I had quite an enjoyable round yesterday at the Mountain Dell Canyon Course, between Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah in Emigration Canyon. The Canyon course is one of two courses on the property, and the one I prefer.
I had some spectacular shots yesterday. One was a punch 8-iron from under a tree in the right rough on the par-4 9th. The ball ended up 12 inches. Birdie. The next one was a punch 9-iron from 145 (lots of wind), from a severe side-hill lie. That 3rd shot on the par-5 14th astonishingly didn’t go in. It must have lipped out for eagle. The ball was TWO inches behind the hole. Birdie.
I had some other fantastic shots after the round, via my golf aerial photo/video hexacopter drone.
They should get rid of the cart paths…
More aerial golf photos: Mountain Dell Canyon Course and Mountain Dell Lake Course.
At the end of last season my dad and I played the Mountain nine at Hidden Valley Country Club in Sandy, Utah for the last time the 9th hole would be in its old iteration. The club is in the process of putting in a swimming pool and the par-3 hole would have to be moved and altered. It was cool to play the hole the last time it was open.
Today was the debut of the new hole and we were there for that as well, which is kind of neat. The new version is much different. The elevation change is less and the angle different. The green almost seems to slant away from the tee although the shot is slightly uphill. I airmailed the green having kept the old elevation change in my mind, but did manage a solid up and down for par. I’m even on the new version in my career of one time playing it.
There were a couple of other changes to the Mountain nine. The two front-left greenside bunkers on the par-3 4th where changed to one bigger bunker. Photo below.
The bunkers short right of the par-4 5th were changed to one bigger bunker and made visible from the fairway below. Previously the old bunkers were not visible. Photo below:
I’m not necessarily one who believes the player needs to see everything, but aesthetically that change looks “nice.” The new bunker is much flatter and less deep, with hardly any lip. The old ones were very deep and penal. Very tough.
Yesterday we had some extreme weather conditions with massive rain and hail that was bad enough that I had to pull my car over and park under a tree to keep my car from getting dented.
About a five minute drive from where I’m sitting right now is a 27 hole course designed by Johnny Miller called Stonebridge. The bad weather hit them too. A bolt of lightning hit a flagstick at the course, frying the flag and burning a crazy scorched pattern into the putting green. See photos below, courtesy of Stonebridge.
Now think for just a second the next time you consider playing golf when you see lighting. That 5-iron is a lightning rod.
While on vacation hiking and exploring southern Utah’s beautiful red rock country I stopped by with my aerial photo copter and caught a couple of pics of Sunbrook Golf Course in St. George, Utah.
Sunbrook is a great 27-hole municipal course. Each nine has its own unique style, including a nine which goes through lava rock.
For more, click the photo above or the following link to the HOG Sunbrook Golf Club photo gallery.
One of my three (yes I have three) home courses is finally getting an automated irrigation system. Bonneville Golf Club, Utah’s most popular municipal course and one of my top favorites, has been hand watered since it opened in 1929. The course is a bit of a war zone right now. It really does look like this hole pictured below, the par-5 16th, has been hit by some bombs.