"At first I didn't really think it would be a smart move because the golf business has gone down the last couple of years. Some say there are as many leaving golf as there are coming into it," Green said. "But when you see the way the county is growing, I thought that if I take over and get the place in the shape I think we may have a shot."
Green, who began his 15-year lease the beginning of January, has been using the snowy month to plan his new approach and decide where he will spend the money when it starts coming in.
"The greens haven't really been airified correctly in the past few years," he said, adding that airifying refers to punching 8- to 10-inch holes in the greens, an inch or two apart, and filling them with sand. This allows water to seep deeper into the ground and coaxes the greens' roots to grow deeper as well.
"We are also going to address our sand trap problem. We need to dig them out and put some new sand in, which can get costly," Green said. "Basically we need to do some general maintenance that hasn't been done in the past few years."
Beyond physical and more aesthetically pleasing repairs, Green has plans to re-introduce the opportunity to purchase season passes. In recent years, because of a grandfather act, passes were only a commodity that Stansbury's veteran golfers had in their possession.
"Season passes are now available to anyone," Green emphasized.
Catering to tournaments is also something that Green has on the radar. The new pavilion to the northeast of the clubhouse will help with this as it gives organizers a place to give awards and socialize.
Stansbury Park Service Agency trustees say Green was a natural pick to take over the lease.
"The golf course will only be as successful as its utility," said newly appointed Stansbury Park Service Agency Chairman John O'Donnell, adding that because Green is such a service-oriented person, the course will obtain the success Green seeks.
"Jeff Green knows the golf course, he knows the community and has a prior relationship with the constituency of the golf course," O'Donnell said.
While other applicants certainly possessed the ability to run the course, O'Donnell said Green's love of golfing combined with his respect for the community sealed the deal.
"He is the singular individual that demonstrated a passion for the sport," O'Donnell said.
Green has spent almost all of his adult life on the greens. He played golf for the University of Utah while concurrently working at the Jeremy Ranch golf course in Park City. He continued to work at the ranch for four years until it went bankrupt and all employees were forced to go elsewhere. Green then came to Stansbury and worked under head golf pro Jimmy Blair until Blair left to start projects in the Salt Lake area and Ogden, now known as Mulligan's. Following Blair's departure, Green moved up in rank and continued with the title of head golf pro for more than 20 years.
Green and his family still reside in the east Millcreek area of Salt Lake, but Green said Stansbury is a huge part of his life and a risk that he was willing to take.
"I had to buy all the machinery -- golf carts, mowing equipment -- out of my own pocket," he said. "It's risky and we're kind of putting it out there, but my wife backed my decision up 100 percent."
As soon as the snow melts, Green said golfers are welcome to venture out on his greens.
"I'd like to think we treat people good down here," he said, adding that it's the type of course that has big and open greens enabling less-adept golfers a better chance of hitting the greens, while still offering a challenge for more experienced golfers with all of the ponds and tight fairways.
O'Donnell says the course will always be a commodity for Stansbury -- a community whose founding fathers were keen on open space and aesthetically pleasing corridors -- because it is green space that will always remain unaffected by new development.
"People place a financial value on green space," O'Donnell said.
jamieb@tooeletranscript.com
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