mammoth clubhouse. The clubhouse/proshop is comfortably functional, with nicely stocked Black Mesa apparel and equipment. Some of that apparel now has a new home in my closet. The cafe is a nice A-frame with a comfortable lounge upstairs. The cafe’s food selections are wonderful. I devoured several of them. Many of the items on the menu are good old Southwest family recipies.

The practice facilities at Black Mesa are superb. There’s a full driving range and practice green. Best of all, there’s a short game area with a green and those signature awesome Black Mesa style bunkers.

Staff

My pal and owner Eddie Peck is the coolest. I’ve had the pleasure of playing a bunch of golf with Eddie over the last year. Eddie is a great guy who loves golf and is living the dream (sometimes nightmare) of owning a golf course. He’s passionate about the game, it’s nuances and his golf course.

If simply practicing isn’t enough and you need a lesson or two, Black Mesa’s pro Tom Velarde will take care of you. I played some golf with Tom and he’s a heck of a cool cat. I asked Tom for some pointers but after looking at my “granny over-the-top epileptic seizure on crack reverse pivot” swing, he told me he was thinking of retiring…. Just kidding.

Pat Brockwell is Black Mesa’s superintendent. Pat has a very mellow, calm personality. Don’t let his calm demeanor fool you though. Pat is passionate about his work and about keeping Black Mesa in tip top condition. I befriended Pat quickly and we chatted about the course and golf course maintenance for an extended period of time. Our conversations went from Poanua to skiing. Pat is also a skilled skier and he and I will be hitting the slopes here in Salt Lake.

Black Mesa has more trophies and awards than the people who play there

Standing in the cafe, you can see dozens of awards and magazine articles hanging on the wall. Here are a few:

GOLF Magazine
Top 100 You Can Play at No. 47
Top 100 Best Bang For Your Buck at No. 25
Top Thrifty 50 at No. 11
2003 Top Ten You Can Play

Golfweek
2006 Top 100 Modern (post-1960) Courses at No. 62

Golf Digest
2003 Best New Affordable Public Course

T + L Golf
Four and a Half Stars (out of five)

Celebrated Living
Editor’s Pick: Top U.S. Golf Courses

Perhaps I need to come up with a Hooked On Golf Blog award system so I can get my pals at Black Mesa to put my award in their list… I’ll work on that.

Off the course

I’ve got plans of doing a few more articles on other things to do in the artsy Santa Fe area. I had the pleasure of staying at The Bishop’s Lodge and touring around downtown Santa Fe. I had some great meals at Santa Fe’s Tamasitos mexican restaurant and the Black Mesa Steak House located in the Santa Clara Pueblo’s Big Rock Casino. Stay tuned for more on these later.

Black Mesa Photo Gallery

Check out the over 300 photos of Black Mesa located in the Hooked On Golf Blog Black Mesa Gallery.

Conclusion

Black Mesa is a “must play” course. It’s a wonderful golf experience all around. The course design, routing and scenery are stunning. The course is fair and fun to play, if you can keep from dropping your jaw on every shot due to the amazing design and landscape.

Black Mesa doesn’t kick your butt and send you home humiliated. It kicks your butt and sends you home with a smile on your face.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Lifestyle, Golf Reviews, Golf Videos, Miscellaneous, Travel Baxter Spann, Black Mesa, New Mexico Golf, Tom Doak

This is the first of two reviews I’m doing on the courses in Primm Valley.

About Primm

Primm is a border town between Nevada and California, about 30 minutes South of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Trying to get info online about Primm is confusing because essentially the whole town is in Nevada and the two golf courses (Desert & Lakes) are technically in California.

Primm is where the famous Wiskey Pete’s and Buffalo Bill’s resort casinos are. These are the places you see when driving from L.A. to Vegas.

I stayed in Buffalo Bill’s and even rode on the famous Desperado roller coaster. I rode the Desperado once. With the desert heat and the massive g-forces, I thought my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head and I had a mind splitting headache after…

Primm Valley will soon be changing it’s name. When I have the new name and info I’ll certainly do an update post giving the new details.

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Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf, Golf Courses, Golf Lifestyle, Golf Reviews, Travel Primm Golf

Ah yes! Another course review from my favorite part of U.S.A., Red Rock Country, Utah.

Sky Mountain Golf Course is a municipal course located in Hurricane, Utah. Hurricane is actually pronounced “her-a-cun” by the locals and not like the word is spelled. Hurricane is a salty small town between St. George and Zion National Park. I judge the size of small towns by the number of traffic lights they have. If my memory is correct, Hurricane has four.

The Course

The first thing you notice when you get to the pro shop and look out on the course is the incredible view. There’s a red rock canyon with awesome rock formations in the distance. It looks like a mini Grand Canyon. Most of the holes on the course are prime picture taking opportunities with the plush green grass in the foreground and the red rock in the background. When I played the course I shot over 100 pictures.

#9 Tee. My ball is in the desert on the left somewhere.

At 6312 yards and a par 72, this is not a long course. My home course across the street from my house is 6300 yards and is only a par 70. If you are a bomber and love to hit 300+ yard drives on par 4’s, you may run out of fairway here. Many of the holes not only require a shorter tee shot, but they also require accuracy. I could easily get around this course and shoot a low 70’s round without any woods in the bag, if I could resist the temptation to drive some of the par 4’s. When I played the course I was suffering from a bout of Winter rust and my normally accurate tee game cost me some strokes when I missed the fairway and ended up in the desert. If you can hit a ball off the tee 200+ yards or so with accuracy, you won’t have any problems.

