This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Magna •
A Johnny Cash song blared from the speakers at the Copper Club's 19th Hole bar on a Wednesday afternoon as a group of players sat drinking and telling stories on the patio after a round of golf.
Utah's fourth oldest golf course might have struggled for its very survival the past few years, but you would never know it from this scene. In fact, club pro Brock Rezak and many of these old-timers say it's the people who make this course special.
The Copper Club's members lease the property from Kennecott Copper and operate the nine-hole course, which is open to the public. Company town workers and executives have hung out together for years at the seldom-crowded club, which has a certain blue-collar vibe.
According to Justin Jones of Kennecott, the golf club opened in 1926. It was started by the Utah Copper Company as an employee benefit. Those who joined also became part of rifle and duck hunting clubs.
The Copper Club produced a number of top Utah pros and amateurs. Its clubhouse and a nearby park and baseball diamond have been a gathering place for several generations of Magna residents.
"There is a close-knit and friendly atmosphere," said Rezak, a Murray native who has been the head pro since 2009. "You can come down and make friends right away. This is a friendly and social place. These are good people."
When Rezak took over, the number of members who pay $500 a year for unlimited golf on the course had dwindled to 66. There are now 128.
At that point, the venerable course was in trouble. There were water system failures coupled with flooding and a tailings issue that killed some trees. Membership and play were down as the little club struggled to compete with nearby newer 18- and 27-hole layouts in West Valley City and Tooele.
"I've spent a lot of time on the sprinkling system the last couple of years," said Rezak. "Our biggest issue was water."
On this particular May day, long-time members Stick Johnston, Scott Jones, Gino Strasheim and Ronald Latham were among a gathering of perhaps 20 people on the patio. All were willing to share Copper Club stories.
The 86-year-old Latham, who plays the course four days a week, talked about working for Kennecott in the early 1950s and being assigned to turn the original greens — then consisting of sand colored with oil mixed from the Magna Mill — into more traditional grass.
"I like the people, all these kids," he said, as a friend who was 68 chuckled about being called a kid. "I've known half these guys all their lives." "The biggest change is that there are not near as many players," said Strasheim, who has been a member for 40 years. "There are so many other golf courses. And we're only nine holes."
So the vintage course — only Forest Dale, the Salt Lake Country Club and Nibley are older — continues to host golfers looking to make friends, play an uncrowded quick nine holes, and touch a bit of Utah history.
Twitter @tribtomwharton