Keeping golf light on the wallet in Utah

A look at neighboring states shows that Utah's prices are lower on the average than cities such as Denver; Boise, Idaho; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Tucson, Ariz. We won't even mention Las Vegas and Phoenix, where most prices are in the $100 range and up, although you can get some decent deals at some courses in the summer if you can stand the 110-degree heat.

In 1990, when the greens fees reached $6 for nine holes and $12 for 18 in Salt Lake, a local Citizens Golf Committee was organized to protest rising greens fees. One of the main concerns was the cost of season passes, which jumped to $500, and senior passes, which more than doubled to $400.

However, the prices kept going up every couple of years, before slowing down early in this century.

There has been talk about charging different fees for nonresidents, which is done in other states, where nonresidents pay $10 to $20 more for 18 holes on public courses, but only Park City Municipal has enacted such a fee schedule locally, charging non-county residents $11 more per 18.

Utah could also try something other states have done and charge different rates depending on the time of day. That can get a little absurd, such as the Riverside Golf Course in Austin, Texas, which has rates before 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and after 6 p.m., with the rates different Mondays to Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays-Sundays. They also have senior and junior rates, depending on the time of day.

Like everything else in life, the cost of golf will keep going up, though hopefully for golfers' sake, not as fast as during the 1990s.

Even though 18-hole prices in Salt Lake haven't increased since 2004, the longest stretch of steady rates since the 1970s, Salt Lake's golf manager, Dave Terry, says that could change next year.

"I want to keep prices as low as I can, but some costs are increasing so fast, we have no choice," Terry said.

Golf courses must pay for things such as water, power, gasoline and fertilizer, as well as personnel. It's up to the City Council to decide, but Terry doesn't think next year's increase should be more than a dollar per nine, and the city may pick and choose which courses to increase based on the play and needs of the courses.

The golf business has been stagnant all over the country for the last decade or so, and golf municipalities such as Salt Lake are trying to grow the game through junior golf. On Salt Lake City golf courses, juniors can play for $7 and for as little as $3.50 in the afternoons with adults.

That sounds just like the good old days.

e-mail: sor@desnews.com