Rather than doing a whole course redesign, it seems that my local country club here in Sandy is doing a wee bit at a time. Today I saw some work in progress of the Valley Nine’s par-5 5th hole. Recently they took out the two trademark pines at the corner of the fairway and put in a short right fairway bunker (photo below, right side of fairway) and long left bunkers.
Now they look to be adding a few yards to the hole by moving the tees back. I guess the bombers are still reaching the far fairway bunkers? My real guess is that they’re slowing adding yardage here and there to “toughen up” the course and make it look more respectable from a length and rating standpoint. In the photo above you can see two sandy areas, which are obviously the new tees. The old tee was essentially where the more distant sandy area is.
The latest terrific course visited in the HOG World Tour is The Country Club (of Salt Lake City). The Country Club is an 18-hole private golf and country club located in the heart of the Salt Lake Valley. SLCC is known for its great location, course architecture, tons of bunkers (ugh), and very high quality and conditioned golf holes.
The hole above is the beautiful and very tough par-4 11th. It looks very Augusta-esque, hints of the 13th at Augusta National Golf Club.
Above is a panoramic shot showing one of the many incredible views of the “Wasatch Front” mountains, which are seen from most of the holes.
And speaking of great views, here’s a drone shot I captured of the course a couple of years ago.
Salt Lake Country Club
I had a great time and struck the ball well. One problem I had was testing out new wedges in rain compacted sand. That was a score wrecker. On non-bunker holes I was even-par on the day. Bunker holes, 7-over. Boo.
Sandy, Utah 12/13/14 – I just got back from a quick aerial photo flight with my hexacopter at Sandy, Utah’s Hidden Valley Country Club. I lucked out between rain and snow storms to catch some photos of the redesign of the par-3 Mountain Course 9th hole. The hole is being moved to make room for the pending swimming pool which will open next year. The pool will be located in the soon to be former location of the Mountain 9th green. In these photos you can see the old green still intact. I presume when the shaping is ready for the new green, they’ll move the old surface over.
Hidden Valley Country Club Mountain #9 Redesign – click image to see larger version
In the photo below you can see that the new tee on Mountain nine looks to go through a chute of trees. Slightly reminds me of the 18th at Augusta National.
New tee box on lower edge of photo – click photo to see larger version
In the photo below you can see a photo shot directly above the old 9th green and the new 9th green location.
Right: me and my white car. Middle right: old 9th green. Middle lower-left: new 9th green (I presume)
For more Hidden Valley Country Club photos, visit the Hooked On Golf Blog Hidden Valley Country Club photo gallery.
I’ve added some aerial photos of the nicest private golf club in Salt Lake City, “The Country Club.” The course is also known as Salt Lake Country Club.
Salt Lake Country Club
Click the photo above or the following link to see more aerial photos of The Salt Lake Country Club.
If you are interested in aerial photos or video, for golf courses or any other subject, use the contact form here to send me a note.
I’ve added a few aerial photos of Salt Lake City’s Rose Park Golf Course to the Hooked On Golf Blog photo gallery. Below is a sample, and you can click the photo to see more.
Rose Park Golf Course
Located very close to downtown Salt Lake City, Rose Park Golf Course opened in 1958. The course was deisnged by Mick Riley.
“Rosey” is not a high-end golf course, nor would I recommend it for tourists who want to play the best golf courses in northern Utah. That said, the flat layout and always high quality greens make for an enjoyable walking experience.
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