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Show Golf committee's treatment of Thompson amounts to slap in face the editor's column By MARC HADDOCK J Some news stories are harder to tell than others - and the hardest ones are those involving personalities. per-sonalities. That's because with personalities it's not usually a question of right or wrong - but whose opinion matters the most. I ran into that problem last week when I wrote a story about the current failed contract negotiations surrounding Tri-City Golf Course professional Jimmy Thompson. The story was okay, but it didn't ;J go far enough in describing what is -happening at the golf course. I'm not sure, as a news story, it could do that. Hardly anyone involved in the the controversy is willing to talk on the record. So I'm taking the story out of the context of news story and jumping into this in first person. It may not be the best way to handle the situation, either. But one of the reasons I started this column was to be able to do just this. First, a little bit about my background, so you'll know where I'm coming from. And then a little about the golf course history, as I understand it. While I'm just a duffer, I like the game of golf. I also like Jimmy Thompson. I've had a hard time finding anyone who doesn't. Jimmy is extremely likeable, and runs one of the friendliest public golf courses in the state. When I go to talk to Jimmy about the contract negotiations, or anything else, all I end up talking about is golf. If anyone doubts Mr. Thompson's dedication to the game, Tri-City Golf Course is a rare product - the result of the cooperation of three separate cities working towards one goal. You don't get cities like American Fork, Pleasant Grove and Lehi together very often. And there's pretty much a consensus con-sensus that Malcolm Beck was responsible for the collaborative effort that led to the creation of the golf course. Beck guided the construction con-struction of the course., the. formation for-mation of the golf committee to ;' protect' the interests of the three cities and the hiring of Mr! Thom son as the course's first pro. " ' Malcolm is still proud and amazed - that a professional of Mr. Thompson's calibre came to Utah to ply his trade. He, along with many others, credit Mr. Thompson with the development of Tri-City into one of the most respected - and difficult - public golf courses in Utah. For the 13 years that Beck was the mayor of American Fork, the golf course was managed by Mr. Thompson under the direction of a golf committee made up of two representatives from each of the cities, and a revolving third representative, who changed annually, an-nually, to serve as chairman of the seven-member committee. . For the first eight years, Mr. Thompson worked without a contract, con-tract, until one was drawn up that pretty much gave Jimmy what he already had - a free hand. That meant Thompson stocked, maintained main-tained and operated the pro shop, the golf cart rentals and the driving range, and received all the revenues from those concessions - in addition to his salary as pro. The green fees, on the other hand, go directly to maintaining and operating the golf course - with a little help from American Fork, which has never charged the course for the use of the irrigation water that keeps the fairways and greens green. Some say that Mr. Thompson's contract make him one of the highest paid professionals in the V state. No . one knows for sure " because, under the contract, Jimmy f doesn't "have- to tell ; anyone i how: ' " much income those concessions generate. But the arrangement hasn't hurt the golf course any, because this fine recreational facility has worked it's way out of the red and has paid for itself for the past two years. Not many city-owned facilities of any kind can claim that. Anyway, for 13 years the golf committee has set policy and Thompson has managed the course. But about the time Malcolm Beck stepped down as mayor, the golf-course golf-course committee got a new chairman, Gary Lewis, Lehi's city recorder. Now, while Mr. Lewis and I respect each other, we don't necessarily agree on everything. That's not unusual for a city official and a newspaper editor. As chairman of the committee, Mr. Lewis has brought a philosophy to the committee that includes more direct control over the affairs of the golf course. And he points out, quite correctly, that the committee charter provides for that kind of direct control - never mind that previous golf committees have not opted to exercise it. And Gary is getting a lot of support sup-port from most of the committee members - all those except one from American Fork. Included in this philosophy is the belief that the golf course could be better managed, that Jimmy is making too much money off the driving range and golf cart rentals, and that the cities involved in owning and operating the course J should get a share of the revenues ; from those ventures - a piece of the pie, as it were. Committee members are also dismayed that Thompson prefers to operate the course as he has for the last 13 years, without their getting involved in the day-to-day operation of the course. They have held numerous closed-door closed-door sessions talking to the pro about these items. Thompson's supporters, however, feel the pro is worth what he is earning and has created something special at Tri-City a course that draws golfers from throughout the state who want a challenge. And it's hard for Thompson, who has run the course effectively for years, to accept the outside direction. direc-tion. After all, he is the course manager. He simply wants a chance to manage without someone second-guessing second-guessing his decisions. The two view points are so diverse, it's no wonder the groups have been unable to negotiate a contract. In fact, there hasn't been much movement from either side since discussion started five months ago. Some committee members feel it's time for Thompson, who is 67, to retire anvi make way for new ideas and a new management - one that allows the cities to get more back from the course. They have decided to help Jimmy with that decision. Thompson's supporters think this is a pretty lousy way to end the tenure of one of the most respected golf pros in Utah. I agree with then Beck says these feelings ha existed for years - but he has beet able to control the situation ij communicating with Pleasant Grove and Lehi about the course ai the direction it has taken. Since January, he hasn't bra around to do that - and the situation has deteriorated to the point when Jimmy resigned before entering another closed-door session witi committee a few weeks ago whet they would talk about "person , matters.," . . y - ; VI just felt they were going total :,; ; an executive session, and I was tiri of being a dart board," he told i So he called it quits. The element that's lacking in tte scenario is communication. Tt t personalities involved prevent Thompson and the committee from communicating. And it's impossible to find out how much city officials ' are saying to each other. , j There is still some hope that Ike puzzle can be put together i ; Jimmy still in the picture. But I'm not so sure. Efforts made bj ( American Fork city officials to resolve the issues have failed. ( There's a move to change tie ( make-up of the golf committee, W by the time any change is ma ( there, the current committee ri have hired a new pro. i Certainly Tri-City won't fold if ; new pro takes over. No oneisn- dispensible. j But this is a sloppy way to trans ff power, and a slap in the face for W Thompson. And it damages J public perception of American Lehi and Pleasant Grove, as weP the golf course. , There's got to be a better J transfer power from the current P to a new one - especially when current pro has the prestige enj! by Mr. Thompson. m Why can't the golf com figure that out, give Mr.TWjj two more years at Tn-City a him retire gracefully, forcing him out under a antagonism? an hour with Jimmy will change all that. Anybody who named his three Pekinese dogs Chipper, Pitcher and Putter, or who had two parakeets named Birdie and Bogie is in love with the game. Jimmy has scrapbook after scrapbook of golf memories he wants to share with me every time I want to talk about contract negotiations. On the subject of his contract, he doesn't have much to say except that he feels he is involved in a power struggle between the three cities -and that it's a struggle he no longer feels he can win without serious support from the mayors of the three cities. Now, for a little bit of the history of the golf course, from someone who hasn't been around the area as long as the golf course has. |