With more than 60 public golf courses within an hour's drive of the city center, it's easy to play a round while visiting Salt Lake. Several easily accessible courses are located within the city limits, surrounding foothills and even right next to the Salt Lake City International Airport. All are open to out-of-town visitors, with the scenery, conditions, variety, value, and high altitude that make Salt Lake's golf scene one of the country’s choicest. Venues include courses designed by Johnny Miller, Bruce Summerhays and Bruce Crampton, all at just a fraction of the price of playing similar courses around the nation.
SCENERY – From the valley floor, where your shots are dwarfed by the high rising snow-capped peaks, to the foothills and mountain courses, it's tough to top a day on the course in Northern Utah. From the links-style course at Wingpointe ($27/$40 with cart) near the Salt Lake City International Airport, to the elevated mountain and lake courses (two 18-hole courses) at Wasatch Mountain State Park ($36/$38 – includes cart), several options throughout the area offer spectacular vistas at affordable prices.
CONDITIONS – Bonneville ($27/$40 with cart) stands out as one of the oldest courses in Salt Lake. Since its 1929 inception, it has matured into one of the area's most popular courses. Locals love its mountain foothill location with hilly terrain and challenging, yet near-perfect, greens. The wooded areas of Bonneville allow for ideal playing conditions just about any time between April and October. Long on scenic views and intriguing layout, the Golf Club at Thanksgiving Point ($48-$78 – includes cart) runs 7,728 yards long from the longest of five sets of tees and covers more than 200 acres of meticulous mountain desert landscape. Designed by 24-time PGA champion Johnny Miller, this championship-caliber course features over 10,000 mature trees and is nestled around a 55-acre park of themed gardens.
MOUNTAIN AIR – South Mountain Golf Club ($30 to $45 – includes cart), located in the Draper foothills southeast of downtown, labels itself as one of the most challenging and spectacular courses in Utah. Each hole has a character of its own, all blending incredible scenery of mountain and valley views. Old Mill ($27/$40 with cart) offers challenge in the hills while maintaining that almost anyone can play the course, regardless of ability. Grab an evening tee time at one of these courses for a sunset finish to any round.
TOURNAMENTS – This summer, Soldier Hollow at Wasatch Mountain (East of Salt Lake in Midway) will play host to the longest continuously running tournament in world golf history, the Utah State Amateur. Also known as the State Golf Championship in its early days, the Utah State Amateur has not missed a stroke since its birth in 1899. Another popular event to visit Utah is the PGA TOUR's Energy Solutions Utah Classic Held at the picturesque and challenging Willow Creek Country Club in the suburb of Sandy (south of downtown), the Classic is an annual stop for the Nationwide Tour. For more information, contact Evan Byers at (801) 495-4653 or visit www.utahclassic.com.
Visit the official site of the Utah Golf Association at www.uga.org for details on all courses.
The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. Salt Lake is a unique fusion of metropolitan city and quaint mountain town; the towering Wasatch Mountains that embrace Salt Lake offer a dramatic backdrop to the vibrancy and activities of downtown. Having recently undergone a $58 million expansion, the Salt Palace Convention Center now boasts 679,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space, ideal for groups of all sizes and needs. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, visit www.VisitSaltLake.com.