It's not easy being green GOLF GUIDE 2001.

• Author: Kimball, Suzanne

Competition Heats Up Among Utah Golf Courses

It's likely that at this very moment, a golfer is teeing off somewhere in Utah, hoping for a hookless long drive across 400 yards of emerald-colored living carpet. As his club strikes the ball, he can almost hear the air around him slice in half. His opponents watch for the angle that will either take the ball onto the green or land it in some trees. They hope for the trees. And why wouldn't they? After all, this is a competition, one that Utahns take seriously through more than 90,000 rounds of golf per year in Salt Lake County alone.

But on-course rivalry isn't the only competitive aspect of golf. Among the state's 102 (and counting) golf courses, competition for the attention of Utah players is heating up. That's because the number of golf courses in the state has been increasing by more than one per year since 1993.

"National statistics show that Utah is ranked fifth in the nation for number of courses per player" notes Steve Elliott, vice president of the Utah Professional Golf Association (PGA) and head golf professional at Rose Park Golf Course in Salt Lake City. And though the Utah Golf Association (UGA) reports an increase of 15,000 new memberships since 1991, some argue that the number of players in Utah hasn't kept up with the supply of new courses.

"I think most of the new UGA memberships constitute handicap cards," claims Devin Dehlin, secretary for the Utah PGA. "According to the National Golf Association, the number of golfers between 1990 and 2000 has not gone up nationwide, and that should apply for Utah as well. There maybe a slight increase in players across the state, but it doesn't represent a lot of growth."

With course supply high and demand remaining fairly constant, competing clubs and resorts in the state have been forced to maintain low prices. What's more, they've kept greens fees under control without reducing the quality of the courses on which Utah golfers are accustomed to playing.

According to Elliott, whose Rose Park course charges just $10 for nine holes, this high-quality versus low-price phenomenon is giving Utah a unique reputation among golfers throughout the country. "I have people who come here to play from other states, and they comment on how well the facility is taken care of compared to what they're used to playing on."

Although Rose Park is a municipally owned course and $10 is on the low end of greens fees for the state, it's not much under par. Most public and municipally-operated courses charge between $12 and $18 for nine holes, and $16 and $20 for 18 holes. South Mountain in Draper charges the highest fees for a municipal course at $45 for 18 holes. Private clubs, even in areas of the state like St. George, only charge an average of $40 for 18 holes, about double the price of public courses. Thanksgiving Point in Lehi comes in the highest for a public course at $75. But, as Dehin points out, "most courses in Las Vegas charge no less than $125, and Thanksgiving Point, which is a championship course, would cost at least $200 if it were...