Black Desert’s Terrain Is One Of A Kind

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Next week, the PGA Tour heads somewhere that still looks a bit strange on a golf broadcast. The Bank of Utah Championship returns to ​Black Desert Resort​, a golf course surrounded by black lava fields and backgrounded by the bright red rock of southern Utah. It’s golf on mars.

And you can play it. Originally opened in 2023, a year after the death of its architect, Tom Weiskopf, Black Desert is a golf setting like none other. The black lava is striking—and in play. It pinches in landing areas, frames greens, and makes misses considerably more consequential. With long-time Weiskopf design partner Phil Smith bringing it across the finish line, the course became a rankings darling immediately—finding itself ​35th​ on Golf Digest‘s top 100 public courses and No. 38 ​at Golfweek​. (GOLF mag didn’t yet include it in its 2024 update, but fairly safe to assume it’ll be on next time around.)

Black Desert has also quickly grown into a massive resort, boasting some 400 rooms, multiple restaurants, pools, and a 15,000-square-foot spa.

It could serve as your home base to explore the golf rich-area that is southern Utah. Some 30 minutes away sits ​Sand Hollow​, the green oasis in the middle of bright orange that, if nothing else, you’ve almost certainly seen ​on Instagram​. A stunner, that course, and good for 73rd on the ​composite top 100​. Places like Copper Rock, SunBrook, and Coral Canyon can round out a stacked golf trip.

If and when Black Desert catches your eye on TV next weekend, consider this your reminder: That could be you.

Pricing details

Overall range (golf + lodging): $925 – $1,550
• Assumes two days, two nights.