ST. GEORGE, Utah — The Black Desert Resort Golf Course is scheduled to open this fall in the Southern Utah town of Ivins among the sprawling lava fields.
“In a lot of ways, it’s kind of part of the vision for that property and that area since before I got involved,” said Jared Lucero, Reef Capital CEO. “I think they always envisioned having a golf course as part of a resort-type property on that property. When we got involved in 2018 is when I think it really started to come more toward fruition.”
The course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, is a par-72 course with most fairways 70 to 100 yards wide. The course also features two drivable par fours at the 5th and 14th holes.
The added growth of the St. George area and Utah in general was an extra bonus for the group as they embarked on the project.
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“Most of us are from Utah, so St. George has always been on our radar,” Lucero said. “So for us, we knew the opportunity was good for something like this anyway because I felt as though St. George always needed a destination resort.”
The course is currently being grassed, with 10 or 11 holes currently getting turf.
Construction of the golf course is projected to be completed by mid-May.
“I think that people will be blown away by the fact that all the holes are through lava and we have 12 holes where there will be no real estate,” Lucero said. “We really spent a lot of effort, time, and money to really preserve the lava so that there’s hundreds of acres of lava fields that will be preserved forever.”
The St. George area currently features 12 golf courses, with a 13th, the Conestoga Golf Club, located just 35 minutes away in Mesquite.
The city of St. George owns four of those courses; St. George Golf Club, Dixie Red Hills, Southgate Golf Club and Sunbrook Golf Club. BigShots driving range will also be making its way towards St. George in the near future.
In addition to the course, the Black Desert Resort will feature 150 hotel rooms, 1,050 residences, and 46,160 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The property will also feature 32 single-family estate lots and approximately 214,000 square feet of commercial space.
Nearby walking trails and a wellness spa are additional features and benefits.
The course will also be the new home for Dixie State University golf.
“It sounded like they’re always moving around from course to course so I just threw out the idea of ‘what if we could figure out a way to make this your guys’ place?’ ” Lucero said.
The course will start taking tee times later this fall.
Lucero said a larger grand opening will take place in spring 2023.
Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.
