Font Resize
- Tribune 'masters': Excellent journey
- Jun 8:
- Kragthorpe: At the end of the day, a birdie is worth a lot
Montpelier, Idaho; Evanston, Wyo.; Stansbury Park; West Wendover, Nev. » What began on a lark, a story suggestion aimed at getting a few free rounds of golf out of the Tribune , came to bloom with four Tribune employees standing on a wet tee box in Montpelier, Idaho before 6 a.m. last week. What followed was a track any penny-pinching golfer looking for an adventure could follow. We played nine holes in Idaho, nine in Evanston, Wyo., nine more in Stansbury Park and a final nine in West Wendover.
The idea came from a Golf magazine story where a writer played courses in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. We could do that, given the proximity of Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada to Salt Lake City.
The Tribune golfers had no idea what we were in for on that first tee. It turns out, we stumbled upon four hidden gems -- four golf courses worth going a little out of your way for.
The best part, from a cheapskate's perspective, was the total greens fees paid: $68 per person, carts included. But it never was really about the golf -- it certainly wasn't about shooting the best rounds of our lives. It was about having an adventure; a 13-hour, four-way man date. Golf was the vehicle for making that happen.
A rented Dodge Caravan was the vehicle that brought us to the tee box of the municipal course in Montpelier. The golf started at 5:55 a.m. The antics started shortly thereafter.
On the third hole, Jim Patrick and Kurt Kragthorpe were instructed to hurry, for the sake of a video being produced. After Kragthorpe hit his approach shot, he jumped into the cart. Or tried to. Patrick hit the gas before Kragthorpe was in the cart, spinning Kragthorpe off the side of the cart and nearly ending the trip about 13 hours early.
Montpelier proved to be a testy municipal track, and the golfers made things harder on themselves. The pair hiked up to an unmowed tee box on No. 7 to hit tee shots from a perch 50 feet higher than the fairway.
A couple hours later, though, came the sequence that defined the trip. On the Purple Sage course in Evanston, Wyo., Jazz beat writer Ross Siler decided to try a tee shot on the seventh hole.
With virtually no golf experience, Siler took a few unknowing swings at an exploding ball before feebly poking a hole in it, causing it to leak powder. Then, after much laughter and with an actual golf ball, Siler hit a line drive into Tribune cameraman Jim Urquhart, who was about 60 degrees to Siler's right on the tee box.
In the spirit of the day, Siler was given a Mulligan. Urquhart moved out of the way. Siler proceeded to knock his tee shot to the center of the
|
|
He was not given any further Mulligans, but it gave us something to talk about in the car.
As with all road trips, games developed to kill time in the car. We counted the number of phone calls between Urquhart and his fiancée (we lost count after 13 calls in 29 hours). We ate a pound and a half of honey roasted nuts. There were cows mating in Idaho, we are happy to report. As a bizarre side trip, Kragthorpe hijacked the man date to go to Wal-Mart in Tooele to shop for a sun dress for his wife.
That was after Patrick nearly pegged the course manager at Stansbury Park, who was fixing sprinklers on the 11th hole.
For a few holes at Toana Vista, it was about the golf as we wrapped up the four-state tour. Kragthorpe and Patrick -- who alternated between the blue and the white tee boxes all day -- chose to play from the tips on the 615-yard No. 16. It worked out for Patrick, who hit a driver, 3-wood and a 6-iron to get in the vicinity of the green and made a par.
And on the final hole, Kragthorpe spared the group from a possible 37th hole. Kragthorpe had vowed to make one birdie on the four-state marathon. Finally, with everybody ready to go home, Kragthorpe hit his second shot to within 4 feet on the par 4. Ever considerate, the other golfers putted out to put as much possible pressure on Kragthorpe, who cooly drained the putt for his birdie.
Thank you.
Montpelier Golf Course
Par » 36, 3,062 yards
Address » 210 Boise Street, Montpelier, Idaho, 83254
Phone number » 208-847-1981
Distance from Salt Lake City » 153 miles
Year built » 1965
Rates » Nine holes $10.25, 18 holes $17.50, All day $25, Carts $5
Overview » With a population of 2,370, Montpelier's claim to fame comes with an August 1896 robbery in which Butch Cassidy and two accomplices "relieved" the city bank of $16,500 in gold, silver and bills. The city's nine-hole municipal golf course, located next to Bear Lake High and hugged by mountains, is a throwback to the era in which it was built in the 1960s. Much of the course's business comes from lake residents, although club pro Ted Slivinski estimates that Utahns account for 65 percent of play during peak season. Many are favorably impressed. "I say, 'For a bunch of farmers pushing some dirt around, they did a fantastic job,' " Slivinski said. "In small-town Idaho, there's some good golf." There's nearby hunting and fishing as well as the National Oregon/California Trail Center in town and all the attractions of Bear Lake.
