There are three par-5s on the front nine, including No. 1, the downhill, dogleg right at No. 5, and another slight dogleg left at No. 7.

The toughest hole on the nine, if not the course, may be No. 8, a downhill par-3 that stretches to 251 from the blacks, 235 from the blues and a still formidable 201 from the whites. Most folks will need a wood or rescue club, and with out of bounds just left of the green, it can be a scary tee shot.

The back nine has several interesting hole, including the short downhill par-3 12th, which has a menacing creek just to the left of the green.

The par-4 13th is a dogleg right hole with water to hit over both off the tee and the approach to the green. It was designed a risk-reward hole for brave golfers to cut the corner, but with houses down the right side, golfers can't attempt to cut it off. Most will hit an iron off the tee and hope to be close enough to hit a low iron into the raised green in two.

No. 16 is a pretty hole, an uphill, dogleg right with a creek along the right side and a two-tiered green to approach.

The ninth and 18th holes are parallel with tees next to each other and a shared double green. It's a long green, however, with a couple of trees and a bunker in between, so golfers won't have to worry about getting hit by stray balls from the other fairway.

Unfortunately, the course is not very walkable, with a lot of elevation changes and a couple of long stretches between holes.

But one of the neat things about your cart is the GPS capability, which not only gives the golfer exact distance to the pin, but distances to hazards and to the front and back of greens. Homestead is the only course in northern Utah with a full GPS system.

Over the years the Homestead has used various gimmicks to get new people to try the course.

The year after it opened, it held a free golf week and people flocked to the course and filled up all the tee times. Then last year, it allowed senior golfers over age 65 to play for free except for cart fee and again attracted large numbers.

Seniors still get a good deal with $25 rounds Monday through Thursday. There's also a dinner and golf special Sunday through Thursday after 12, which includes a round of golf and a three-course meal for just $49. There are also "stay and play" packages tied into the hotel.

But with prices as low as they've been in years, the course is affordable for all golfers now.

e-mail: sor@desnews.com