Mick Riley was one of Utah's golf legends. As a golfer, a professional and a golf course designer, he left his indelible mark on Utah golf.
So it's only appropriate that a Utah golf course should bear his name.Riley designed a 9-hole golf course for Salt Lake County in 1963 that was going to be called something like Little Valley. But before its completion in 1965, Riley died. A wise decision was made to re-name it Mick Riley Golf Course after the popular pro.
The golf course, situated in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley in Murray, is nothing special as far as golf courses go. It's your basic public course, with big greens, few sand traps and a couple of messy ponds that don't come into play too much. Still Mick Riley is a very popular course that stays busy all summer long.
It isn't a tough course. Two of the par-4s measure under 300 yards and another is barely over 300. The two par-5s are under 500 yards and reachable in two by the better golfers.
At least you know those who measured the course are honest. The yardage is listed at 2,998 yards from the white tees, just a couple of yards short of seeming much longer at 3,000 yards.
The toughest hole is No. 9, a 435-yard par-4. It plays straight ahead, but you'll need a lot of club to reach the green in two, particularly if the wind is coming out of the west.
The best hole might be the 304-yard 4th hole, which has a nice backdrop of Mt. Olympus to the east. It's straight and not long, but it gets deceptively narrower near the green. Also there's a tilted tree just in front of the left side of the green, making a tough obstacle for those who hit their drives left, at least until the dying tree falls over.
Head professional Nolan Wathen has been at Mick Riley since Day 1, teaching lessons, running the golf shop and setting up programs for women, junior and senior golfers. In fact, Wathen provided a couple of the first tournaments for juniors back in the late 1960s.
The course has a large seniors association and a faithful group of women golfers come out every Thursday morning for Ladies Day.
Not to be forgotten is the adjoining par-3 course, which may be one of the best-kept secrets in the valley. Wathen helped design the course a decade ago, just to the northwest of the regular nine. His idea was for the golfer to use nearly every club in his bag off the tees. The holes range from 98 to 186 yards with a good variety of lengths in between.
The par-3 course is very well-kept and not nearly as busy as the regular nine. You don't need a reservation to play the par-3 course and it costs only $4, $3 for seniors and juniors.
Mick Riley Golf Course
Hole Par Yards*
1 5 449
1 3 172
3 4 415
4 4 304
5 3 157
6 4 298
7 4 281
8 5 487
9 4 435
__ __ ____
TOTAL 36 2998
Par-3 Course
1 3 162
2 3 98
3 3 186
4 3 176
5 3 152
6 3 121
7 3 170
8 3 123
9 3 178
__ __ ____
TOTAL 71 5929
Difficulty **
Layout/Scenery **
Enjoyability Index **
(5=Highest rating, 0=Lowest)
Location: 421 East Vine Street, Murray
Head Professional: Nolan Wathen
Cost: $6/$12, Carts $7/14, Range $1.50/$3
Reservations: 266-8185, Mon for Tues-Wed, Wed for Thur-Fri, Thu for Sat-Sun-Mon
Easiest time to get on: Noon to 3 p.m.
Course record: Steve Wathen, Brian Ainsworth 30, Arlen Peacock 54 (competitive)