Park City Municipal is looking to renovate its golf course and got feedback from locals at an open house Monday.
Course manager Vaughn Robinson said most irrigation systems last 15 to 30 years. Park City’s system dates back to the early 1990s and Robinson said it needs to be replaced.
“It's going to possibly deteriorate, so you got to get ahead of it before it creates bigger issues of water leaks and wasting water underground,” Robinson said.
Robinson said new sprinklers can target specific areas and will help conserve water. This will be a major benefit to the course, he said, as the current heads are limited in their spray range.
“We can put a lot of smaller pop-up heads, so we don't have to water quite as much, the water that does go down can soak or absorb into the grass and the root structure versus maybe running off down and puddling up somewhere,” he said.
The irrigation system replacement will require significant ground work so the city is considering a larger remodel at the same time, saying it will be more efficient to do it all at once.
Robinson said the back nine came first in the '60s, the front nine holes followed in the '70s. The greens and fairways also feature different grasses, which can make the course hard to manage.
The city surveyed around 380 residents and found most are interested in a course revamp. The respondents ranked greens improvements, bunker renovations and fairway and turf leveling as the highest priorities.
The majority surveyed said the improvements should be split over two seasons so half of the course would always be playable. Callaway Zuccarello said she and the Park City Women’s 9-Hole Golf League, with about 350 members, also prefer the split.
“We have such an enthusiastic group that I think if they shut it down for a whole year and we couldn't play, that'd be very frustrating,” she said.
Zuccarello said she’s excited for the improvements — and to perhaps make the course a little easier.
“We have a beautiful golf course, and as long as we're not changing the feel of it, which it doesn't look like we are, I think it's going to continue to be a great asset for the community,” she said.
The city is also considering snow guns as part of course improvements. White Pine Touring uses the course for cross-country skiing each winter, a challenge on low-snow years.
Robinson said the Park City Council will decide on course improvements after its August meeting.
Park City Municipal is a financial supporter of KPCW.
