Black Desert Resort Golf Course

Tom Weiskopf's 73rd and final design winds through ancient black lava fields in southwestern Utah, with lush green fairways framed by basalt rock formations, vermilion cliffs, and sweeping views of the Cascade Mountains and Snow Canyon. The course opened in June 2023 and quickly earned the No. 1 ranking in Utah from Golfweek, hosting the PGA Tour's inaugural Black Desert Championship in October 2024.

Black Desert Resort Golf Course opened in June 2023 in Ivins, Utah, approximately 15 minutes from St. George and roughly an hour from Zion National Park. The course was designed by Tom Weiskopf with his longtime design associate Phil Smith. It represents Weiskopf's 73rd and final course design — the legendary golfer and broadcaster passed away in August 2022 from pancreatic cancer before the course was completed, and Smith finished the project. The site presented extraordinary construction challenges. The course was routed through an ancient lava field, requiring crews to blast every square inch of playable land from the basalt rock.

Weiskopf and Smith's team used dynamite to carve fairways through natural veins in the lava outflow, a painstaking and time-consuming process. Construction began in 2021, with grassing starting in May 2022 and finishing in December 2022. The result has been described as a landscape where "Kona meets Sedona," with jet-black lava formations flanking emerald fairways beneath red sandstone cliffs and cobalt desert skies. The championship layout stretches to 7,287 yards from the Tournament tees and plays to a par of 72. The course features a bonus 19th hole — an 85-yard par-3 set in an amphitheater-style lakeside setting terraced into the black lava near the ninth green, designed for recreational play and wager settlement. Each round at Black Desert includes a GPS-equipped golf cart with hole-by-hole audio commentary recorded by Weiskopf himself, a CADDIEMASTER forecaddie service, and access to a Trackman-enabled driving range, chipping green, and 36-hole putting course.

Tee times are spaced at 12-minute intervals to maintain pace and course conditioning. The course earned immediate acclaim upon opening. Golfweek named it the No. 1 course in Utah, ranked it No. 34 on its nationwide Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play, and listed it No. 96 on the Top 200 Modern Courses. In October 2024, the PGA Tour held its inaugural Black Desert Championship at the course, marking the Tour's return to Utah for the first time since Tommy Jacobs won the 1963 Utah Open Invitational — a gap of 61 years. The LPGA Tour followed with its own event at Black Desert in 2025. The PGA Tour contract with Black Desert spans four years.

Weiskopf, who won the 1973 Open Championship at Royal Troon, transitioned to course design after his playing career and built a respected portfolio of 73 courses across four decades. His design philosophy at Black Desert emphasized working with the dramatic natural landscape rather than against it, allowing the lava formations to frame holes and define strategy rather than simply serving as decoration. The contrast between the manicured playing surfaces and the raw volcanic terrain creates a visual experience unlike any other course in the American West. The resort itself includes a 148-room hotel that opened around the time of the 2024 PGA Tour event, along with restaurants, retail space, a wellness spa, and plans for over 1,000 residences surrounding the course. The course sits at approximately 2,700 feet elevation near Snow Canyon State Park, with Kayenta sandstone mesas and the Pine Valley Mountains visible throughout the round. Green fees range seasonally from $250 to $450 including all amenities.