Golf at Park Meadows. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah — With four private golf courses from which to choose within the relatively small town of Park City, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to buy a membership and potential members often need to take a mulligan and create a second shot at becoming a member.

The following golf clubs have all told TownLift that when it comes to memberships, it’s complicated:

Golf provided social-distancing and fresh air during the pandemic. Coupled with a similarly-timed influx of new residents, “Golf is definitely booming,” Scott Flick, 1st Assistant PGA Golf Pro at Jeremy Ranch told TownLift.

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Jenna Anderson, Promontory’s director of marketing, told TownLift, “The number of applications started rising in 2020 consistent with the real estate market boom and has seen a steady increase until this spring when it has leveled off.”

“The club has seen a steady increase in membership demand since May 2020,” said Dan McBride, the Glenwild Director of Member Experience. That theme was echoed by Flick at Jeremy Ranch saying they capped their memberships in July of 2021.

There are two types of memberships:

FULL: unlimited golf plus amenities
SOCIAL: limited golf plus amenities

Park Meadows’ Director of Memberships Mike Councilman said, “Golf Memberships and Social Memberships are at capacity.”

There are waitlists, although the wait itself is measured in individually applicable ways. It’s 20 people long at Jeremy Ranch, it’s 12 -18 months long at Glenwild, and as Anderson from Promontory aptly put it, illustrating the fluidity of the statistics, “The resale/upgrade waitlist is market-driven, so we do not have a good forecast on wait times.”

Anderson is referring to Promontory’s waitlist that exists specifically for social members wishing to upgrade to full membership. There is no waitlist for either type of membership at Promontory if purchasing real estate from their developer — meaning one can play through these statistics as a new buyer.

For resale properties, the availability of a full membership depends on that particular property’s membership status and whether the existing property owner has a Full Membership to transfer.

“We have both types of memberships available for property owners,” Anderson said of Promontory.

New or used property purchasing is not necessarily a gimme however, as Flick from Jeremy Ranch said, their waitlists are on a “first-come, first serve” basis.

So what can Park City golf enthusiasts do if interested in a membership?

When asked what advice he gives for obtaining membership, McBride from Glenwild said, “Park City is fortunate to have a handful of great clubs and golf communities. With most clubs currently on a waitlist, individuals looking for membership should determine which club is the best fit for them and begin the membership application process.”

We asked Anderson from Promontory if there are opportunities for non-members to come play golf at their club, or essentially play a proverbial short game with the current trends. Anderson replied, “For individuals wanting to learn more about Promontory, we have options on our Pete Dye Canyon Course.”

So, while applying for membership may not be a hole-in-one, there are ways to position oneself to become a member in the near or distant future in the active Park City golf community.