March 02, 2010
Winterchamps Celebrates 25th Year; Enter Now!
It was an experiment that was greeted with enthusiasm and became one of the UGA’s most popular tournaments. It included men and women of all handicaps and it was filled to capacity almost every year.
At the ten year mark the tournament was expanded to include seniors and demand for the tournament required expanding to three golf courses. Only the Utah State Am generates more participation on the UGA tournament schedule.
This year’s tournament will be held at Bloomington Country Club and Sun River and the entry deadline is near at hand. The field is limited to the first 416 players entered. The entry fee is $160 for the two rounds of golf, and includes merchandise prizes.
The tournament has been held at Bloomington Country Club for the past four years, but this will be the first time the tournament has been held at Sun River which is located just a few miles down the road from Bloomington.
Unbeknown to many UGA players the Sun River course is in very good condition and is a challenging layout. In its early years the course struggled to maintain good conditioning because of alkaline soil and some flooding problems. In recent years the golf course has made a remarkable turnaround and the course is in good playing condition, especially the putting greens.
“Sun River is an outstanding layout, a strong test of golf, and yet player friendly,” said Ron Newren, UGA tournament director. “Before making the decision to hold Winterchamps we played the course and were very favorably impressed,’ he said.
John Taylor, of the UGA board, said, “I played in the Sun River Senior Am last year and really impressed with the massive improvement of the course conditioning. A few years back it took a well deserved bad rap because they couldn’t get grass to grow. Now, however, that has changed. There are only a few spots where there is a continuing problem. It’s a great layout, and seniors were impressed by it, and it’s a great place for a tournament.”
“Winterchamps will be an eye-opener for UGA members who have just written it off because of its past reputation for poor conditioning, After playing in Winterchamps they will put Sun River on their list of courses to play when they visit the St. George area. They will find it enjoyable and fun and that the few areas that are in less than perfect conditioning are a minor non-factor,” Taylor added.
To sign up for Winterchamps click HERE or contact the UGA directly at 801-563-0400.
