DAVIS COUNTY — Despite a bad economy in nearly every industry in the United States (including golf), playership in Davis County golf courses is still up.

“They haven’t changed their prices and they are actually seeing an increase in playership,” said West Bountiful City council member Ken Romney, whose responsibilities include overseeing the Golf Board for Lakeside Golf Course. “I think it’s a good sign of things to come.”

Scott Olsen, assistant golf professional at Bountiful Ridge Golf Course in Bountiful, said the start of the golf season was rough, however, May’s numbers have increased compared to last year.

“The weather is a factor with our playership numbers,” he said. “We started the last day of March and were pretty down for the first four weeks.

“But the weather has been good the past couple weeks and we had good numbers in May.”

According to Bruce Summerhays, a “retired” Professional Golf Association (PGA) player who lives and plays in Farmington, the economy in golf is down 30 percent in the U.S., making it difficult to build golf courses in many areas.

However, there are other ways people are able to play golf and save money, and local golf courses are doing their part to help.

Both Lakeside and Bountiful Ridge have kept their greens fees roughly the same over the last few years. Although West Bountiful briefly talked about raising their rates $.50 in last week’s city council meeting, Romney said that is unlikely to happen.

“If the course is seeing an increase in playership,” he said. “I don’t see a reason to raise the rates.”

Olsen said the golfing community in their area is doing other things to save a few more dollars.

“We’ve had a lot of walkers,” he said. “I think they decide to walk the course rather than pay the extra money to rent a golf cart. (Golfers) still want to come out and play though, so it’s a positive sign.”

Olsen and Summerhays are optimistic about the numbers. Both have said that even though golf in the Davis County area is mostly a “seasonal” sport, participation is rising.

Olsen did say, however, that if the weather gets too warm it could hurt their numbers.

“When the weather gets over 100 degrees out here people are more comfortable staying indoors,” he said. “But (the weather has) been nice so far. We’ll see.”

Many other Davis courses are looking forward to a good year, despite the bad economic news in golf and other areas.

“People look for deals,” said Olsen. “We have one of the best around.

“I think the rest of the year is going to go well.”

sgillet@davisclipper.com