One of Utah's newest courses combines scenic beauty with a playable layout to give golfers another enjoyable golfing alternative in the busy southern part of the state.
The Sky Mountain Golf Course opened last year and although it took awhile, golfers have begun to discover the pretty layout on the western edge of Hurricane.It's just 15 miles east of St. George, which has become overridden with golfers from October to April in recent years. With a slightly higher elevation, the average temperature in Hurricane is a little lower than St. George, which makes it a great place to play in the winter and not quite as hot - but still hot - as St. George in the summer. To attract summer golfers, the rates drop from $27 to $16 after June 1.
Sky Mountain, which was designed by renowned Arizona architect Jeff Hardin, is owned by the city of Hurricane. It was built in conjunction with a large housing development that will eventually include some 500 home sites.
While Hurricane is a fast-growing community, the golf course couldn't survive on solely on local customers so it relies on advertising to attract golfers from Las Vegas and the Wasatch Front.
It cost between $3 and $4 million to build, which isn't bad in these days of skyrocketing costs for golf courses (the price tag for the Old Mill Golf Course in Salt Lake County is reportedly $12 million).
At just under 6,000 yards from the middle tees, Sky Mountain is very playable, unlike many new courses that purport to be a "championship" layout and then must spend a couple of years scaling back when the average golfer finds it too difficult.
For a course so young, Sky Mountain is in excellent shape with lush green fairways for the most part and smooth greens. It is fairly tight, but with the shorter length, a driver isn't necessary on many holes.
Some of the best holes are found on the back nine. One of the three small lakes on the course comes into play at the par-4 11th and par-3 12th. The 14th is one of the only doglegs on the entire course and has a couple of fairway bunkers in prime landing area.
The final three holes may be the finest on the course. The par-3 16 features a beautiful backdrop of the redrock canyon, while the par-4 17th and par-5 18th hug the edge of the gorge, which drops off drastically just off the right side of the fairways. Head pro Curtis Peterson calls the 441-yard 18th "theprettiest hole I've played."
One hole in need of some work is No. 10, which has houses too close on the right side, posing a hazard to slicers, particularly from the back tees.
The front side has the holes with the best views. The 5th and the 9th both offer dazzling views off elevated tees of the redrock gorge to the north with the Pine Valley Mountains serving as a backdrop.
Hurricane has several motels, including a Comfort Inn adjacent to the golf course.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Sky Mountain: GOLF COURSE
HOLE PAR YARDS*
1 4 339
2 3 144
3 4 283
4 4 354
5 4 374
6 5 455
7 4 396
8 3 176
9 5 497
OUT 36 3,010
HOLE PAR YARDS*
10 5 421
11 4 351
12 3 168
13 4 339
14 4 376
15 4 301
16 3 169
17 4 355
18 5 441
IN 36 2,921
TOTAL 5,939
* Middle tees
LOCATION: 1030 N. 2600 West, Hurricane
HEAD PROFESSIONAL: Curtis Peterson
DESIGNER, YEAR OPENED: Jeff Hardin, 1995
COST: $27 ($16 after June 1), carts $9, range $2, $4
RESERVATIONS: 635-7888, Mon. for following Mon. -Sun.
EASIEST TIME TO GET ON: Mon.-Wed., mornings
COURSE RECORD: None established
DIFFICULTY: 3
LAYOUT/SCENERY: 4
ENJOYABILITY: 3
(5=Highest, 0=Lowest)