PAYSON — Gladstan head golf professional Tracy Zobell gleefully escorts visitors up picturesque Four Bay Canyon, heads towards two newly crafted golf holes carved from a postcard mountain scene.
Like the host of a TV game show, Zobell can predict the reaction and a key word uttered by the viewer. He eagerly anticipates "The Word" like Tiger Woods pared up with Rory Sabbatini.
Once you set foot upon the new No. 14 tee box, a 575-yard par-5, that spans up the canyon and look at the landscape, trees that are starting to turn colors, view the fairway swath cut from the scrub oak, see the ravine that snakes alongside the right side you can't help saying the exclamation. You notice the sand bunkers painted alongside the layout and see the tiny flag in the elevated distance, surrounded by half a dozen mountain peaks, you can't help it, the words pop out like bread from a spring-loaded toaster ...
Wow.
And Zobell starts to giggle. He's heard that word plenty of times, and it makes him a prophet.
This weekend, Gladstan's long-awaited redesigned holes will briefly open for play for members of the local association for its closing social. What they'll see are two golf holes designed by Soldier Hollow architect Gene Bates and realization of a 20 year-old dream by former golf pro Jack Lamento. The two new holes, the par-5 and a 460-yard par-4, will take Gladstan from a par 71 competitive good course, to a par 72 championship layout.
The course will lose two of its weakest holes, both on the front nine. They are the goofy-short No. 7 par-4 with a severe elevated green located across busy residential street that must be crossed by golfers and No. 8, the downhill, hard-to-stop-and-stick 150-yard par-3. Both of those holes, along with a nearby city-owned RV park, will be sold to pay for the new holes and other changes to the course.
Bottom line? The city will have a safer, more playable golf course that is completely paid for in a time some communities are struggling to make golf pay its own way.
"The most important thing is this takes care of a liability issue," said Payson City Councilman Larry Skinner of golfers crossing a main access neighborhood road to get to hole No. 7.
"When the course was built in 1988, there were few homes in the area — now it is fully developed with traffic. It would only a matter of time before we had a serious accident."
"Getting rid of the two weakest holes, making the course longer, and adding these holes up at the top have been talked about for some time," said Skinner.
Agreements have been signed on all the property but one, and it is anticipated that deal will be done soon."
To accommodate the new layout, other changes will be made for the 2008 season. No. 1 will become No. 3. Players coming off the par-5 No. 6 will go directly to the old No. 9, which will actually be No. 7. They will then proceed to the old No. 10, which will become No. 8 and so forth.
Once golfers get off the par-3 No. 13, they will take to the new holes up the canyon. No. 15, the par-5 will be the finishing hole, No. 18.
Payson's current No. 16, the par-4 straight-a-way hole facing the valley, has been redesigned to be the starting hole, a dogleg-left par-4 at the base of the clubhouse. The No. 2 hole is the redesigned No. 18, cut to a challenging par-3 protected by a newly lined and filled lake that plays 220-yards from the tips, 180 from the blues and 155 from the whites — a great golf hole.
This is where players will embark on No. 3, the current No. 1 starting hole, until the redesign kicks in next spring.
Skinner said Payson City believes Gladstan's influence in hosting corporate outings has been huge for the community in both economic development, recognition to the town and exposure. "It's hard to put a monetary value to it, but it is big for us."
The par-5 No. 14 up the canyon is sure to become one of those memorable holes players dwell over before and after experiencing it.
The view from above alone is worth the trip. The ravine along the left side will have drop areas to keep ball-hunters on the course.
The new back nine will require golfers to take carts over the back layout — it is just too long a climb, according to Zobell.
The new par-3 second hole is intriguing. The city lined the lake, allowing it to fill and the sight lines with the water and green tucked under the overlooking clubhouse is impressive.
No. 14 is simply a masterpiece piece of property, and Bates has used every available twig to keep the beauty there.
Gladstan has always been a challenging course with great greens and competitive fairways that require focus and shot-making. With these new holes above, Gladstan will bring golfers a sense of fulfillment, like getting a longer roller coaster ride where they used to get a short cheap tricky chance run at No. 7 and 8, which did not reward solid approach shots...
"No. 14 will be viewed as one of the most picturesque holes in the state — eye candy — with 365 degrees of beauty; it's simply gorgeous," said Zobell.
And he said that after he elicited a predicted "wow" out of this visitor.
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com