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Zions Bank Player of the Week

6/22/2019

Grace Summerhays

The Summerhays family has a rich Utah golf history, so it’s no surprise that Grace, 14, is setting her own records by becoming the youngest female qualifier of the Utah State Amateur Championship. This earns her Zions Bank Player of the Week honors!

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The Gimme

6/21/2019

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June 2019 - Fairways Department

History Maker

By Randy Dodson

Everyone has their own definition of the term legendary. Most likely overused and certainly applied for personal and sentimental reasons, not everyone will agree that Sue Nyhus is a Utah golf legend. Personally, I have no problem attaching that descriptor to the Utah Valley University Women’s Golf Coach.

Now, history maker and record holder, for those terms there are no disputes.

Nyhus, a two-time Utah Women’s State Amateur champion is now the sole holder of a United States Golf Association record that will never be broken. Nyhus made history this spring when she qualified for the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The 56-year old Utah golf legend became the first person, male or female, to qualify for every USGA championship offered to her.
She has now qualified for eight different USGA championships: U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (finalist), U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, Women’s State Team, U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

With a roller coaster of emotions before during and after a week at her latest USGA championship, here are her own words from Pine Needles Golf Club.

"Oh my! You have to be creative around these (Pine Needles) greens, the course plays significantly longer than the numbers on the card with uphill tee shots, valley fairways, uphill approaches and greens that slope away on almost all sides. Sounds fun, huh?"

“The first thing I learned is that I can play at that level. My good shots were on par with all the other good shots I saw in my groups and on the broadcast. That was a big confidence boost because I was not in top competing mode. I have identified some tweaks I want to work on by watching some of the competitors.”

“My good shots were not enough to offset my inconsistency. I’m hoping time (practice and competing) helps with that for the rest of the summer. Honestly there is no way to top the Open! I always want to play better but it was an amazing culmination to a lifetime of USGA Championships”

“I am filled with gratitude for people who touched my life, some for a short critical time and some who have supported my golf for years (Steve). I am grateful for all those I have competed against, played or coached with, teammates on all the different teams, and those I have had the honor to coach at BYU and UVU! It’s been a wonderful life. Golf has given much to me and I hope to give back as long as I can; my sincere gratitude to you all.”

Randy Dodson is the publisher of Fairways magazine and president of Fairways Media.
Photo Credit USGA Chris Keane

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State Amateur Preview

6/20/2019

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Coming Attraction:
Utah State Amateur at Soldier Hollow

By Kurt Kragthorpe

Soldier Hollow Golf Course forever will have a distinction in Utah golf history as the first venue to host a United States Golf Association event.

The 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship remains the only USGA tournament held in the state. The State Amateur keeps coming back to Midway. As of 2027, Soldier Hollow will have staged the event eight times over 22 years.

“We just thought it was a great golf course,” said Joe Watts, who was the UGA executive director in 2004 when Soldier Hollow opened. The course staged the State Am in '06 and again in '08, and has remained solidly in the rotation ever since, joining various country clubs.

The UGA has adopted basically an every-four-years approach to booking Soldier Hollow, partly because of a commitment to honoring Utah's fabric of public golf facilities. The 36-hole venue initially inspired the expansion to 288 players, because of the availability of two courses for the stroke-play portion of the event, and that convenience is another selling point of Soldier Hollow, operated by Utah State Parks & Recreation.

“Having two courses (operate) out of one clubhouse is a huge advantage,” said Soldier Hollow head pro Chris Newson.

Soldier Hollow has other factors going for it as well:

The Setting
Placed on a shelf of the Heber Valley, Soldier Hollow offers spectacular views in every direction. From the upper holes on the Gold course, the venue unfolds into a giant bowl, with the entire Silver course visible below.

The Public Links used only the Gold course, with the asterisk of one modified hole. The State Am uses each course in stroke play, and the contrasting nature of the Silver course (with its six par-5s and six par-3s) offers considerable variety. Between the two courses, “You have to be able to hit every shot,” said 2015 winner Jordan Rodgers.

The Silver course should produce markedly lower scores in stroke play, although maybe not quite like the 60 that State Am defending champion Preston Summerhays shot in an U.S. Amateur qualifying event last summer.

The Options
Once match play begins, the Gold course is built to accommodate its own varying looks. Any match that reaches No. 18 will get really interesting, especially if UGA officials move up the tees to make it a drivable hole. On his way to the 2013 title, Cole Ogden hit one of the most memorable shots in State Am history, hitting a 3-wood shot to within inches of the hole for an eagle that enabled him to close out his quarterfinal match.

No. 18 offers “a million ways to play it,” said UGA Executive Director Jacob Miller. Elsewhere on the Gold course, different tee boxes can dramatically change the angles and distances of several holes and “really mix up the golf course for the players,” Miller said.

Being able to lengthen the setup to about 7,700 yards is among the UGA's options. The huge greens create all kinds of potential hole locations and the fairways can be adjusted to various widths.

Jeff Evans, the 2011 winner and 2013 runner-up at Soldier Hollow, said he hit his driver on only one hole of the Gold course, believing that staying in the fairway was paramount to playing well.

The Operation
The UGA's experience in conducting the State Am almost always ensures a good experience for the golfers, and public and private facilities such as 2018 host Oakridge Country Club like taking their turns as a showcase. It's also true that familiarity with hosting the tournament helps, and Newson has been involved so frequently that he cites “State Am withdrawal” in the years when it is played at other sites.

Newson loves the flavor of the State Am, with a new generation of golfers competing against more experienced golfers who always play their way into the match play bracket. “There's always a story; you never know what it's going to be,” Newson said. “And you're part of history; who doesn't want to be part of that?”

Newson jokes that he loves “working from sunup to sundown seven days a week” during the tournament. Nate James' days will start even earlier. As the Soldier Hollow superintendent, James has followed Steve Moulton in that role. His crew will be charged with the course's condition, an element that affects every player.

Soldier Hollow Golf Course's history in the State Amateur starts with a final match between two future PGA Tour members, and the list of winners is a good illustration of the champions that this tournament produces.

Kurt Kragthorpe is a sportswriter for the Salt Lake Tribune and a frequent contributor to Fairways.

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Zions Bank Player of the Week

6/12/2019

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Kurt Jamison

Kurt Jamison’s first Senior win of his career was a major one! Jamison took home the Utah Golf Association Utah Senior Amateur trophy last week and etched his name forever in the Utah golf record books. Zions Bank Player of the Week honors is icing on the cake.

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Zions Bank Player of the Week

Grace Summerhays

The Gimme

June 2019 - Fairways Department

​History Maker

State Amateur Preview

Coming Attraction:​Utah State Amateur at Soldier Hollow

Zions Bank Player of the Week

Kurt Jamison

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History Maker

Coming Attraction:
Utah State Amateur at Soldier Hollow