Nice backdrop!

The approach shots for the most part aren’t too tough. There are some nice elevation changes from tee to fairway, and from fairway to green. If you don’t get your yardages right you may find your ball rolling back to your feet on uphill approach shots. If you don’t judge the distance right on your downhill approaches you’ll airmail the green.The greens are nice and smooth and provide an enjoyable putting experience. They’re not really tough to putt at all. If you get your putt started online and at the right speed, you’ll make it. The greens don’t have any crazy tiers or circus like curves like some greens being designed these days.

Amenities

The pro shop and cafe are more than adequate for the course. The staff is friendly and helpful. If you have lunch in the cafe you can look out over a spectacular view of the course and the red rock canyons in the distance.

The range at Sky Mountain has to be the most spectacular range I’ve ever seen. You are hitting balls to a severe downhill slope which then drops off into infinity with amazing red rock formations in the distance. Quite honestly, the range could be the best part of the whole course!

There’s a practice putting green which is nice, but I didn’t see a practice bunker.

Critic’s Corner

Sky Mountain, being a municipal course, is cheaply priced compared to the other courses in the St. George area. As such they don’t have the budget to maintenance the course like resort courses or private clubs do. Some of the cart paths are cracked and falling apart. There are some maintenance areas which are not in the best of conditions.

The crowd at Sky Mountain is a little more of the “denim” type so many of the players aren’t quite hip on the rules or the common courtesy aspects of golf. But they are there to have fun and the course isn’t expensive so I have no problem with that.

Sky Mountain Photo Gallery

I have a TON of photos of Sky Mountain in the Sky Mountain Photo Gallery.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a “resort” type experience with perfectly manicured fairways and paths, cart boys, gourmet food and the like, Sky Mountain may not be for you.

Sky Mountain is an inexpensive course which won’t bring you to your knees and has stunning views. If you like a casual round, not too tough and some spectacular views, this is the course for you.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Reviews

I’m kind of shooting myself in the foot writing up reviews of golf courses from the Southern Utah and Mesquite, Nevada area. Shooting myself in the foot because I’m increasing the awareness (and potentially the costs and crowds) about an area which is truly a golf mecca but not as well known as others.

Welcome to Red Rock Country

Since I haven’t been to the Playboy mansion yet, my favorite area in the entire USA is still “Red Rock Country.” RRC is basically Southern Utah, North Eastern Nevada and Northern Arizona (Grand Canyon area). The terrain is mostly desert with beautiful red rock mountains, plateaus and formations. The area is so beautiful that it’s littered with many state and national parks, including Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Valley Of Fire State Pare and others.

The Ledges is located in the heart of red rock country: St. George, Utah. St. George is a small desert town in South Western Utah, bordering on Arizona. St. George has a neat history, including being the host of many old wild western films with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. St. George’s present status is that of a beautiful small town, warm weather year round and tons of great golf courses.

The Ledges course

Designed by Matthew Dye (nephew of Pete Dye), The Ledges opened just a few months ago. This 7200 yard “championship” course takes advantage of the rugged desert landscape nicely. 7200 yards is not short, but not ridiculously long like some new courses apparently “need” to be in the modern golf era.

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Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Lifestyle, Golf Reviews, Site News

This is the 3rd and final in a set of reviews I’m doing on Jim Engh courses I experienced during my recent trip to Colorado with fellow golf blogger Jay Flemma and others.

What is Pradera?

The Club At Pradera is a private golf club located in Parker, Colorado. Parker is about 45 minutes south of Denver. The terrain is similar to the area I described near Castle Rock with small mountains and hills, but a little more extreme.

The Course

This 18 hole track is what many have called Jim Engh’s “masterpiece” design. The course travels up and down the hills and through the canyons of this area. There are several extreme elevation changes in this par 72, 7183 yard layout. The most extreme is the drop off the black tees on #16 (pic below). 16 is a 632 yard par 5 with a 275 foot drop from the back tee to the fairway. How do I know it’s exactly 275 feet? Because I asked Engh himself during our round there!

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Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Reviews Colorado Golf, Pradera

This is the 2nd of a series of 3 reviews of golf courses designed by my new buddy Jim Engh. I will no doubt be reviewing more than a total of 3 Engh courses in the future but these are ones I evaluated on my recent Colorado trip.

Fossil Trace – The History

What a cool name for a golf course. Fossil Trace, located in Golden Colorado is on some very historic Earth. The name Fossil Trace comes from the great find of fossils found on the course. There are various fossils ranging from 64 million year old Triceratops footprints to palm fronds.

Behind a great rock wall left of the 12th green many of the fossils are on display. Once you are done recording a birdie on #12 like I did, you can go look at some Triceratops foot prints.

Clay Mining

The fossils aren’t the only history lying under the plush fairways of Fossil Trace. Back in the late 1800’s this piece of land was a clay quarry. Many holes have remnants of the old clay mining operation. Several holes have very cool and rustic mining equipment. The first hole (above) has an old mining smelter chimney which Jim Engh liked so much he left it right in the middle of the fairway. The old mining tractors parked near many of the holes add a very unique look and feel to the course.

12 approach, mining equipment, rock spires and fossil wall (left)

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Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Course Reviews, Golf Courses, Golf Reviews