PGA Tour Rules Official On Unique Challenges At St. George’s Black Desert Course
Oct 9, 2024, 1:22 PM
(Photo courtesy of LPGA)
(Photo courtesy of LPGA)
ST. GEORGE, Utah – Black Desert Resort, the site of the PGA Tour’s return to Utah this weekend, offers picturesque desert landscapes. With it, unique hazards and challenges come into play when the world’s best golfers tee off this weekend at the Black Desert Championship.
“It’s certainly a unique course for what we see week in, week out,” PGA Tour rules official Bo Ream said of the southern Utah-based course. “It’s going to present a lot of challenges to the players. If you’re not on grass, you’re not in good shape.”
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Ream, a five-year PGA pro and 14-year pro golf rules veteran, referenced two of the world’s most famous golf courses, Sedona Golf Resort in Arizona and Kona Country Club in Hawai’i, when discussing how Black Desert Resort was designed.
“Tom Weiskopf was the lead architect here prior to his passing,” Ream said of the course design. “His finishing architect Phil Smith described it really well as, ‘Kona meets Sedona.’ You’ve got the lava outcroppings… You also have the beautiful desert landscape.”
Comparing the Black Desert Championship To Red Rock
Desert courses are far from the norm in the PGA, with the Red Rock Country Club in Las Vegas offering the most similar landscape. Despite their similarities, Ream cautions that Black Desert Resort won’t play the same because of several factors.
“This [Black Desert Resort] is certainly more unique, but you can draw some parallels,” Ream said. “Players are going to be making adjustments to how far the ball carries. They can draw on some of those similarities to other desert golf courses. But there’s nothing on tour that compares to the uniqueness of the lava rock we see out here.”
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The Black Desert Championship tees off Thursday, October 10, through Sunday, October 13. The 2024 Black Desert Championship begins a four-year partnership between Black Desert Resort and the PGA TOUR.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s coverage of the Bees, Big League Utah, and Aggie athletics here.
