Info:www.sandhollowresort.com (435) 656-GOLF

John Fought’s voice can’t hide his enthusiasm. “It’s the most spectacular site I have ever worked on,” he says. “It’s just an amazing place. For a golf course architect, it was paradise.”

And it was Fought who created this paradise, known as Sand Hollow Resort, in Hurricane, Utah. The resort features a bunker-laden 18-hole championship course along with a nine-hole links-style course.

While there are 80 red-sand bunkers dotting the course (in strategic spots, of course), there isn’t a drop of water to be found, for now. “We do have some long-term plans to add some things and there will be a pond,” Fought says. “But to put water out there just to have water, it just didn’t seem to fit.”

But, the course does fit perfectly into the slowly-developing master-planned community. Lush fairways and those deep-red bunkers offer a stark contrast as players tee it up. The fairways are fairly wide and there’s not a blade of grass out of place. The elevation changes—in some cases falling from tee to green and in some cases rising from tee to green—add to the challenge. Five sets of tees make it playable for everyone. But beware: Picking the wrong set of tees can make for a long day as forced carries over the natural terrain to reach some of the fairways can lead to lost golf balls on more than one hole. You’ve been warned ...