If the county ends up privatizing the course, both Taft and Schmirald fear a major jump in green fees. Schmirald loves the course enough that he might continue coming back, but Taft doesn't plan on it.

"I wouldn't pay top dollar to play here," Taft said at the course on Tuesday.

The course is on prime foothill land at the Point of the Mountain, with beautiful valley views. But the county can't sell the property to developers.

The land is locked in a conservation easement that prevents development in the future should the course fold. Just a sliver of the total course — five acres to be exact — could be developed commercially, and a few interested parties have already contacted the county about possible development.

The county tried to buy the course in 1996 for $6.5 million, but developers rebuffed that offer. Later, both sides agreed to a $7.9 million deal.

That deal fell through, however, after paperwork necessary to finalize it languished for months in then-county attorney Doug Short's office. Saying they couldn't wait any longer, developers accepted the offer from Crown Golf Properties, a Chicago-based operator of upscale golf courses, for a controlling share.

Former County Commissioner Brent Overson blamed Short for the demise of a deal that he said would have greatly benefited the county and cash-poor golfers. Short countered that Overson had complicated the deal by holding secret meetings with South Mountain principal Terry Diehl.

Then, in 1999 the county came back and paid $17 million for the course, a huge mistake in Councilman Jim Bradley's eyes.

"Yeah, we made a bad deal when we bought South Mountain," Bradley said. "We made a bad decision, and now we're all paying for it."

The debt payments for the course are hurting the county's entire golf system. The county still owes $12.9 million on the bond.

Instead of paying for improvements on the county's six golf courses, funding is used to pay off the South Mountain debt, said Erin Litvack, the county's community services director.

South Mountain is projected to run in the red through at least 2011, with estimated losses at $91,000 this year alone.

"For the last eight years, South Mountain has been a problem," Councilman Randy Horiuchi said. "It's been a problem revenue wise, and it's draining to a great degree."

County leaders aren't making any decisions on the course's future just yet.

On Tuesday, the County Council voted to investigate the issue further. All options are on the table, including privatization, giving up operational control to a private company but retaining ownership, or keeping things as is and possibly investing more money to perk things up economically at the Draper course.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com