The Daily Spectrum from Saint George, Utah • 45

Spectrum Proaress Sunday, March 24, 1991 3B Sunbrook adds to list of great golf courses I -r I "v- i of the courses iri the area are reporting the same thing golf is becoming more and more popular and more people are playing than ever before. Last fall, the city-owned Sun-brook Golf Club opened to the public and has been besieged by hordes of golfers ever since. Sun-brook head pro Reed McArthur said the course has been a huge success. "We're extremely busy," he said. "The course has been holding up really well considering how cold it was in December and how much play we've had." With southern Utah being known as a destination spot for snowbirds, a spring-break haven for students and a place to just enjoy some wonderful weather, the number of out-of-town golfers is on the rise.

"We've had a lot of calls from all over the states and Canada," McArthur said. Golf Digest had a story on Sunbrook last fall and people are very interested in playing the course. McArthur estimated that 90 percent of the play at Sunbrook is from out-of-towners. "People play here because the course is fun and it doesn't beat you into the ground. The average player can play it," McArthur said.

The sport of golf helps bring in millions of dollars to the local economy each year. With the number of visitors coming to play, that amount continues to increase rapidly. One of the biggest concerns heard about playing golf in south-fern Utah is that the green fees are high. But compared to fees in places like Las Vegas and Phoenix, golfing here is a great deal and the courses stack up compar- by Chris Hardman Staff Writer ST. GEORGE Let's see now, another year another outstanding new golf course for southern Utah.

It seems like every year or so a new course is springing up and all ST. GEORGE Major League baseball player Marly Barrett was one of the celebrities to play in the inaugural Dixie CelebrityCharity Golf Tournament in November. (Spectrum Chris Hardman) ST. GEORGE Sunbrook Golf Club offers the only island green in Utah. The hole.

No. 13, is one of three signature holes on the course. Sunbrook opened for play in the fall of 1990 and has ably to some of the more well- private facility. Each of the known golf hot spots. courses has its own distinctive Utah Dixie boasts eight golf style cut out in some of the best courses and only one of them, scenery anywhere.

Five of the Bloomington Country Club, is a courses are 18-hole layouts, while received rave reviews from the Hardman) the other three are nine-hole facili- ties. Two of those three are par-3 courses. Add on to those an 18-hole course in Cedar City, a nine-hole layout in public so far. (Spectrum Chris Kanab, the Peppermill course in Mesquite, Nev. and the Beaver nam Ariz, course, and you have an area saturated with quality courses.

iTi.fW LBU UALM Cedar adds back nine and clubhouse facility 111 7 Al 1 4 1 tAe MAI PRESSES 'B1''dJlt'" 1 ArrilANCB improvements to be made. Vickers said the local men's golf organization recently purchased 750 trees for landscaping. Cedar Ridge course superintendent Steve Judd is in the process of transplanting larger cottonwood trees to the course to add to its variety. More work will be done around the clubhouse, including landscaping and parking areas. If all goes as planned, these improvements will be completed in June for the Utah Summer Games.

With 18 holes available, golf will be introduced as a new sport at the Games. Vickers, who was instrumental in starting the renovation, says the project has been very successful and has been relatively inexpensive due to hours of donated time and effort to make it possible. "We've added nine new holes and a new clubhouse, plus we've redone the sprinkler systems in the old nine all for $850,000 and we have to give a lot of credit to the men's association, the city crews and John for all they've done," Vickers said. Many of the work that normally would have been done by others was done by Evans and other local volunteers. Vickers says Evans designed the additional nine holes and the clubhouse very effectively and gave architects a foundation to build on.

Other volunteers have helped with everything from the color scheme of the clubhouse, to hauling dirt, to planting trees. Vickers says golfers will be happy with the new course. It is designed to be playable and enjoyable for players of all ages and abilities. "It's not meant to be a championship course, but it is an excellent municipal course," he said. cService Pi I 1 At CEDAR CITY After years of planning and preparation and as a result of thousands of professional and volunteer hours, the Cedar Ridge Golf Course is nearly ready for its debut as an 18-hole course with a new clubhouse facility.

Golfers have already tried out the course's new nine holes and the clubhouse will open its doors in the near future, according to John Evans, Cedar Ridge golf pro. "Once everything is finished, this will be something everyone in Cedar City can be groud of," Evans said. Cedar City Councilman Evan Vickers says the golf course renovation will benefit the community through added tourism dollars and increased local players. "Eighteen hole courses attract people. We've had people who come up to the clubhouse and ask if we have nine or 18 holes, and when they found out we only had nine, sometimes they would drive straight through to play in St.

George. With 18 holes, more people will stay and play for a couple of days," he said. For local players, the course won't be as crowded. It will be easier to get a tee time and the course will not have to be closed to the public when tournaments or other group activities are underway, Vickers said. Evans says the improved golf course will better serve as a recreational outlet for Cedar City residents and as a destination point for travelers.

"We wanted to make it so a general Cedar City person or tourist can enjoy playing a top-notch course. More and more people will find out how nice it is to play an 18-hole course here where the temperature is perfect through the whole summer," he said. While the entire course is now open for play, there are still many At lfcur I CHARGE SETUP YOUR OWN ACCOUNT TODAY! new 3awAen facility me to- cffiei, witi tweb 43,000 by. flt. to ymi, tyiew bee cub lew cwid fa6uimiA belevtiwi, 'It know.

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