Black Desert Resort GC set to open this fall

The new Tom Weiskopf-designed Black Desert Resort Golf Course will open this fall in Ivins, Utah, a suburb of St. George. Set amid ancient black lava fields, the 18-hole resort/daily-fee facility is currently in the final phase of construction, with grassing underway. 

Troon will manage the golf operations, golf course agronomy, food and beverage, and marketing for the golf facility, the centerpiece of the 600-acre resort community. Tee times for daily-fee guests will begin to be made available by mid-summer.

Weiskopf, the designer or co-designer of more than 70 courses around the world, and architect Phil Smith have designed the par-72 Black Desert Resort Golf Course with playability in mind, with most fairways 70 to 100 yards wide. The property’s distinct black lava rock, called basalt, originated as lava that intermittently flowed from small local volcanoes between 20,000 and 2.3 million years ago. No stranger to working in an ancient lava landscape, Weiskopf also designed the award-winning Ke‘olu Golf Course at Hualalai Resort on the island of Hawaii, which is set in the dramatic lava fields of Ka’upulehu.

“Black Desert Resort is located at the convergence of three unique landscapes — jet-black lava beds, towering red rock cliffs of Zion National Park and Utah’s beautiful Mohave Desert,” Reef Capital CEO Jared Lucero said. “The emerald fairways and greens laced among the lava fields are set against the red rock backdrop, making for an awe-inspiring golf setting.”

In true Weiskopf-style, Black Desert will feature two drivable par 4 holes (the 5th hole and 14th holes) bringing both strategy and the risk/reward element into play. 

“This 19-hole course at Black Desert is a rewarding course,” Weiskopf said. “Truly a spectacular place with many photographs taken. Great backdrops with the red mountains that remind me of Sedona (Arizona).”

In addition to the 18-hole, Weiskopf-designed golf course, guests of Black Desert will enjoy a 36-hole illuminated putting course for play day or night.

Top-rated courses designed by Weiskopf include Double Eagle Golf Club in Galena, Ohio, the original Forest Dunes Golf Course in Roscommon, Mich., Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland, and both Troon North Golf Club and Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.