Eight public and privately owned golf courses, 15 lodging properties and the CVB established the Red Rock Golf Trail marketing cooperative in February of 2004 to increase tourism in Washington County by promoting "stay and play" packages, said CVB spokeswoman Joyce Kelly.

Since then, "it's just doing remarkably well, more than we ever anticipated," she added.

Golfers are lured to St. George by packages such as the currently advertised "Gold Tee Golf Specials," which runs Feb. 1 through May 31. It offers four rounds of golf and five nights of lodging for various prices - from $416 at Budget Inn to $1,098 at The Inn at Entrada, with in-between options of $490 at Comfort Suites, $499 at Ramada, $525 at Hampton Inn and $548 at Hilton Garden Inn.

Participating golf courses include Sunbrook, Southgate, Coral Canyon, St. George Golf Club, Dixie Red Hills, The Ledges of St. George and Sun River Development's SunRiver Golf Club, all in St. George; Suncor's Coral Canyon course in Washington City; and Sky Mountain in Hurricane.

The program generated more than $250,000 in revenue in the first three months of 2007, pushing the aggregate income total over the $1 million mark.

In its first year, 2004, people teeing up on sites along the Red Rock Golf Trail produced 378 room nights at St. George-area hotels and 706 tee times, generating $70,000 in revenue, Kelly said. The impact increased to $270,000 in 2005 and $407,000 last year, with hotels booking 1,891 room nights for golfers who also reserved 3,452 tee times.

She credited this year's strong early showing in part to financial support from the Utah Board of Tourism Development.

In September, the board provided a $40,000 matching grant to the Red Rock Golf Trail for out-of-state promotional campaigns. The state money was used to help purchase inserts in golf publications.

mikeg@sltrib.com