The City Parks Open will celebrate its 48th birthday later this week when it is contested at the Mountain Dell and Bonneville Golf courses. What some folks may not realize is that the City Parks got its start at Forest Dale where it was played for 20 years.
Forest Dale is a 9-hole course located on the south edge of Salt Lake City, just off the freeway on 9th East. Built in 1906, it is the oldest existing golf course in the state.The course enjoys a long and colorful history. Shortly after being built it was purchased by the Salt Lake Country Club, which kept it until 1924 when it was sold to the city. The City Parks Open had its start there in 1943 and by 1956 was being touted as the "world's largest golf tournament" with 735 contestants in several flights.
In 1958, the course was sold to the LDS Church, which planned to turn the course into a junior college campus. But those plans never materialized and 12 years later, the course was sold back to the city.
In the early 1980s a plan was hatched to turn the Forest Dale property into an 18-hole executive course with a driving range. That plan never developed and in 1986-87 the course was renovated, re-opening in July of 1987.
A new irrigation system was installed and a large lake was built between No. 7 and No. 9 to serve as a large detention basin for flood control. Also, several new tee areas were put in and berms and mounds were added on most holes to give the course more definition and character. Plans are still in the hopper to renovate the old clubhouse, which hasn't been used for a number of years.
The course isn't difficult, although it's much more of a challenge from the gold (3,126 yards) or blue (2,970) tees than the whites (2,621). It has a nice balance with three par-5s, three par-4s and three par-3s. The Forest Dale greens are small and the sand traps are distinctively high-banked.
The first hole is a short par-4 but with a very skinny green flanked by two of those high-banked bunkers. The second hole is a straight-ahead par-5 again with a small green and one of those big traps. The 3rd, 6th and 8th holes are par-3s, ranging from 214 yards (gold, No. 6) to 68 yards (red, No. 8).
The best holes are No. 7 and No. 9. The 7th is a par-5 that bends around the lake in a dogleg to the right. The 9th can be one of the toughest par-4s anywhere from the back tees at 449 yards.
One part of the course you shouldn't miss is a small unused rock bridge over a stream between the blue and white tees on No. 7. You can see it as you come off the 6th green, but you have to look for it, since a weed tree growing nearby obscures the view of the bridge from the west.
The bridge is likely as old as the course and it features a pair of crossed golf clubs in cement on one side. If you get up close you can see the clubs are made out of small rocks.
"That's the neatest part of the course," says head pro Mack Christensen. "That little bridge is a classic. We'd like to get rid of that tree and try to reconstruct the bridge."
It would serve as a terrific reminder about the roots of golf in Utah.
Graphic
Forest Dale Golf Course
Hole Par Yards*
1 4 295
2 5 421
3 3 126
4 4 318
5 5 435
6 3 202
7 5 414
8 3 92
9 4 365
____ ___ ____
OUT 36 2621
*Middle tees
Difficulty: ***
Layout/Scenery: **
Enjoyability index: ***
(5=highest rating, 0=lowest)
Location: 2375 South 900 East
Head professional: Mack Christensen
Cost: $6/$12 for 18 holes, cart $7/$14
Reservations: 483-5420
Mon for Tue-Wed, Wed for Thur-Fri, Thu for Sat-Sun-Mon
Easiest time to get on: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Course Record: Lynn Landgren 27