When recently invited to join 12 guys on a golfing trip to St. George, Utah for a long weekend, I jumped at the chance - not having been out of the country since just before COVID.

I needed a change of scenery! And Utah has some amazing scenery.

Note: When organizing vacations it is often helpful to engage a travel concierge service as they can identify issues and opportunities that you might not be aware of.

The Golf

We were able to golf three very different courses; ironically none were in St. George. Two were in Hurricane just outside of St. George and one was in the middle of nowhere in Nevada half-way between St. George and Las Vegas, the latter being where we flew in and out of.

Day 1 was “Sand Hollow” which doesn’t exactly seem like a great name for a golf course as no golfer likes to be in the sand, especially me. However, it was great course to play as it not only has generous fairways, but it features dozens of dramatic red rock formations on many holes. I think I spent as much time holding my camera (phone) as my clubs. And yes, the sand is a deep red making those nasty sand traps stand out even more.

It reminded me of the black sand at The Old Works Golf Corse in Anaconda, Montana, where its sand comes from the tailings of the old coal mine. At Sand Hollow, the sand is more like clay and surprising wasn’t that hard to get out of.

The front nine is played around several major red rock out-croppings, while the back nine is played in hollows next to red rock (sandstone) cliffs. There are some very dramatic shots (both golf and photography) on the back nine. Here are some photos to prove it.

Day 2 was “Copper Rock,” also located in Hurricane and it too is carved into the Utah desert, but it lacks the drama of “Sand Hollow.” Yes, the aerial photos look great on the website, but those aren’t the views you get when playing. None of us were thrilled by the fact you check in then must drive your cart through a few holes to get to the driving range and the 1st tee. Also, there are dozens of homes lining the 9th hole fairway which is a bit scary as I have been known to spray the ball off the tee box and on my approach to the green. Here are a few photos taken from the golfer’s perspective.

The Senior LPGA Championship was held at Copper Rock.

Day 3 was “Coyote Springs” which is literally in the middle of nowhere. We were beginning to wonder if we had taken a wrong turn as we were driving a long time without much evidence of civilization, let alone Jack Nicklaus’ first Las Vegas golf course (it is 45 minutes from Vegas). But once there, you find an oasis with lush grass, large ponds, waterfalls and palm trees surrounded by a desolate greenish grey rocky wasteland.

The modest clubhouse is not unlike what you would find in a small Alberta town golf course. The breakfast menu was limited but the $7USD home-made breakfast sandwiches were delicious and generous. We also liked the price of beer – six cans for $20. Yes, that was US dollars but still a good deal, compared to Utah.

Strangely, the highlight of the golf course is the practice area. I have never seen anything like it - even at Augusta. It is huge, with lots of bunkers, generous grass hitting area, and perfectly manicured! We were all gobsmacked. Here are some photos to prove it.

The golf course “ate us up,” with greens that seemed impossible to putt on with their undulations and tiers. For my golfing buddies at Redwood Meadows, our greens are flat with no undulations compared to Coyote Springs. It is a challenging course to play, but what golfer doesn’t love a challenge! Here are some photos to prove it.

Every hole had a story board next to the tee box.

This is the terrain surrounding the golf course.

The Grub

We had 3 excellent meals in St. George thanks to Darin Oar at “St. George Utah Golf” who set us up with reservations for dinner each night (he also organized the hotel and golf). First up was St. George Corner Restaurant & Pub located in a quaint historical area called Ancestor Square (a collection of heritage buildings that includes several restaurants and cafes). It is a gastropub, so the food is more upscale than your typical pub food and the ambience is animated and inviting with both indoor and outdoor seating divided into private areas for groups of different sizes.

The next night we dined at Cappelletti’s, a downtown family-owned Italian bistro that was loud and fun. It had a fun family vibe. The highlight of my evening was making friends with a young boy (perhaps two years old) a couple of tables away. We had great fun waving at each other and slapping our tables at the same time at various times during the evening. We both left at the same time, so I got to say “hi” to him and his Mom and learn his name is Cougar.

FYI. My pork chop with mashed potatoes and green beans was good too.

It would have been fun to explore St. George’s downtown as it looked like there were several shops and public spaces to flaneur

The final night was dinner at the Cliffside Restaurant which as you might have guessed is on a cliff looking east over the city. It was a very dramatic setting for our last supper. Again, there were many families, with several in formal attire.

The fixed menu offered some great entrees from salmon and trout to steak and chicken. Most of the guys had the steak but I opted for the salmon which was delicious and generous. But the highlight of the night was the carrot cake… though it seemed to take a long time to get, it was worth the wait as I was perhaps the best carrot cake I have ever had. Just the right ratio of cake, cream cheese and caramel sauce.

St. George’s downtown would have been a fun place to flaneur.

The Gab

In every golf trip there is a lot of time for “gabbing” but when you are in Utah, the discussion inevitably turned to the Mormon culture. It was a bit strange to be asked to provide ID every time you ordered a drink and have them scan your driver’s licence. Another idiosyncrasy of the Utah liquor laws is you must buy some food if you wanted a drink. So, at the hotel bar we had to buy a cookie and then we could drink all night if it was all on one bill. FYI: I am not sure if anyone actually ate the cookie.

We often commented on how clean everything was in St. George - you don’t see any litter, areas of disrepair or graffiti which is refreshing.

You also can’t help but notice there is a church steeple every few blocks. At one point, someone looked up the value of the Mormon Church and we were astounded to learn the value of its holdings is estimated to be a whopping $265 billion. A quick check of the value of the Catholic Church showed it is only $73 billion.

Another observation is people seemed to dress-up more than we are used to in Canada. At our hotel there were several dinners on the outdoor patio with women in dresses and men in suits. One afternoon we were in a pub having a pre-dinner beer and wings and six young women arrived in formal dresses at 4 pm.

And of course we gabbed about our other travel adventures, hobbies, kids and grandkids. It was an interesting group with several father/son combos and in one case, a grandfather, son, son-in-law and grandson combo.

One night at dinner I learned about an amazing remote fishing camp in northern Manitoba (near Cranberry Portage) called Northern Spirit Lodge, where the fishing out of this world. This reminded me of my dreams as a young boy to own a cabin cruiser, go fishing all the time and have two big dogs. Today I could have all of these but that isn’t my dream anymore.

Last Word

There is nothing like a golf trip to get you thinking about your life - past, present and future. And of course, how bad your golf game is!

St. George Utah: Golf, Grub, Gab!

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