I realize I have a pretty good gig here at the D-News. Parents and fans tell me that all the time when they see me getting paid to watch high school ball games. Some want my job.
But I'm like most of you and I also have a dream job — one that I'll never have and can only dream about. Actually, I have a few. Of course, I'd love to be a famous musician, but that's never happening, considering I don't even play an instrument. Being a professional athlete would come next, but I'm too old, too short, too fat and lacking in skill to reach that goal. Plus I didn't grow up in an age where parents spent their life savings to develop their children's talents.
There's one job, however, that is within reach. It's more than a one-in-a-million chance of happening, but Jim Carrey reminded me in "Dumb and Dumber" that I still should keep my hopes up. To me, few jobs would be more rewarding than being a golf course designer. It would be extremely satisfying to take a chunk of Mother Earth and mold it into a landmark that people for years would walk on and recreate on. Well-designed golf courses bring a lot of joy to people. Golfers drool over great golf holes. When a person walks off a good golf course, they feel like they've experienced a piece of heaven.
Anyone who has driven with me to St. George knows where my first course will be built. About 15 miles south of Cedar City there's this neat little piece of rolling-hills farmland just east of I-15 that has future golf course written all over it. As soon as I win a $100 million lottery, it's mine and my career as a course designer will be off and running.
I guess I'll just keep dreaming, and I do plenty of that every time I play golf. I'm always analyzing golf holes, giving my opinion of what makes a hole good or bad. I love to imagine changes to holes that would make them better. If only I had the power and money to do it, I'd be in golf heaven.
Most of my golf life has been spent walking the fairways of Hobble Creek, arguably the best course in Utah County and possibly the state. Still, as much as I love that place, I'd love to see some changes. I dream and imagine about them all the time. Here's what I'd do, and if you're familiar with the course you can use your own imagination as to what these changes would add.
On No. 1, I'd put a huge but shallow kidney-shaped bunker on the right side of the fairway and a large pine tree on the left edge of the fairway. I'd then bring in the pond on the right so it's partially in front of the green.
I'd love to see a big fairway bunker on the right side of No. 3. The fifth could use a couple of fairway bunkers. I think the bunker on No. 6 needs be moved to right-front of the green.
The seventh, Hobble Creek's easiest hole, could be a great hole if the pond came all the way out to border the green in front, which would affect tee shots and approach shots.
Eight needs a fairway bunker on the left, and the fairway bunker on No. 9 needs to be moved closer to the tee and expanded.
The fairway bunker on No. 12 should be moved closer to the creek so it comes in play more. I know I'm falling in love with fairway bunkers, but No. 13 really needs one — a very large one about 220 yards to 250 yards from the tee on the fairway's right side.
A bunker in front of No. 14 green would make that hole awesome. A long and thin fairway bunker on the right of No. 15 along the tree line would actually make that hole easier and more fair. Put a bunker in front of No. 16 green. Again, I'd like to see a fairway bunker on No. 18.
I know I'm dreaming, and I love Hobble Creek the way it is, but several courses in the valley are much better with some changes made to holes. Even Hobble Creek, with bigger and flatter tee boxes on holes 14 and 15, has improved. The trees and bunkers added to No. 13 at East Bay make that hole a lot better. The 14th at Spanish Oaks might have made the biggest jump in improvement with the small creek that was constructed across that fairway. The creek in front of No. 5 at Spanish Oaks was also a great addition.
Contrary to what some in golf believe, change can be good. Most great golf courses have undergone some form of change. Even Augusta National officials are constantly tweaking holes on what I think is the greatest golf course in the world.
In Utah County, one of the most competitive golf markets in the country, I think a few courses would benefit from some design changes. If a hole can be made to be more enjoyable, then do it. Make golfers more happy and make their golf more enjoyable. That's the key to bringing them back.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com