Sen. Daniel McCay sponsored SB92, giving Utah State University access to water usage data from Utah golf courses in hopes of making the game more water efficient.

But he wants Utah golfers to know he’s one of them.

The bill passed unanimously in committee and will move forward for a full Senate vote.

This bill follows several others McCay has sponsored since being elected in 2023 that address water consumption from Utah golf courses. However, previous bills faced opposition in committee and in the House.

During a Senate Business and Labor Standing Committee Monday, McCay clarified that the intention with this bill is not to target golf courses but to make sure they are sustainable.

“Golf is, from the sports sector, the second largest driver from an economic development standpoint,” McCay, R-Riverton, said. The goal of this bill is “to making sure golf stays sustainable in Utah.”

Specifically, this bill aims to provide officials with better data on how courses use their water and to create a master sustainability plan for state-owned courses

Currently, Utah does not allow golf courses to reuse water

“Legislation in many neighboring states — Arizona, Nevada, California, a lot of the arid states — requires new courses to have a zero footprint in terms of water,” McCay explained. But current Utah law does not allow golf courses to reuse their water like in other Western states.

Desert states have employed a variety of ways to keep their golf courses green while not depleting limited water resources. For example, in Arizona, about a third of the water used is reclaimed.

McCay believes a solution that is replicable in Utah is water reuse. Golf courses “don’t really have that ability here in the state of Utah, and that’s something we want to make sure we know more about and find the best ways to implement,” McCay said.

Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, asked whether it will be obligatory for all courses, public and private, to participate.

“There is lack of clarity there,” McCay responded, saying he plans on working with Utah State to flesh out the language before it moves for a floor vote. But he hopes that private courses will be able to opt in or out of data collection.

What will USU’s responsibilities be?

The bill outlines USU’s responsibilities if passed, including:

• Looking at how golf courses in other states with similar climates manage water usage.
• Determining how much water is used by Utah golf courses.
• Determining how much land that receives water artificially is played on.
• Recommending ways to save water.

Data compiled and analyzed by USU will be presented to two individuals from the Golf Alliance Utah, one from the Utah Selection of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, one from the Utah Golf Association and three from the Utah Golf Course Superintendents Association

The bill also includes that the study will not identify or target individual golf courses.

“I have meetings later this week with private courses, and they want to make sure that not only they’re protected from the government record side, but they’re concerned about whether it should be mandatory or not mandatory, the goal is not mandatory,” McCay said.

As the committee hearing adjourned, McCay defended his love for the sport, saying, “For the record, I’m a golfer, I love golf, and so I’m really trying to do what’s in the best interest of golf, so we have sustainability measures in place.”