The Wingpointe Golf Course will close at the end of business on Sunday, November 15. The golf course property will be returned to the Salt Lake City Department of Airports by the end of December 2015.
The decision to close Wingpointe came following over a decade of declining golf program revenues and a nearly year-long public discussion on options to address the projected shortage of funds in the Golf Enterprise Fund. The Salt Lake City Council proposed closing the Arthur Hills-designed course as a way to help ease the financial burden on the Golf Enterprise Fund and the action was approved as part of the Mayor’s proposed budget in May of 2015. Contributing to the decision were the results of a 2012 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audit of Salt Lake City International Airport that stipulated the property must be leased at fair market value. The facility operated for years under a $1-a-year deal before being bumped up to about $65,000 annually following the FAA finding. Current market lease value for the property is in excess of $500,000 a year.
“It has been an honor to be associated with the pro shop staff and maintenance crew that have made Wingpointe one of the most unique and respected courses in the state of Utah,” said Salt Lake City Golf Division Business Manager, Matt Kammeyer. “We are all saddened to see the retirement of this beautiful course, however we also look forward to continuing to serve the golfing community at the six remaining city courses.”
Over the past 25 years, Wingpointe has hosted numerous qualifying events and competitive tournaments including the popular Burton Lumber Salt Lake City Open. Because of its length and challenging layout, Wingpointe became known among many of the region’s top players as “The Player’s Choice”. Wingpointe consistently rated in the top 10 of Utah Golf Courses, both public and private, in national golf publications such as Golf Digest and GolfWeek.
The Salt Lake City Golf Program manages six public golf courses owned by Salt Lake City through the Golf Enterprise Fund. The courses include Bonneville, Forest Dale, Glendale, Mountain Dell Canyon, Mountain Dell Lake, Nibley Park and Rose Park. The Golf Enterprise Fund was created to operate as a stand-alone business in 1964. This structure allows the Golf Program to keep profits during flush years to reinvest in courses—or save funds for lean years rather than having profits absorbed into the city’s General Fund. By state law, all enterprise funds must be self-sustaining.
