Golf Helps Drive Growth In Southern Utah
Harris English was in unfamiliar territory. The 35-year-old PGA Tour pro from Georgia needed to navigate his way around jet-black lava beds flanked by towering cliffs that sculpted the Tom Weiskopf-designed Black Desert Golf Course if he stood any chance of contending at the 2024 Black Desert Championship in Ivins, Utah.
As the PGA Tour's first event in the Beehive State since the 1963 Utah Open in Salt Lake City, the Black Desert Championship was a culmination of the game's growth in Greater Zion, a region of more than 2,400 square miles in Southwest Utah.
Not only did the event create a boom for the local economy, but it showcased the unique topography and geography for golf in the lower part of the state.
"Yeah, it's unlike anything I've ever seen, especially with the black lava rock," English said after the second round. "I haven't played a ton of desert golf ... so I wouldn't say I'm used to this terrain a whole lot.
"... So it's a little different out here when you're seeing a lot of the black rock everywhere. It's a lot of fun. I've had a lot of friends and family text me (about) how cool this course looks on TV. It's a lot of fun to play."
While the majority of golf plaudits and players pay attention to courses in the north around the state capital—even Tiger Woods is planning a new 8,000-yard course in Park City—golf in Southwest Utah has grown exponentially since Dixie Red Hills opened as the region's first course in 1963.
Located on the west spring, a clean and reliable water source not only for the course but the region's first settlers in the late 1800s, Dixie Red Hills is one of four public courses owned and operated by the City of St. George, including Southgate Golf Club, St. George Golf Club and Sunbrook Golf Club.
Bloomington Country Club opened just southwest of the city in 1969 as the region's first private golf club.
More developers and designers soon turned their attention to the region known for Zion National Park , Sand Hollow State Park and Snow Canyon State Park as Greater Zion grew into a golf destination, particularly as adjacent housing developments and other facilities and amenities began to sprout up from the arid desert around these new courses.
Today, Greater Zion features 14 golf courses in a 20-mile radius.
Boasting a population that's quadrupled since 1990 to an estimated 200,000 residents today, Washington County commissioner Gil Almquist credits golf not only for making the county an increasingly popular destination, but enticing another 50,000-60,000 daily visitors to the region.
"It's certainly part of that and in fact, may be the granddaddy of all of them," Almquist said, "as that was our first real venture into sport to bring people here."
An outdoor adventurer's paradise, the "land of endurance" has also welcomed IronMan events and the Huntsman World Senior Games, the largest annual multi-sport senior competition in the world, to the region.
Visitors support the region through a transient room tax and sales tax at local accommodations, restaurants and businesses that gets pumped back into the economy to refurbish and build trails, parks and facilities, and, of course, golf courses.
A $2 billion project, Black Desert Resort is the latest to join the fray. Opened in 2023, the resort will feature a 148-room hotel, a village of condos for golfers and another for families, and a 3,000-foot boardwalk promenade of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Black Desert, which will also host an unnamed LPGA event in 2025, isn't the only course in Greater Zion playing host to professional events as more organizers begin to take notice of the region.
Located in the backyard of Sand Hollow State Park, Copper Rock has hosted the Epson Tour Copper Rock Championship since 2021 as well as the 2024 LPGA Senior Championship.
Whether hosting professionals or amateurs, Greater Zion golf offers an array of topographies and geographic features including red rocks, black lava flows, red hills, canyons, plateaus and waterways.
Known for its unique views including several holes played alongside the edge of cliffs, the championship course at nearby Sand Hollow Resort is ranked No. 6 in Utah and is the region's lone representative in the top-10, according to Golf Digest.
"It's such a great place to come to," said Mike Jurca, director of golf operations for the City of St. George. "It's not just about golf, but golf was kind of the economic driver that made this thing blow up. I think it's going to be great for years to come and it's going to grow on people."
While the inaugural Black Desert Championship signified golf's growth in Greater Zion, it also served as a fitting ending for a local legend.
Jay Don Blake, a 65 year-old from St. George on a sponsor's exemption, played in his last PGA Tour event and the 500th of his career, in his own backyard to much fanfare, including a group of patrons following his every shot wearing "Blake's Birdie" shirts.
"The situation of the scenario of being born and raised in St. George and having the opportunity to get that milestone of 500 PGA Tour starts is a dream kind of story," Blake said. "You can't make it up, can't script it."
