OREM — Golf course designer Matt Dye believes in laying out a course that satisfies two parties — the course owner and those who play it.
To make the golfer happy, a course must have holes with a challenging and difficult look but that are still somewhat forgiving to an errant shot. In other words, Dye said, holes should have "more bark than bite." A player who hits good shots should have a decent chance for birdie or par and feel really good about the accomplishment. But at the same time, a player shouldn't be over-penalized for a few missed shots.
To please a course owner, the layout must include all of the aesthetic, challenging features that golfers like but be designed in a way that does not increase maintenance costs. Dye feels his latest course design, The Links at Sleepy Ridge in Orem, accomplishes both of his philosophies.
"My goal was to make this course look a lot more challenging than it really is," Dye said. "I wanted to make the holes look dramatic but player-friendly and maintenance-friendly."
Set to open in mid- to late July, Sleepy Ridge is set on 120 acres that weave their way through wetlands near the shore of Utah Lake between 1000 South and 500 South in Orem — north of Powell Slough and a few miles straight south of the former Geneva Steel plant.
The course idea originated more than four years ago as a golf/sports park project between Orem and officials from Thanksgiving Point. But as the project was delayed 18 months by wetlands issues involving the Army Corps of Engineers, Thanksgiving Point backed away and Golden Holt, a former landscaping expert with Thanksgiving Point, stepped in.
Now, Holt and the city have a 30-year deal where the city basically provided land for the course and Holt the money to build it. Eventually, after Holt recoups his $7 million investment through adjacent real estate development, the city could share in any revenues the course generates. The city also has an advisory committee that provides input on course operations. Sleepy Ridge's green fees also must remain within 10 percent of the county average.
The front nine was seeded more than a year ago and the back nine last fall. The course is built on 120 acres of playable grass. Holt ensures that no corners were cut to squeeze more land into the real estate side of the development.
"We routed the course where we thought was best," Holt said.
Dye has an extensive background in course design. For 12 years, he worked with his uncle, legendary course designer Pete Dye, and helped design and oversee construction of Promontory Golf Club in Park City, Cabo San Lucas Country Club and the three courses at Paiute Golf Resort outside of Las Vegas. Sleepy Ridge has a flavor of all of those courses and a little of the wetland touch that you'll find at Logan River Golf Course.
"We have enough God-given hazards out here that we didn't need to trick this thing up," Dye said.
One of the most noticeable traits of Sleepy Ridge is the large berms and mounds that surround the fairway bunkers — a Dye-family characteristic. However, to make the course more forgiving, the bunkers are not deep and many are placed as containment features to keep hooking or slicing shots from running into the wetlands.
The fairways vary, but most are wide and forgiving. From all of the four tee boxes, Dye attempted to design each hole so there was no mystery ahead for the golfer. You can see most of the hole and the green in the distance.
"When you stand on these tee boxes, there is no question where you should hit the ball," Dye said.
Sleepy Ridge's greens also have a lot of variety. Some are big and sloping, others are small and some are elevated. Many are bunkered, but not all. The average green size is 6,500 square feet.
The course's signature holes are the par-4 11th and the par-5 17th. No. 11 requires a tee shot that must carry between 170-190 yards from the back tee over a lake to a split fairway. The second shot is to a green well protected by a lake on the right. The 17th is a reachable par-5, but the second shot is to a green surrounded by wetlands. However, there is some room around the green should the approach shot come up short or is slightly off line.
Sleepy Ridge should benefit from its central Utah Valley location. Many who play the course for the first time will see a part of the valley that they have never seen before. Despite the many berms and undulating fairways, the course actually only changes in elevation seven feet from the lowest point to the highest. Course officials also plan to use an aggressive abatement program to keep insects down.
Greens fees will likely range from $25 to $30. Bag service will be available and each golfer will receive a bag tag and a small bag of range balls to warm up.
"Because it's competitive out there, we have to provide a better experience," Holt said. "The experience has to stand on its own. We want to provide resort and country club golf to the municipal golfer at the municipal price."
Former Thanksgiving Point pro Devin York is the head professional at Sleepy Ridge and Jared Palenske is the superintendent. More details on the course's exact opening date, tee-time policies and green fees are forthcoming. More information is available at www.sleepyridgegolf.com.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com