COURSE REVIEW

Pete Dye Delivers
an Olympian Effort at
Promontory--The Ranch Club

By Tom LaMarre,
Contributor

PARK CITY, UTAH (Sept. 20, 2002) -- Pete Dye’s latest creation might ruin his reputation.

Dye, one of golf’s master architects, is known for designing challenging golf courses that some have called diabolical, but even he admits that the Pete Dye Canyon Course at Promontory--the Ranch Club, outside Park City, is something different for him.

“The last nine holes, especially, there is some receptive golf,” Dye said at the grand opening of the course on Labor Day Weekend on a dramatic piece of land that ranges from between 6,000 and 7,100 feet of elevation.

Receptive? A Pete Dye course?

Actually, it was planned that way by the Pivotal Group of Phoenix, which hopes to build up to five courses by noted designers at Promontory, a 6,500-acre recreational second-home and private ranch club community located between the Wasatch and Uinta mountain ranges.

“They asked us to build a golf course that the whole family can play,” said Cynthia Dye McCrary, Pete’s niece, who was part of the design team. “That’s exactly what we did. Promontory is a family area and they didn’t want a course that was impossible for some people to play.”

There are six sets of tees, starting at 4,800 yards for juniors and beginners, and stretching to a whopping 7,800 yards for low-handicappers.

For example, the par-three ninth hole, which plays downhill across natural vegetation to a deep, narrow and undulating green, stretches from 117 yards from the front tee box to a whopping 299 yards from the tips.

But don’t be scared off by the big numbers.

“Because of the high altitude and the elevation changes, you can tear up the yardage books,” said Dye, who has predicted that the Pete Dye Canyon Course will someday be ranked among the top 10 courses in the United States. “It’s a very playable golf course.

It’s a very defined golf course and yet you have the feeling that you are standing on top of Mt. Everest looking down for miles. It’s a great place and I think it has the chance of being a great chance of being a destination golf area.

“The golf course flows with all of the surroundings. Most golf courses take at least four or five years to mature, but after three weeks this course looked like it had been here for a long time.”

Dye stuck with the family theme of Promontory, employing not only McCrary but his son, Perry Dye, and nephews Matt and Luke Dye on the design team.

Perhaps Jack Nicklaus, another noted family man, will do the same when he designs the next course at Promontory, the Jack Nicklaus Valley Course which is scheduled to open in 2006, in a secluded area known as Painted Valley.

“Our vision for Promontory is to create a place where our families will bring generations together in a stunning mountain ranch setting that is easily accessible from anywhere in the country,” said Francis Najafi, chairman and CEO of the Pivotal Group.

“We offer amenities unsurpassed anywhere, more outdoor sports, dining, golf . . . more country, more club.”

The Range House, which includes the golf pro shop, was the first of what will be five clubhouses at Promontory. The Outfitter’s Cabin, which opened on Labor Day Weekend and features spectacular views of the Uinta Mountains and Rockport Reservoir, will serve as headquarters for mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing, river rafting and snow shoeing. Work is underway on the Promontory Equestrian Center, the Kinnikinnick Cabin for children, and the Ranch House, which will have facilities for tennis, swimming and ice skating, plus a full-service fitness center and spa.

Promontory also will have a day lodge across the valley at the Deer Valley Ski Resort and will shuttle skiers to and from the slopes in its two restored 1939 coach sedans, known as “Jammers.”

Eventually, with up to five courses, golf will be the centerpiece.

“I have had the opportunity to play some of the best golf courses in the country and only a few of them are spectacular,” said Michael Marion, one of two PGA Master Professionals in Utah who formerly worked at famed Medinah Country Club near Chicago.

“This course is phenomenal. The land is phenomenal. The architect is phenomenal. He made it challenging without affecting the integrity of the golf course. It’s nice to be able to miss a shot and not have to get a new ball.”

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“We’ve already had calls from people wanting to know if we are interested in hosting some big tournaments. It’s something we would love to entertain down the road.”

The front nine of the Pete Dye Canyon Course, which opened on the July 4th weekend, plays along a hillside with spectacular panoramic views of Park City, Deer Valley, the Olympic Sports Park and the Wasatch range in the distance.

Only the third hole, which plays 720 yards from the back tee, gives the golfer a hint of what lies ahead on the back nine. The hole plays downhill, dropping 80 feet to the fairway and another 54 feet to the green through an arroyo that narrows dramatically near the green.

“When I walked Promontory for the first time, I was amazed at how well the lands lends itself to golf,” Dye said. “With rambling sage brush and meadows on the front nine and beautiful canyons after the turn, I have created a great golf experience that everyone will enjoy.” The back nine plays through scenic mountain canyons and meadows at the highest elevations of Promontory, 80% of which is an open-land conservancy, where moose, elk, deer and bobcat roam.

The holes are somewhat tighter but the canyon walls tend to send slightly errant shots bouncing back toward the fairway, a testament to Dye’s claim of “receptive golf.”

Of particular note is the 447-yard par-four, dogleg left 15th, a bit of target golf across natural terrain on the tee shot to a fairway 77 feet below the tee. There are 11 bunkers on the hole, including four protecting the green.

No. 17 is a devilish 501-yard par four with a 62-foot drop to the tightest fairway on the course, especially near the green, which is 34 feet below the fairway.

“The course was designed for family golf play,” said Rich Sonntag, managing director of Promontory. “Park City is really known as a ski area but . . . it has a new status as of being a great and No. 1 summer get-away as well as a world-class ski destination.”

“Promontory has four seasons of recreational facilities for the entire family but golf will definitely be the driving force in the summer months.”

Skiing still is king during winter in Park City, home of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team, where several events were held during the 2002 Olympics, and the facilities at the Olympic Sports Park are open to the public.

The Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Ski Resort and the Canyons Ski Resort give skiers plenty of options in town, and there are several more nearby at Snowbird and Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and Brighton and Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon. You can stay at the rustic Stein Ericksen Lodge on the slopes at Deer Valley, owned by the 1952 Olympic gold medalist, the quaint Goldener Hirsch Inn, the Chateaux or the Washington School Inn, a bed and breakfast just off trendy main street in Park City.

There is plenty of good grub in the old mining town, especially at the Wasatch Brew Pub where they specialize in Polygamy Beer, Robert Redford’s Zoom restaurant, the Riverhorse Cafe, the Snake Creek Grill and the Blind Dog, a local favorite known for its crab cakes.

For fine dining try Grappa, an Italian restaurant at the top of Main Street, Mariposa, Wahso, which features eclectic Asian cuisine, and Chez Betty, which has great food and spectacular mountain views from its patio during the summer.

There are now nearly as many options for golf, starting with the sporty Park City Golf Course, Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club and Park Meadows Country Club in Park City.

Just down the road are the Homestead Resort, designed by Bruce Summerhays of the PGA Senior Tour, and Wasatch Mountain State Park Golf Course, both in Midway, and Mountain Dell Golf Course in Parley’s Canyon.

More are on the way, including Tuhaye Golf Club, which is being designed by Mark O’Meara--the 1998 Masters and British Open champion.

And Promontory plans to weigh in with four more heavyweights.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.