As a world record holder and a golfer that has seen more golf courses in America than just about everyone, the ordinary destinations don’t move the needle much for me. However, there are several destinations in America that I excitedly return to again and again. The Greater Zion area is one of those special locations. This time I visited with my friends from Breaking Par and the results were spectacular. We got a look at a handful of Greater Zion’s best courses and experienced some of Utah’s finest attractions. This was my 3rd time to the area and was easily my most fun visit yet.
The Ledges
Our Breaking Par headquarters for the week was established just off of the first hole at The Ledges Golf Club. Located in St George, this golf course was the perfect place to establish an operational base. All of the other golf courses and destinations were within a 30 minute radius and Zion National Park only required a 45 minute drive.
The Ledges warms you up on the front nine but the golf course really starts to rock and roll on the back nine. After a solid par 3 10th hole, the golfer is treated to a glorious view of the Snow Canyon State Park as the backdrop for the 11th hole. The next 4 holes provide similar views and are some of the best in Saint George.
The 14th hole is my favorite on the golf course and in my opinion is worth the green fee alone. It is a medium length par 4 that gives the golfers some options off of the tee. These options all have a big impact on your approach shot which is one of the most beautiful and fun golf shots in all of Greater Zion.
Bold & Delaney Winery
The Greater Zion area is also home to a budding wine industry. The industry is actually budding so hard that there is a wine trail with 4 wineries that you can visit. Even with 19 years of sobriety, I still found my visit to the Bold & Delaney Winery to be a lot of fun. The Breaking Par boys and I enjoyed some bocce ball competition and learned about the merits growing grapes in volcanic soils along the 37th parallel.
Sand Hollow
No golf trip to Greater Zion would be complete without a journey to Sand Hollow. I remember seeing pictures of Sand Hollow in an airport magazine way back in the day and I knew that I had to visit. Great golf photos have a way of convincing people to book a golf trip.
After an unnecessarily long delay, I eventually visited Saint George in 2016. This year, I would return with the goal of upgrading my photography library at Sand Hollow. My results were a rousing success.
The front nine at Sand Hollow is a very solid collection of golf holes but the views on the back nine will make you forget that you even played the front nine. The vibe changes distinctly on the 10th and 11th holes and holes 12-15 will officially knock your socks off. The Breaking Par TV crew took full advantage of the dramatic landscape.
Mad Moose Rentals
Located just 5 minutes away from Sand Hollow Golf Club is one of the most fun things you can do in Greater Zion that isn’t on a golf course. Mad Moose Rentals allows you to get behind the wheel of an ATV and tackle some of the most fun terrain in Utah. From climbing giant rocks to blasting over massive sand dunes, Mad Moose Rentals is one seriously wild ride.
None of us had experienced a bad ass off-road adventure like this before and we all agreed that this Mad Moose was “straight fire.” If I could recommend one activity for a group of golf buddies this would be it. Check us out in action on Breaking Par TV.
Dixie Red Hills
In order to truly understand golf in Greater Zion one must first pay a visit to the red hills of Dixie and understand the history of the area. The year was 1965 and Dixie Red Hills became the very first golf course built in the Greater Zion area. This golf course was the first in an ever growing area of championship golf over the next 60 years. More importantly, the golf course caught the eye of a 7 year old kid named Jay Don Blake.
As a child, Jay Don would endlessly patrol the fairways of Dixie Red Hills building his game as a junior golfer. That junior game would turn pro in 1987 and in 2024 Jay Don would start in his 500th PGA Tour event at the Black Desert Championship. We caught up with Jay Don at Dixie Red Hills and talked to him about his life and career.
After we sat down with the legend, we took the short drive up to Zion National Park and listened to one of the greatest podcasts in the history of golf. Fittingly, Jay Don Blake gets a mention from Club Pro Guy.
“As much as you want him to, Jay Don Blake is not gonna walk through that door anytime soon.”
Copper Rock Golf Course
The Greater Zion golf landscape is always adding new courses and in 2020 Copper Rock joined the Greater Zion group of golf courses. Named after the color of the nearby cliffs that loom over the golf course at sunset, Copper Rock is a championship test of golf.
In 2024, the course hosted a double header of women’s championship events. The Epson Copper Rock Championship & LPGA Legends Championship were played in back to back weeks. The big event would have to wait until November of 2024 when Breaking Par TV came to town.
There are plenty of highlights at Copper Rock. I took the liberty of putting together a list of my top 3. Catch the full story on Breaking Par TV.
Winning the 2 on 2 match 2 up.
The drivable 3rd hole.
The view after hooking one dead left on #11
Stargazing in Zion National Park
A lot of people in the world will take a moment to gaze up at the night’s sky tonight. Perhaps they will attempt to point out the big dipper or maybe they will mistakenly identify Orion’s Belt. However, only a chosen few will have the opportunity to gaze up at the stars in Zion National Park with the experts over at Stargazing Zion.
While the Breaking Par crew was setting up for an interview against the magnificent backdrop of Zion National Park, I decided to practice my high kicks on top of some nearby mountains. The results were top notch and several news outlets have reported that these kicks are some of my finest and highest of all time..
After the sun went down it was time to begin the stargazing experience. We snuggled into our bean bags and underneath the covers and went on a magical tour of the cosmos. Our star guide started out by teaching us the basics and pretty much everything that we learned in the 5th grade but forgot. Once our curiosities had been rekindled, we were taken into the deepest and darkest corners of the universe. Our guide even had a laser beam thing that pointed out all of the galaxies, star clusters and interstellar nebulae.
Black Desert Golf Club
No golf course made a splash quite as big as Black Desert did in 2024. The mars like landscape has found its place as the newest turf on The PGA Tour this year. It is truly one of the most unique and spectacular places to play golf in America.
Sunbrook Golf Club
Most golf shows only cover the hits, but Breaking Par goes the extra mile and digs into the fabric of the Greater Zion golf landscape. With 14 golf courses in a 20 mile radius, there were plenty of options to consider before I caught my flight out of town. I decided to head down the street and take in a final 27 holes of golf at Sunbrook Golf Club.
The 3 nine hole pairings at Sunbrook all give the golfer a different vibe. The Pointe nine features an island green, the Woodbridge nine offers several dramatic housing free holes and the Blackrock nine has a handful of holes that play through some old black rock lava beds.
This visit to Greater Zion cemented the area as one of America’s most unique and worthy destinations for golf. I can assure you that if you watch the episode from Breaking Par you will be adding Greater Zion to your list of must play golf destinations. I can also guarantee that you when you leave, you will be leaving with a smile on your face.