Wow, look at all of these rocks! Lava rocks that is, around this spectacular golf course in Ivins, Utah. Their social media and marketing team has done an excellent job promoting it, and after seeing ... Continue »

Wow, look at all of these rocks! Lava rocks that is, around this spectacular golf course in Ivins, Utah. Their social media and marketing team has done an excellent job promoting it, and after seeing countless pictures and ads, I convinced my friend Rob1563 to join me and play this course. Although the rack rate is high at $250, it's worth it because the course is about to become semi-private, and the only way to get on is to stay at their 5-star resort. Plus, they're hosting both LPGA and PGA tour events in 2024, so I thought we should try it out before it becomes too expensive.

Apart from the golfing experience, the price includes all food and non-alcoholic drinks, making it a great deal. The temporary clubhouse has a taco truck outside, and inside there's a fridge stocked with Gatorade, soda, water, candy, chips, and hummus cups. The staff is friendly and helpful, and they even loaded our bags and escorted us to the range when it was ready.

Speaking of the range, it was beautiful, but today we had to use mats because of the 38° weather at 9 am. However, the highlight was the gigantic putting course, which had lots of undulation and different lines to try out. They played some great rock music throughout the practice area, which I enjoyed, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

As I embarked on the course, I was already expecting a visual feast. However, the reality was beyond my expectations. The striking contrast between the dark rocks and the vibrant green grass was truly breathtaking. The Tee Boxes were lush and level with 4 or 5 to choose from. Fairways had some good elevation changes with lots of rolling undulations and lava outcroppings throughout. The back nine is more spectacular as there are a few lakes mixed in which just add to the visuals however the 18 hole is not the greatest finishing hole layout wise. Rough was on the shorter side but would keep rolling shots from getting into the rocks. The greens were fantastic, just soft enough to accept well struck shots and a medium pace. The greens do have a lot of bite to them with false edges and strategic white sand bunkers.

The carts are very nice with a small GPS screen with a Wieskopf narrated flyover for each hole explaining the layout and why he chose that design. There were maybe 4 or 5 holes where he copied ideas like the postage stamp and hole 14 at Pebble Beach. Each of these was a place that made an impact on his golfing career. This is not a great course to play if you don't have the best accuracy as any shot offline will hit the lava rocks and sometimes could bounce back or farther away from the grass. Also, don't go walking through the rocks in shorts as lava rocks are super sharp. I ended up losing or tossing 9 balls this round from accuracy or damage to the cover of the balls so do be sure to bring extra balls just in case. I highly recommend playing here as soon as possible because once the resort opens who knows how expensive or easy it will be to get on.