Golf in Northern Utah a Delectable, Affordable Combination

By: Steve Habel

Golfers worldwide search for places with multiple, top-notch courses that have inexpensive fees. They also like terrain and amenities that create memories and add spice to the après-golf times - demands that at times seem unrealistic.

But all those bullet points are met on a trip to northern Utah. Here, there are picturesque courses with seemingly endless views. In addition, there's the awesome Great Salt Lake and welcoming communities friendly to visitors.

The hub is Salt Lake City, one of the cleanest, most progressive and travel-friendly cities in North America. On a recent trip to the region, we played a pair of northern Utah's top public-access facilities - Bountiful Ridge, north and east of the city on the side of a mountain above the town of Bountiful, and Sleepy Ridge in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City down IH-15 en route to Provo. Both courses boast green fees less than $50.

Bountiful Ridge Plays Like a Video Game

Bountiful Ridge Golf Course, which overlooks the Salt Lake Valley and Great Salt Lake, might be familiar to some even if they've never set foot on it. Designed by William Neff and opened in 1975, the panoramic layout offers a formidable but often-friendly, alpine layout. It's one of the top municipal courses anywhere; in fact, locals consider it one of the best in Utah. It's good enough to have starred in a video game.

Carded at 6,595 yards from its back set of four tees, the par-72 carries a rating of 70.4 and a Slope of 130. Holes wind up and down a ridge of a mountain. The course offers large and quick-paced greens along with tight, tree-lined fairways. Water hazards enter play on six holes, and bunkers are strategically situated.

The course contains several tough holes including the eighth, ninth and 18th, each of which contains imposing rock features. The dramatic closer features a cascading waterfall behind the green that flows back down the right side of the fairway toward the tees. Although the course is a good test, most players remember the beautiful scenery as much as the golf.

Bountiful Ridge has grown in popularity due largely to its appearance on the "Links" golf game. The course is an unbelievable value, with a combined green and cart fee of $42.

For more information, visit www.bountifulutah.gov/golf.

Player-Friendly Sleepy Ridge

Set on the eastern marshlands of Utah Lake in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains, Sleepy Ridge is a wonderful daily-fee venue that weaves through protected wetlands while featuring a nice variety of water features, sand and forced carries.

A round here is an exercise in course management as much as in power, but being a long-hitter helps negotiate the twists and turns offered during the 6,969-yard journey.

Sleepy Ridge was crafted by Matt Dye, a nephew of golf architect Pete Dye, and opened for play in 2005. Matt Dye wanted a course that appears challenging - and it is, to a certain degree - but also player-friendly. Though intimidating looking, the wetlands are visible on every hole and most of the fairways are wide and forgiving.

The routing is filled with fairway bunkers surrounded by tall mounds, but the bunkers are not deep and most help keep errant shots from straying into trouble. The putting surfaces vary in shape and size; some are large and wavy, while others are elevated and small. The course can be toughened up by adding more precise pin placements.

The real teeth of Sleepy Ridge are found on the home half, which curls through wetlands and requires thoughtful play all the way in to the clubhouse. The excitement jumps at the 356-yard par-4 11th, where a drive off an elevated tee must carry about 200 yards to find a landing area lined by a lake right and bunkers left. The second shot is to a green engirded by the lake.

The holes here look tough, but Sleepy Ridge - rated at 71.7 with a Slope of 123 - is more friendlier than its appearance and rewards accurate play. And it's a great deal, costing a mere $30 to ride on weekdays and $45 weekends.

For more information, visit www.sleepyridgegolf.com.

Steve Habel is a freelance writer contributing Cybergolf news stories, features, equipment and book reviews and personality profiles from his base in Austin, Texas. He also works as an associate editor for Horns Illustrated magazine, a publication focusing on University of Texas sports, and is a contributing writer for Texas Golf Insider, Golf Oklahoma magazine, Tri-State Golfer and ATX Man magazine. Habel's blog (www.shotoverthegreen.blogspot.com) features news on golf and chronicles his many travels, including playing almost 1,000 golf courses since 2008. Habel is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and the Texas Golf Writers Association.

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