PROMONTORY CLUB
(PAINTED VALLEY COURSE)
RUNDOWN: Park City Utah has been in our sights for a few years now. The draw of playing golf in the mountains, seeing wildlife and hitting bombs off elevated tee boxes is strong for us. Give us 36 holes on top of that and we are in paradise! The courses here play completely different and are each great in their own ways. The members would prefer the Dye course where it plays a little easier. The Nicklaus course however has to be one, if not the most difficult courses in Utah. The shear length of the course can make you weak in the knees but the beauty of this place will keep you prodding along.
The courses play tough but can truly be playable if you play from the correct tees. The fairways are wide enough to handle the errant tee shot but that may be the most forgiving part of this course. The greens are very well protected and the greens themselves are probably the biggest defense of this track, other than the length. Jack Nicklaus didn't shy away from making these challenging. You will need to focus on hitting your approach shots to the correct spots on these greens. Otherwise you are bound to lose track of how many putts you have on the day. Strap in for this one and get ready to test all aspects of your game. You may walk away defeated but you will not forget this amazing property!
COURSE INFO AND DIRECTIONS
Designed by Jack Nicklaus in 2007.
Private golf course.
6 sets of tees ranging from 4,505 to 8,098 yards
https://www.promontoryclub.com/
(435)-333-4720 6347 Nicklaus Vlvy Rd. Park City, UT 84098
The courses play tough but can truly be playable if you play from the correct tees. The fairways are wide enough to handle the errant tee shot but that may be the most forgiving part of this course. The greens are very well protected and the greens themselves are probably the biggest defense of this track, other than the length. Jack Nicklaus didn't shy away from making these challenging. You will need to focus on hitting your approach shots to the correct spots on these greens. Otherwise you are bound to lose track of how many putts you have on the day. Strap in for this one and get ready to test all aspects of your game. You may walk away defeated but you will not forget this amazing property!
COURSE INFO AND DIRECTIONS
Designed by Jack Nicklaus in 2007.
Private golf course.
6 sets of tees ranging from 4,505 to 8,098 yards
https://www.promontoryclub.com/
(435)-333-4720 6347 Nicklaus Vlvy Rd. Park City, UT 84098
Hole 1 Par 5 - 718 Yards
Yes, you read that correctly, 718 YARDS!!! What a way to kick off a round of golf. You will quickly realize that you are in for a true test of golf here. Of course the other boxes make the hole shorter, but if you are playing the Black Tees it is still 664 yards. For most this will be a true three shot hole to get to the green. Hopefully you got the driver worked out on the range because you are going to need to pipe a deep ball off the first! It does play downhill, so you do have that going for you at least. Once you crush the drive and still have close to 400 yards left, you will want to play your next shot to the left side of the fairway if the pin is on the right side. This is so you can have the best angle into a very well protected part of the green. Deep bunkers lie in front of the green and if you go long then you will be met by a nasty bunker that leaves a tough shot onto the green.
If the pin is middle or left you can play a little more right on your second shot. There is a large slope to the left of the green that will help bring your shot down to the putting surface. This will also prove to be where you can miss your approach and still get away with it. The greens are speedy and like I mentioned above, don't put yourself on the wrong side of the hole on your approach. All in all this is an impressive and difficult way to begin a round of golf!
If the pin is middle or left you can play a little more right on your second shot. There is a large slope to the left of the green that will help bring your shot down to the putting surface. This will also prove to be where you can miss your approach and still get away with it. The greens are speedy and like I mentioned above, don't put yourself on the wrong side of the hole on your approach. All in all this is an impressive and difficult way to begin a round of golf!
Hole 2 Par 4 - 507 Yards
The second hole is pretty straight forward. Most holes out here are long, they have to be for a course to top 8,000 yards. But these straightforward holes have to be taken advantage of if you want to score well. The first 5 holes play downhill and you need to take advantage of that. There is a large fairway bunker on the right that will require a big poke to carry. So most people will be required to keep the tee ball left. The green is fairly open with just a small bunker on the right side, but the land slopes that direction. There is a false front on this hole, so get the ball up to the middle of the green. From there you will deal with some movement and speed, but it's a straightforward hole that you can try and take advantage of. Keep the score low and prepare yourself for later.
Hole 5 Par 3 - 166 Yards
Here is a fun little par 3 to end this downhill run before you start climbing back towards the clubhouse. This hole is the shortest of the par 3's on property but that doesn't mean it plays easy. The green is pretty severe in areas and it falls off in all directions. Shots to the edges will trickle into bunkers or down the steep front right side of the green. With the pin where it was for us, the front right, anything short right was a death zone. I put my shot short right on the downslope and had a rough go of things! Hitting the green is key here and if you can hit your spot you can score. If you miss there are just so many areas that fall off that you may walk off happy with a bogey.
Hole 7 Par 4 - 493 Yards
We played this hole from the tips and the black tees. It seemed just as long no matter where we teed off because we were into a decent wind. One thing we were told is there is pretty much always a breeze out here. We definitely would agree with that statement! The only times we didn't have wind was very early in the morning or late in the evening and it was always very welcome. Off the tee you just have to stay left. The more you take on the large fairway bunker on the right the shorter your approach shot will be into the green. Staying right off the tee will make the approach easier as you will not have to carry the left green side bunker if the pin is in the back. Many people will have long irons into this green, so hopefully you practiced them on the range before the round! Get comfortable as this will not be the first or last hole you play with a long iron approach shot.
Hole 12 Par 5 - 673 Yards
We really wanted to get an entire hole flyover of number 12. However, we were never there when the sun was out, except for about 5 minutes where I was able to snag a short video by the green and the picture above. This has to be one of our favorite holes on the property. It is so visually impressive off the tee box and all you want to do is swing out of your shoes and watch the ball sail through the air! The drive does require a solid poke as the forced carry from the back tees is over 260 yards just to get to grass. Getting to grass is goal number one and then the remainder of the hole plays significantly uphill. Avoid the fairway bunkers as they will generally require just a safe shot out to the fairway. You also need a comfortable club into this elevated green. It is narrow at the opening with some of the deepest bunkers on property guarding it. Also, a severe false front will reject anything that comes up slightly short on the putting surface. This green also has quite a bit of movement, so if you happen to get on in three, you will not have an easy putt at birdie most likely. The view from the green to the tee is just as impressive. So take the views in on this one and swing for the fences!
Hole 16 Par 3 - 205 Yards
I really enjoyed this hole, but I never played it particularly well. It plays well downhill and there was a solid crosswind most of the time for us so that just seemed to mess with me. A mid iron will do the trick usually since it plays downhill. The putting surface is quite large and left is the most inviting play off the tee. The bail out area to the left is where I ended up most the time but Kevin seemed to hit the green usually. There are some tough little breaks in this green and will require a good two putt to walk away with par. The par 3's here are all pretty solid and this was one of my favorites.
Here is a flyover of some of the back nine when the clouds lifted for a minute. What a property!