Success Stories

In 2006, award-winning golf course architect John Fought, of John Fought Design, took on a project amid some 900 acres of scenic, red-rock terrain in Southern Utah, close to Zion National Park, which would result in a world-class destination resort golf course, called Sand Hollow Resort.

Understanding the keen competition within the destination golf resort industry, Fought knew it was imperative for the development team at Sand Hollow Resort to quickly seize the attention of the regional media. Fought, a former star golfer at Brigham Young University and later on the PGA Tour, recommended that the development team utilize Hunter Public Relations • Special Events (HPR), which has helped generate significant publicity for his company the past six years.

HPR wasted little time in determining the strategies that needed be developed and how best to create media interest in a resort being developed 15 minutes from St. George, Utah -- which, with its year-round warm weather, excellent golf courses, and proximity to a recreational paradise, has fast become one of the West’s top destinations.

Ultimately, HPR orchestrated a “sneak preview” news conference at Thanksgiving Point Golf Club — a “sister course” to Sand Hollow — during the annual Nokia Champions Challenge, a two-day golf tournament featuring prominent PGA and LPGA Tour players. Though the event was held in Lehi (close to Salt Lake City), some four hours north of Sand Hollow Resort, HPR locked into the built-in media audience that the new project was seeking.

Determining the most effective day and time for a presentation, HPR presented designer Fought along with the Sand Hollow team at a news conference, strategically linked with a media luncheon and special gift (an Odyssey putter for all who attended). An introductory press kit and video overview of the project were created and distributed to the media, as well, with HPR staff on site to facilitate media needs.

The event drew near unanimous attendance from the local and regional print and electronic media. The announcement drew prime placement on the evening newscasts as well as significant stories in regional newspapers, including the prominent Deseret Morning News. In addition, national club and golf trade publications picked up the story in the ensuing months, adding to the momentum being built.

The execution of the news conference at Thanksgiving Point was an effective first step in the media outreach for a resort that is certain to become a well-known destination.