For two decades, Brian Oar has been singing the praises of golf in southwestern Utah to anyone who would listen.
The award-winning golf photographer and founder of Golf Package Pros, which specializes in customized destination trips to Arizona, Nevada, Utah and beyond, is stoked that golfers across the country and world have now begun to discover the spectacular product his hometown of St. George has to offer.
The Utah city and surrounding area has seen a 20 to 30 percent increase in golf travel in the last two years, Oar said, and many travel experts consider the desert valley, with its striking red rock formations, rolling hills and black lava rock, the hottest location for golf travel in the United States.
For example, Atlanta-based Premier Golf, which has offered luxury golf vacations for 30 years across the globe, and could have chosen numerous golf trips to add to its impressive portfolio, picked St. George in June to launch a new travel package option.
Many others are following suit to a desert location that is less than 125 miles from the iconic Las Vegas Strip.
Oar said he’s not bothered now that a host of golf travel companies have jumped at offering packages to his area.
“You know what, that was my mission, I’ve been selling St. George for 20 years,” Oar said. “And for 20 years I’ve been taking photos of this place saying, ‘Hey, St. George is amazing, come play in St. George, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So, my whole goal was to bring people here.”
Mission accomplished.
There are more than a dozen top notch layouts within 50 miles of St. George, including Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane, Utah, which opened in 2008 in the shadows of Zion National Park, helping launch the stunning golf product in this area of the country. But it was Black Desert Golf Course in 2023, carved out of black lava with a backdrop of red rock, that paints an almost indescribable draw for golfers.
“Sand Hollow kind of sparked the interest with holes that are along the cliff line, and these fantasy, Mars-type bowls, but Black Desert came in with this huge plan and huge resort and PGA Tour event, and mass amounts of money,” Oar said. “And it’s just like all of the sudden you’re at another level of golf destination.”
“I mean talk about dramatic; it doesn’t get any more dramatic than Black Desert,” added Oar. “It’s just a very unique golf course with a developer that threw down billions of dollars at it from the get go. They didn’t just build the golf course and slowly build the clubhouse and slowly add this and slowly add that –they did it all at once.”
Billy Dunham, product manager at Georgia-based Premier Golf, believes St. George fits a trend he is starting to see among golf travelers.
“The big-name courses are always busy but we’re starting to see shifts towards experiences, not just golf, but ‘What else can I do?’” he said. “And St. George has been a big, big winner for us this year. I think part of that is because you have Zion National Park, there is a lot of hiking, a lot of other things that you can do while you’re not golfing. Destinations are starting to really look at that.”
A desirable climate is also in St. George’s favor.
“Desert golf has always been attractive to people, places like Palm Springs and Scottsdale,” Dunham said. “But I also believe the uniqueness of Black Desert has been instrumental in the growth in the St. George area. You don’t see many courses carved out through black lava like that. Maybe in Hawaii or somewhere like that, but not on the mainland.
“And the golf backdrop everywhere you go is incredible, with these majestic Red Rock mountains everywhere you look. So every time you’re playing you’re just kind of looking around and saying ‘I can’t believe I’m playing here. This is fantastic.’”
St. George was recognized as the fastest-growing metro area in the United States in 2020-21, and has projections for a population exceeding 110,000 this year. St. George’s population in 2000 was less than half of that at 49,700.
Oar says a strong real estate market and additional golf tourists have led to more area hotels, restaurants and a booming economy.
“It’s a super desirable town that’s not too far from major cities, but just far enough,” Oar said. “St. George is just a cool destination.”
Oar’s local favorite food and watering holes include:
There are no additional golf courses officially on the books – for now.
“There’s a lot of talk,” Oar said. “Nothing firm yet, but I know there’s more coming.”
Which will likely include more one-of-a-kind golf views.
“If you’re coming to St. George from the East Coast or Midwest it’s like you’re going to another planet,” Oar said. “You can’t even imagine the diversity of the landscape – you’re completely in a different world.”