The Oaks at Spanish Fork
Designer: Billy Casper (1982)
801-804-4653
2300 East Powerhouse Road, Spanish Fork, UT 84660
Utah Golf Guy Grade
| OVERALL | 8.13 |
| BEAUTY | 8 |
| VALUE | 8 |
| PRACTICE FACILITIES | 8 |
| CLUBHOUSE | 9 |
| PACE OF PLAY | 9 |
| CONDITIONS | 8 |
| FRIENDLINESS OF STAFF | 7 |
| FUN | 8 |
| NOT INCLUDED IN OVERALL: DIFFICULTY | 6 |
| TEES | OUT | IN | TOTAL | RATING | SLOPE |
| BLUE | 3508 | 3056 | 6564 | 70.4 | 132 |
| WHITES | 2968 | 2878 | 5846 | 67.7 | 124 |
| YELLOW | 2700 | 2619 | 5319 | 70.9 | 130 |
Course Summary
The Oaks at Spanish Fork (formerly known as Spanish Oaks Golf Course) was built in 1982 and designed by the late and great PGA champion Billy Casper. The course is a mountain/traditional style featuring Bent Grass greens and Kentucky Blue Grass fairways. Located at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon just off of US Highway 6.
The Utah Golf Guy is a sucker for mountain courses, and this one delivers with natural beauty, elevation changes and well-maintained greens. The course is short (6564 yards from the Blues) but makes up for it with some large, tiered greens. The front 9 plays more traditional with the back 9 playing more into the mountains.
A morning special, Monday-Friday, gives all tee times before 9:00am a significant discount on green fees and a cart. Due to the location of the course, heavy canyon winds blow constantly from 10pm until around 10:30am every morning, which made way for this special. Wind can play a huge factor on your scorecard at this course.
Specifics
The practice facilities are good. The two practice putting greens are well maintained and offer quite a few flags to practice different length putts and pitches. The driving range is decent size but offers mats only and no flags or yardages to aim for. The clubhouse is beautiful and spacious on the inside. A wrap around deck sits above the #9 green and is quite impressive.
Fairways – The fairways were in great shape. No major brown spots and the ball sat up as it should. Cut and manicured decently against the rough. The tee boxes were a little chewed up but overall in good shape.
Greens – The greens were in fantastic shape. They had their first mow of the season the day before resulting in extremely quick rolls. Make sure to putt a few on the practice greens before your round to properly gauge the speed. The difficulty of this course is not from tee to green, but on the actual greens themselves. Multiple greens are deep with separate tiers and shelves making in vital to control your distance on each approach. A few greens were extremely sloped, making a few downhill putts impossible to stop due to the extremely quick putting surface. Attempt to leave yourself uphill putts on your approach or second putts.
Sand – The course has at least one sand bunker protecting each green on the course. Bunkers are in decent shape with plenty of sand to put a good strike on the ball.
BEST HOLES
Signature Hole - #16 Par 4 444 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Bogey
A few holes could be considered for this award (an indication of a good golf course) but I’ll go with the fun Par 4 #16. This dogleg right provides a blind view of the green from the tee box. Houses/OB to the left, thick trees and brush on the right. Fairway is fairly level from tee to the 150 yard marker. Fairway descends from the 150 marker down to the green. Best approach angle is left center of the fairway. Must leave yourself at least 175 yards to see the green for your approach. Everything slopes from right to left including the fairway and green. If you cannot carry the green on the approach, ball will roll into the front left sand bunker.
Clubhouse Pick: #12 or #16
Most Beautiful - #18 Par 5 493 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Birdie
The final hole is also one of the best on the course. A fantastic finishing hole with beautiful views of the mountains and trees lining both sides of the fairway. A dogleg left forces you to make a decision off the tee. To use driver, you will need a slight draw. If you overcook the draw you will be playing from the trees. The best play is to use a long iron to cut the corner on the left fairway and let it run to the right side.
If running up your approach shot from the fairway to green be aware tiny approach landing area between the left and front right bunker. If you cannot be accurate with a long iron or fairway wood it is recommended to layup to your comfortable approach distance. The green is all uphill and is the deepest green on the course, covering close to 60 yards. Choose your distance carefully. Not only is the green deep but it is also sectioned into two shelves. If possible, leave yourself with an uphill putt. One of the toughest holes on the course, but it is so beautiful you might not care.
Clubhouse Pick: #10 or #13
Birdie Time - #13 Par 4 326 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Par
A short Par 4 that is possible to drive or get close to the front side of the green. For short hitters, must land on the middle or right side of the fairway to reach a back pin placement. If left, a large tree and its branches protect the back left side of the green and could affect your approach. Green is extremely skinny and quite deep. It slopes heavily from front to back and has two separate tiers. The first tier turns into a shelf. The second tier, on the backside, is a ridge. Don’t make this hole harder than it is! Hit your drive to the right side of the fairway, just short of the green. Chip up to the correct tier and roll one in for birdie.
Clubhouse Pick: #2
Likely Bogey - #15 Par 4 308 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Bogey
The locals explained that a participant in the Spanish Oaks Open had hit an albatross on this hole during tournament play. Of all the short Par 4’s on this course, this would have been my pick as the most unlikely hole-in-one at The Oaks. Although short, this hole is an absolute beast. A dogleg left leaves you blind to the green. Cannot miss the fairway to the left or you will have serious tree trouble with no shot at the green. Aim center or right fairway.
However, the tee shot is not the difficulty, that distinction belongs to the green. Billy Casper may have been mini-golfing the day before he designed this putting surface as it slopes AGGRESSIVELY from back to front. A shelf forms on the back 1/3 of the green, but if the flag is anywhere in front of the shelf you must hit your approach short of the hole. I learned this the hard way. Putting from behind the hole, I slightly tapped my putt maybe 2 inches forward, the ball caught the slope, whizzed past the hole, carried the false front and stopped past the bunkers and back onto the fairway. If the hole is placed in the middle of the green, it is IMPOSSIBLE to stop putting from behind the pin.
Clubhouse Pick: #16
Best Par 3 - #12 126 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Par
A short but beautiful Par 3 with cascading mountains in the background and a large pond to the front and left. They were reseeding the back tee boxes so we were forced to play from the ladies tee box this round. A backstop is on the back left of the green that will bring any ball back towards the middle. Green might be the most undulated on the course.
Clubhouse Pick: #12
Best Par 4 - #14 309 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Par
Probably my favorite tee shot on the course. A drive able short par 4 that requires a slight fade to reach. A creek runs across the middle of the fairway requiring a 235 yard carry if going for the green. Green is not very receptive, making it quite difficult to stop the ball on the putting surface. Backstops on the back left and right of the green. Almost a false back in the middle. Green slopes gently from front to back. 90 yards separate the end of the first fairway and the start of the 2nd fairway.
Clubhouse Pick #16
Best Par 5 - #3 485 Yards
Utah Golf Guy score - Par
Hole #18 is the best Par 5 on the course, but this hole is too fun not to mention as well. Elevated tee box shortens this hole making it quite simple to reach in two. Fairway runs out at 272 yards and makes way for a creek running across the middle of the fairway. Long iron is recommended off the tee for big hitters.
Small opening between the two front bunkers to the green. Green is bowl shaped and will bring every shot back to the middle, including a large backstop if you cook your approach shot. Green is quite deep giving you enough room to be putting for an eagle. This hole was in the running for the Signature Hole, Birdie Time and Best Par 5 on the course.
Clubhouse Pick: #18