Fans of desert courses need more than 14 clubs and a handful of golf balls when they play the top-rated public-access course in Utah. At Sand Hollow Resort’s Championship Course, as at many courses in the state, they also need a camera.

The Championship Course in Hurricane, not far from St. George in the southwest corner of Utah, blasts players with ridiculous views from holes perched among red rock formations and atop cliff edges not far from Zion National Park, Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and the snow-capped Pine Valley Mountains.

Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings – on a points basis of 1 to 10 – of its more than 750 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses. That includes the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow non-member tee times. These generally are defined as courses accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.

The 7,300-yard Championship Course at Sand Hollow is No. 1 on that list in the Beehive State. Designed by John Fought and Andy Staples, the Championship Course opened in 2008 and plays alongside dramatic arroyos and wild desert. The layout also is No. 155 among all of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses built in or after 1960 in the United States, as well as No. 41 among all U.S. resort courses.

Sand Hollow is hardly alone in offering stunning mountain and desert views and conditions in Utah – each of the top five public-access courses in the state are visual treats. The Hideout in Monticello is No. 2 on the Best Courses You Can Play list in Utah, followed by No. 3 Entrada at Snow Canyon in St. George, No. 4 Thanksgiving Point in Lehi and No. 5 Soldier Hollow’s Gold Course in Midway.

Utah is also home to several desirable private clubs that are long on views. The Talisker Club at Tuhaye, designed by Mark O’Meara, is No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best list for private club courses in Utah, followed by No. 2 Glenwild in Park City, No. 3 The Country Club in Salt Lake City, No. 4 Victory Ranch in Kamas and No. 5 Promontory’s Painted Valley in Park City.

Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Utah

These are the best courses you can play in Utah.

1. Sand Hollow (Championship)

Hurricane (No. 155 m)

2. Hideout

Monticello (m)

3. Entrada at Snow Canyon

St. George (m)

4. Thanksgiving Point

Lehi (m)

5. Soldier Hollow (Gold)

Midway (m)

6. Sunbrook (Pointe/Woodbridge)

St. George (m)

7. Green Spring

Washington (m)

8. Coral Canyon

Washington (m)

9. The Ledges of St. George

St. George (m)

10. *Soldier Hollow (Silver)

Midway (m)

Golfweek’s Best Private Courses in Utah

1. Talisker Club at Tuhaye

Tuhaye (m)

2. Glenwild

Park City (m)

3. The Country Club

Salt Lake City (c)

4. Victory Ranch

Kamas (m)

5. Promontory (Painted Valley)

Park City (m)

*New to the list in 2020

(m): modern; (c): classic

Golfweek’s Best 2020

Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play Best Courses You Can Play, state by state Top 200 Modern Courses Top 200 Classic Courses Best Private Courses, state by state Top 50 Casino Courses Top 30 Campus Courses

How we rate them

The members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged together to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in its state, or nationally, to produce the final rankings.