Sunbrook Golf Club

Sunbrook is the best golf the City of St. George owns, and one of the strongest arguments that
municipal courses in this region punch above their weight. Ted Robinson Sr. designed the original
eighteen, which opened in 1990, and the property now runs to 27 holes across three nines that barely
resemble each other.

Three nines, three landscapes

The Pointe plays out into open desert, through small canyons and along plateau edges - it is the most
exposed of the three and the one with the biggest views. Woodbridge runs through mature cottonwoods
along lower ground and feels like a parkland course dropped into the Mojave. Black Rock, added later
to a John Harbottle III design, threads several holes through an old lava flow, and the black basalt
against the turf is the most photographed thing on the property. A standard round combines two of the
three, and the Pointe and Woodbridge pairing is the championship combination - it rates 73.9 with a
slope of 133 from the back tees.

Holes worth knowing

Woodbridge holds the two most recognizable holes in the city. The 4th is a par three from an elevated
tee to an island green, and the wooden-bridge crossing on the same nine is the image that turns up on
postcards of St. George golf. Robinson built his career on water features at courses like PGA West and
Sahalee, and Woodbridge is where that signature is most visible in southern Utah.

Recognition

The City of St. George notes that Golf Digest has twice rated Sunbrook the best golf course in Utah -
an unusual distinction for a city-owned facility, and one earned on a combination of scenery,
conditioning and shot values rather than length.

Who it suits

Because there are three nines, Sunbrook absorbs traffic better than any other course in the city and
offers more combinations than any other tee sheet in the county. It is a municipal course in the
practical sense that matters to residents: it is the accessible option that is still good enough to
build a trip around.

The setting

The course sits on the west side above the Santa Clara River, near where it meets the Virgin.
Confluence Park protects that junction just south of here, and the
riparian cottonwood gallery that shades the Woodbridge nine is the same ecosystem.

Living here

The course gives its name to the Sunbrook community around it.
For how it ranks against the private and resort options in the area, see
the best golf courses in St. George.