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Somewhere in the middle of Glendale Golf Course's back nine, Dan Dent stopped trying to become a doctor. And now, more than 30 years later, he's working to preserve and improve Glendale and the rest of Salt Lake City's golf program.
The conversation during his pairing for nine holes with the head of the University of Utah's department of physical therapy resulted in Dent's realizing that getting to play a lot of golf probably was not sufficient reason to pursue medical school. So he changed his major to marketing, eventually taking him to the position of directing Salt Lake City's golf operation - not that this job is about playing golf, necessarily.
Dent, 50, figures he can apply his love of the game, appreciation for the city courses and knowledge of business into successfully managing a program that he describes as "not as bad as I thought, coming in from the outside."
The struggles persist, from inside and outside. Salt Lake City's operation has gone through the closure of Wingpointe GC — although hope remains for a reopening — and the threatened loss of Glendale. Part of Dent's job is preaching the value of golf courses to other city administrators, while competing for golfers in a crowded market and fighting against their time demands and other entertainment options.
"You can't just throw out an advertisement and all of a sudden everybody's going to flock to your golf course," he said.
Building a pool at Nibley Park is not an option, either. That's among the growth strategies that worked at Alpine Country Club, where Dent served as a board member from 2011-15, including a term as president. He's known at Alpine for progressive ideas and improvements that drove membership levels. "He made a huge difference," said Brent Kitchen, a former board member.
Dent is a municipal course golfer at his core. He took up the game as an Alta High School student, soon becoming obsessed with golf and playing almost daily at Salt Lake City courses. He was warned by friends and golf industry sources of "possible pitfalls" as he pursued this job, but he was not deterred.
"I knew coming in that there were lots of challenges, but that's part of my makeup," he said on a recent morning on the Forest Dale clubhouse patio. "I look at golf the same way: You don't get good at golf by saying, 'I'm going to sit here and look at the golf course.' You've got to go out and practice. You've got to apply yourself."
Dent wants people coming to the city courses — and staying there. He's promoting the free use of practice facilities (other than formal driving ranges) as one way of making each course a neighborhood venue, leading to more rounds of golf, food purchases and good impressions.
His four-part strategy includes branding, operating efficiently, generating revenue and providing a high-quality customer experience. None of that is anything new, and Dent emphasizes that he's only one part of a system with more than 200 full-time and seasonal employees at the six courses that are currently operational. But he's the one in charge of the $8 million program, and he's determined to make it work, amid unforeseen obstacles such as algae in the newly converted secondary water system at Rose Park.
Dent's scope of responsibility may even include a revived Wingpointe. The greens of the course adjacent to Salt Lake City International Airport are being maintained this summer, allowing for a potential reopening. Dent anticipates Mayor Jackie Biskupski's creating a committee that will decide Wingpointe's future once and for all by the end of the year. "My goal is to reopen it," Dent said. "It's too good of a course, too good of an amenity."
Of course, reviving Wingpointe would require assurance of its viability — and, due to its shuttered status, considerable startup costs. But if Dent can get all of the entities involved to approve the reopening, his legacy as the city's golf director would be secured, just as he's getting started.
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