Are there any golf courses in Utah? You would have a hard time finding much about them on a state-run web page.
During my recent visit to the award-winning site utah.gov, I surfed as a potential visitor looking for information about outdoor recreation in the state. I clicked the “Visiting” icon and the “Sports and Recreation” link. On this page, there were zero references to golf as a sport, golf as a recreation destination or the word “golf” at all. There were six links to state parks. There was a link to every college in Utah. There were 17 distinct links to the skiing industry, including a link to every privately owned ski resort in Utah. There were two or three Olympics- related links, links to the major sports arenas — and that’s about it.
“Sports and recreation” was a dead-end page as far as golf was concerned, but definitely a lobbying win for the ski industry.
For my next attempt, I visited the “Official Site of the Utah Office of Tourism,” located online at www.visitutah.com. This website looked deceptively modern and helpful, having an interesting page called “Itineraries.” This page let me select from a dropdown menu of items, including Adventure, Cycling, Eating, Family, Hiking, History, Photography, Scenic Drives, Sightseeing, Skiing, Solitude, Stargazing and Winter Sports — a seemingly all-encompassing list of things that also didn’t include golf. Each itinerary had a rich photo accompanying it depicting interesting activities such as fishing, skydiving, rafting, off-roading and horseback riding. There was even one itinerary called “Base Camp Green River” with a photo that looked like a pond on the Green River Golf Course — but with absolutely no listing of golf in the itinerary!
At this point I started thinking, “Is the state intentionally editing all references to golf from their marketing?” (I couldn’t even find references to their own state-run courses.)
In May 2014, Gov. Gary Herbert declared the month as “Utah Golf Month.” He held a ceremony and posted these facts on his blog: “Utah’s golf industry: Generates $805 million per year into our economy; Supports more than 9,600 jobs; … Draws tourists from across the county and around the world, generating more than $91 million in golf-related spending; Is as great or greater than all our professional sports in Utah combined.”
By comparison, $1.3 billion is what the skiing industry claimed to generate that year. You’d think those numbers would earn golf a little more respect from official sources. Or, at least a link on a tourism or recreation homepage.
But you’d be wrong.
Determined to find something about golf on visitutah.com, I clicked “Things to Do, Outdoor Recreation.” Boom, there it was! After scrolling halfway down the page, I found 15 photo links to various activities, including one box named “Golf.” I eagerly followed the link to find a mostly text page with as many references to skiing as to golf. Near the bottom of the page I found two intriguing links. One was a PDF download of all the courses in Utah. It hadn’t been updated since 2004 and was missing several new courses. Second, I found what looked to be the holy grail: a link to yet another site called “playutahgolf.com.” There it was — the link that should have been on the utah.gov Sports and Recreation page to begin with. I eagerly moved my mouse over the link, anticipating a full-blown site featuring Utah’s diverse golf course destinations — from the jaw-dropping desert beauty of Southern Utah to the mountain vistas of the north. I gently clicked on the link — and — it was broken.
So, it’s settled. Golf is chopped liver in the eyes of the Utah Office of Tourism. In other states, golf is promoted as a major excursion to draw in visitors. California, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Colorado all understand that visitors like to golf when they vacation — and their state webpages reflect it. They understand that, even if golf is not the primary draw for out-of-towners, it is certainly a time filler for many visitors in between tours of state and national parks. Plus, it is absolutely a draw for locals to move around the state trying out different courses.
It’s astounding how poorly golf is represented on the Utah state websites.
Herbert recently announced his desire to boost local tourism across the state, asking the legislature for $22.5 million to market the state. There is a case to be made for why we should heavily emphasize the approximately 120 statewide golf courses in state tourism marketing. For many small communities and cities, the golf course is a major — if not the only — tourist draw to their area. They are a consistent and measureable boon to the outdoor recreation economy in Utah. Plus, they make photogenic subjects for marketing!
I hope governor Herbert gets his wish for more tourism marketing dollars for Utah communities. Let’s promote the state’s hidden gems and not-so-hidden gems, including the golf courses that provide green space and outdoor recreation to “more than 100 Utah communities.” With more equality to winter sports and outdoor recreation in state tourism marketing, I have no doubt golf could generate $1 billion per year into the economy.
That’s no small feat and should earn golf a front-page button alongside skiing and state parks, instead of broken links and back page marginalization.
Zachary Aland is president and co-owner of Axxion Development LLC, a golf course management company headquartered in Ogden. He has been general manager of Remuda Golf Course and Crane Field Golf Course and has a business management degree from the University of Utah.