How many pros are gearing up for the ‘crazy’ desert course strewn with lava rocks

PGA Tour pros are facing many challenges this week Black Desert Championshipwhich will be the tour debut. From collecting FedEx points for the next year, to trying to earn one last big payday, they have their hands full.

They also face an obstacle they are not used to: playing a new tournament course for the first time.

And it’s not just any old park course. Course designed by Tom Weiskopf of Black Desert Resort it looks unlike any other course played on Tour. The 18-hole course is located in the Utah desert. The fairways and greens are lined with black lava rock, with red mesas surrounding the fairway and snow-capped cliffs looming in the distance.

It’s also a high-elevation course, coming in at about 3,000 feet.

All of these apparent qualities about the course are forcing tour pros to prepare differently than they normally would, such as Patrick Fishburne AND Zac Blair explained in their pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday.

Blair, who had never played Black Desert before this week despite being from Utah, first noted its stunning beauty.

“Of course very nice. The scenery here is pretty crazy. I think it’s going to look great on TV and everything like that,” Blair said. “Pretty interested to see how the results are and how it plays in tournament conditions.”

Fishburn explained the complications caused by the course’s high elevation, which the Utah native has experience battling after growing up in the state.

“Playing at altitude is definitely different. I grew up in Ogden (Utah), playing Ogden Country Club, which is probably 4,000 feet of elevation and we’re probably 3,000 here. The ball just does different things,” Fishburn said before pointing out another obstacle to consider: the expected high temperatures. “With the heat this week, there’s just a lot of different factors. If maybe you’re not used to it, it will cause some more computation in the brain, which for me personally, less computation is better.”

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Both players also explained that accuracy off the tee will be key given the challenge presented by the lava rocks scattered everywhere you look on the course. Blair noted that it likely prevents many players from hitting driver off the tee, though not necessarily him because of the lack of distance.

“I don’t hit it very far, so a lot of people have talked about not being able to hit a lot of drivers,” Blair joked. “I feel like I can hit a lot of drivers. I’m the shortest player in the tournament, so…”

According to Blair, a hit on the rock this week basically equals a loose ball.

“I think the way the whole lava rock is and it’s not a hazard, just kind of a loose ball, it’s not like anything else. So there’s some places you can go and you can be dangerous or you can go to Arizona and hit it in the desert and you can still find it and remove it,” Blair said. “Here, you won’t find it most of the time. Especially on rocks. So I think it’s very unique, very different. All the people are seeing it and learning it for the first time.”

He continued: “But there is a lot of room to play there. It’s not like it’s too tight everywhere. They’ve given us a lot of room to hit driver or anything off the tee. I just have to keep it off the rocks.”

But Fishburn cited an advantage the young pros will have this week with everyone playing the course in tournament conditions for the first time, compared to most tournament courses that veterans have years of experience playing.

“Playing against guys that have been around this stuff for ten, 15 plus years. You know, you try to do what you can in a few days,” Fishburn said. “So this coming week, I haven’t seen the course, I’ve played it a few times, I feel like it’s going to be an equal field to this one. At least. Then to play in Utah, to have the experience that I do playing in Utah, I just hope that something helps me.”

Fans and players will get their first look at the tournament-ready Black Desert course when the The first group kicks off Thursday at 9:40 a.m. ET.

Kevin Cunningham

Editor of Golf.com

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A two-time former intern, he also helps make GOLF.com sound outside of the stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the technology team on developing new products and innovative ways to deliver engaging engagement. site for our audience.