By Kurt Kragthorpe
From an outsider’s perspective, the Bill Strausbaugh Award may be the most difficult to define of any of the Utah Section PGA’s annual honors. Club relations? What does that mean?
In that sense, the Section’s 2020 winner provides a lasting example. There hardly could be a better illustration of the Strausbaugh Award’s intentions than what Brett Watson, the head professional of the renamed Timpanogos Golf Club in Provo, did in bringing all kinds of people and groups together to complete a remarkable redesign project.
It took a collaborative, community effort to maximize the property, and Watson played a major role in coordinating it. He can reflect proudly on “a five-year project for our team that has certainly had its ups and downs and is one I am honored to be associated with.”
Watson added, “We truly came together to create a golf facility unlike any other in Utah and, honestly, the world. … All of these organizations, groups and individuals are the definition of what the Bill Strausbaugh Award represents: a community working together to grow and bring the great game of golf to everyone.”
Timpanogos Golf Club (formerly East Bay) now features an 18-hole championship course, The Pasture Par 3 Course and the Legacy Trail Short Course.
In helping to make it all happen, Watson is thankful to Architect Kevin Atkinson, Superintendent Craig O’Farrell, former Director of Golf Kean Ridd and Provo City officials including Parks Director Scott Henderson. Entities such as the Wadsworth Golf Foundation, Fairways Media, Provo School District and Provo Power also played key roles, Watson said.