(June 8th) Day 3 – Smithfield, UT, drove 276 miles

I had planned on playing Eagle Mountain Golf course in Brigham City, UT this day, but after checking the weather forecast I though I’d have a better chance of avoiding big wind by playing Birch Creek in Smithfield around 10 a.m. Smithfield is part of the greater Logan, UT area and on a highway I’d never driven, SO that’s where I went.

Turns out that a group of seniors (I’m a senior too remember!) called the “Sunny Citizens” play every week on Tuesday at this golf course. They go out in a shotgun start (for non-golfers, a shotgun is where everybody starts at the same time on various holes on the golf course, that way everybody gets finished at (or near) the same time too!)

This group is made up of people who live in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and stay in condos in Logan during the months it is too hot to be living/golfing in Arizona. There were at about 60 of them, men & women. A couple of guys that had signed up did not show up, so I got to play in their group with a couple of guys (Terry & Dan) who did not have a full foursome. Dan was a pretty good stick and could hit a long ball off the tee. This benefitted Terry as the game the seniors were playing was “select drive”. This means every one in the group could play (within a club length) from the best drive in the group. I just played my own ball as I wasn’t entered in their league/contest (or whatever they call it).

I am glad I played with these guys, because they knew their way around the golf course and I would have wandered a bit before I found the next tee. Most of the front nine was fairly flat, but there were three tough holes that went over a ravine with small openings in the trees/bushes. Anyway, they were fun to play with and they were not playing the back nine. Three others of the group HAD signed up to play 18 holes so I was put in their group to play the back which has much different topography.

Graham (an Aussie or a Brit, I couldn’t tell), Paul and Dan (a different Dan) were also good playing companions. Paul & Dan were about my speed as a player and Graham was hitting some really long drives. Comments by the others lead me to believe he was having a good day. They helped me navigate my way around the golf course and I helped them find their golf balls, A LOT! I mostly don’t do anything as well as I used to (do you?), EXCEPT my distance vision is still excellent and I find a lot of golf balls for a lot of people. These three have played a lot together and we had a great time too.

Birch Creek was $ 42 for 18 holes, with cart, a most reasonable price.  Tees range from 6824 yards to 5491 yards. I played 6503 yards, rating of 69.7 and a slope of 118. Even at high altitude, 6503 is too long for me and 5491 is too short. They have no combination tees and that is why I wouldn’t play the course again. A GOOD player would enjoy this course. The price is right, the maintenance is good and there are enough challenging shots to keep things interesting. There are about five or six holes that are fairly level and the rest are uphill/downhill and some of the slopes are steep. You wouldn’t enjoy walking this one.

After golf I drove up to Idaho Falls to spend the night. I saw a lot of small towns on US 91 in southeastern Idaho that I had heard the names of, but never seen before. It was an enjoyable and somewhat scenic drive. Margaret & I drove through Idaho Falls once long ago when we went from Burley and through Butte, MT to get to northern Idaho, but it was not familiar country. I liked Idaho Falls. I went to dinner at a local place whose sign boasted “great food”. I can’t remember the name of the place, but I assure you, the food there was NOT great. I try to avoid chain restaurants, but in this case I wish I would have chosen one.

       Randy’s golf course                  ratings           play again               could recommend                Price

Wine Valley (Walla Walla, WA)          5                      YES                             YES                            $$$

Rivers Edge (Burley, ID)                    3.5                      ??                               YES                            $

Birch Creek (Smithfield,UT)           3.5                      no 1*                   better golfers only!          $

1*-I would play again if they offered a combo tee set closer to 6000 yards.

Pictures are from Birch Creek's website.