Fairways • Summer 09
A Treasure on the Shores of Utah Lake
by Mike Sorensen

The TalonsCove Golf Course opened in 2004 amid rave reviews and immediately became the host for the Utah Open in 2005 and 2006, acquainting golfers and golf fans with the beautiful layout on the west side of Utah Lake.

Since then, however, the course has sort of fallen off the radar map for golfers with few tournaments and major road construction discouraging golfers from venturing down to Saratoga Springs to play the Gene Bates-designed course.

The fun layout with the stunning views of Utah Lake and Mt. Timpanogos is still here and a new management team is making an effort to get golfers to re-visit TalonsCove or discover it for the first time.

Steve Watts, one of the state’s top amateur golfers, has taken over as the general manager of TalonsCove, while Justin Bloxham is the new head PGA professional.

Watts knows what a golfer likes in a golf course and has already made several changes to make TalonsCove more playable for the average golfer.

Although it isn’t overly difficult, with a course rating of 69.0 and a slope of 119 from the Gold tees, which most golfers use, TalonsCove has been known for its punishing rough and narrow fairways.

However, this year the golf course purchased some new equipment, which allows the thick rough to be cut on a regular basis, opening up things for the golfer who doesn’t always hit it straight.

“We’ve made this a much more friendly golf course,” Watts said. “We’ve made the fairways wider and the roughs are not nearly as brutal. Hopefully we’ve also become more service friendly. We want to give golfers a reason to come back and not to stay away.”

Watts acknowledges the course was becoming too tough for the average golfer, which wasn’t the charge owner Doug Horne gave to Bates when he hired him to design the course.

“The rough was so long, that people who normally shoot 80 would shoot 95,” Watts said. “They couldn’t find their ball.”

One thing TalonsCove has always had is unmatched scenery with wonderful views of Utah Lake and the mountains to the east, including Mt. Timpanogos. The course is elevated just enough, that golfers are looking down upon the lake and can see it for miles.

“The scenery here is so nice,” Watts says.

TalonsCove is a links-style course with few trees, numerous bunkers and native grass lining the fairways. The layout is like a pair of loops with the front nine heading north from the clubhouse and returning south, with the back nine going south before coming back to the north.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the layout are the par-3s, of which there are five. Each is a strong hole and most have breathtaking views to boot.

The first hole is a dogleg left that gradually goes uphill to a green with bunkers on each side. The second and third holes are relatively short par-4s, No. 2 turning right and No. 3 straight ahead.

The first of the scenic par-3s is at No. 4 with Utah Lake and Timpanogos in the background. No. 6 is another par-3 looking toward the lake and mountains and this one is much tougher, stretching as far as 262 yards from the back tees and a daunting 187 from the silver tees with bunkers in front.

The par-5 dogleg left No. 7 features several bunkers on the corner that will catch a lot of drives and if you try to cut the corner too much, you’ll end up in the long grass.

After the third par-3 of the nine at No. 8, you get another dogleg left par-5 at No. 9, which his shorter and features the double green shared with No. 18.

The course gets a little more interesting on the back nine, starting with No. 10, a long par-4 that curves left with a lot of bunkers to navigate on both sides of the fairway.

The 11th is a short uphill par-4 that places a premium on accuracy with its narrow fairway, followed by another par-4 with still another pretty view of the lake and mountains. The par-5 13th is a dogleg right with another view of the lake, this time with no homes in the background.

No. 15 is another par-5, this one uphill with undulating narrow fairways, while 16 is a short par-4 that’s barely 300 yards from the back tees, making it a classic risk-reward hole for longer hitters. Just watch out for all those bunkers in front.

The 17th is a long par-3 with a large bunker to the right and a deep green, while 18 is a great finishing hole—uphill, slight dogleg left to the double green.

Watts says he also wants to make TalonsCove familiar for tournament golfers. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Senior Open qualifying was held there and on Sept. 4-5 the first TalonsCove Amateur, a player-performance UGA event, will be held.

“We’d like to have four or five tournaments a year here,” said Watts.

Watts says the course has been lengthened to make true par-5s out of holes 1, 13 and 15 from the back tees, which stretch to 7,096 yards with a rating of 72.5, a good challenge for tournament golfers.

The green fees are right in line with other courses along the Wasatch Front at $40 with cart with discounts for juniors, seniors and military. You can also walk for $28 and it’s doable except for a couple of long stretches from green to tee.

The 10,000-square foot clubhouse is a beauty, with a large reception area with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide spectacular views of the lake and mountains as well as the two finishing holes on the large double green. TalonsCove can accommodate large groups for weddings or other special events.

To get to TalonsCove from the north you can get off I-15 at Bangerter Highway and turn south on Redwood Road, approximately nine miles to a four-way stop light. From there, it’s another four miles south until you hit the course.

From the south, it’s best to take the American Fork exit west and avoid the construction in Lehi. But if you take the Lehi Main Street exit, go west until you get to Redwood Road and turn south.

Mike Sorensen is a sports writer for the Deseret Morning News and a frequent contributor to Fairways.