A construction crew had to detonate the earth to build this golf course.
That’s a little dramatic, but it's sort of the truth.
It's Black Desert Golf Resort in Utah, situated in a hardened basaltic lava field that dates back millions of years.
Wait, what's basaltic lava?
To put it simply, not all lava is the same.
You see, this is Andesitic Lava. And even though that particular brand makes up only about 10% of all lava, in the lava community this is considered the “famous” lava. It's the stuff we see erupting from the big volcanos like Mount Vesuvius.
Basaltic Lava, like we see at Black Desert Golf Resort, makes up about 90% of the lava on earth. It’s the slow, flowing, oozing lava. Not very glamorous. Until this golf course.
The late legendary course designer Tom Weiskopf looked at this nearly unusable terrain and made something so magnificent, the PGA Tour recently played there, making its first stop in Utah in 61 years. In case you forgot, Matt McCarty won it.
Sand bunkers in the middle of the greens, Lava rock in the middle fairways. And if you miss the fairway, well good luck. This course really is one of a kind. Check out my video above for more.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as A Special Blend of Lava Makes This Utah Golf Resort Stand Alone.