Purple Sage Golf Course
Par » 72, 6,231 yards
Address » 401 Kindler Drive, Evanston, Wyo., 82930
Phone » 307-789-2383
Distance from Salt Lake City » 85 miles
Year built » Original nine 1956, second nine 2001
Rates » Nine holes $13, 18 holes $24, Carts $7 for nine, $14 for 18 holes
Overview » The views are simply dazzling from the tee of the 577-yard downhill No. 3 hole, with Interstate 80 and its various hotels off to the right, the city sitting quietly below, a freight train rumbling nearby and mountains towering above it all. Not exactly the Evanston advertised by the Pyro City Fireworks billboards. The course was expanded by the city eight years ago with land donated by the railroad and now runs by a graphite plant. Despite the proximity to Salt Lake, only about 25 percent of its play comes from out of towners, according to head pro Scott Ehlers. That includes the occasional trucker (or three) who will pull his semi into Purple Sage for a round. "We're kind of the only show in southwest Wyoming," said Ehlers, who lists the uphill, downhill and side hill terrain as the course's best attribute. Not to mention the sagebrush that turns purple in the summer to give the course its name.
Stansbury Park Golf Course
Par 72, 6,380 yards
Address: 1 Country Club Drive, Stansbury Park, Utah, 84074
Phone: 435-882-4162
Distance from Salt Lake City: 28 miles
Year built: 1972
Rates: With cart $14 for nine holes, $26 for 18 during week, $29 on weekend. Without cart, $9 for nine holes, $16 for 18.
Overview: Located in the Tooele Valley on the opposite side of the Oquirrh Mountains from Salt Lake, Stansbury Park Golf Course has to fight a perception problem. "People just don't know about us," director Jeff Green said. "You get around the point of the mountain, they think you're in Wendover. They think it's just as far as going to Wendover, really." For the record, Green notes that it takes only 35 minutes to reach the course, which was built along with the original planned community in the 1970s, from his home in East Millcreek. The course is owned by the Stansbury Park Service Agency, set up by the county, with Green taking over operations last year as part of a 15-year lease. The course has water on 16 of 18 holes, which Green credits as its best feature. Its prices also are the product of competition both from courses in Salt Lake as well as others in Tooele.
Toana Vista Golf Course
Par » 72 5,992 yards
Address » 2319 Pueblo Blvd., West Wendover, Nev., 89883
Phone » 800-852-4330
Distance from Salt Lake City » 124 miles
Year built » 1987
Rates » Nine holes $26, 18 holes $43 (carts included), $32 discount rate if staying at local casino
Overview » Assistant pro Sean Donigan calls Toana Vista a "hidden gem," citing its desert setting and the fact that only 25,000 nine-hole rounds are played annually in Wendover. The course's name comes from an American Indian description of the black-topped mountains visible in the distance. In fact, Toana Vista sits high at the west end of Wendover, with impressive views looking back onto the town and casinos and miles of flats in the distance. After a period of decline, the course has enjoyed a resurgence the last two years, with superintendent Mel Duke coming over from Glen Eagle Golf Course in Syracuse. "We've put a lot of money back into it and got it back to really good conditions," said Donigan, with funding coming both from the town and the casinos. Toana Vista hosts approximately 60 tournaments and corporate events a year, but with only 20 to 30 local regulars is largely dependent on visitors from Salt Lake City to stay in business. The course does enjoy a longer season than most thanks to milder weather, opening annually Feb. 14 and closing Nov. 30.
Ross Siler
» Monday, June 1
3:09 p.m. Leave Salt Lake City
6:14 p.m. Arrive Montpelier, Idaho 151 miles
» Tuesday, June 2
5:15 a.m. Awake Super 8 motel, Montpelier, Idaho
5:55 a.m. Tee off, Montpelier Golf Course
7:04 a.m. Hole out, Montpelier Golf Course
7:17 a.m. Leave Montpelier, Idaho for Evanston, Wyo.
8:58 a.m. Arrive Purple Sage Golf Course, Evanston, Wyo. 103 miles
9:12 a.m. Tee off, Purple Sage Golf Course
9:17 a.m. First birdie, Jim on No. 1, 371-yard par-4
10:57 a.m. Hole out, Purple Sage Golf Course
11:12 a.m. Leave Evanston, Wyo., for Stansbury Park, Utah
12:21 p.m. Pass through Salt Lake City on I-80
12:44 p.m. Arrive Stansbury Park, Utah 107 miles (210 miles for day)
12:54 p.m. Tee off, Stansbury Park Golf Course
2:15 p.m. Second birdie, Jim on No. 17, 490-yard par-5
2:29 p.m. Hole out, Stansbury Park Golf Course
2:45 p.m. Wal-Mart stop, Tooele, Utah
3:10 p.m. Leave for West Wednover, Nev.
4:36 p.m. Arrive at Toana Vista Golf Course, West Wendover, Nev. 105 miles (315 miles for day)
5:03 p.m. Tee off, Toana Vista Golf Course
6:46 p.m. Hole out, Toana Vista. Third birdie, Kurt on No. 18, 362-yard, par-4
7:04 p.m. Leave Toana Vista, Dinner in West Wendover, Nev.
10:47 p.m. Arrive Salt Lake City, return rental car. 139 miles
--
» Total miles: 471 miles for the day; 626 for two days.
» Total gas cost: $48.91
