Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Dutt switches from Badlands to Desert Pines

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

After spending two years developing The Badlands Golf Club into one of the most popular local resort courses, Eric Dutt has left his position as general manager at the northwest Las Vegas course.

On Friday, Dutt took over as marketing coordinator and director of marketing at Bill Walters' Desert Pines Golf Club. Dutt said he made the move in part because of Walters' ambitious plans for golf in the valley.

"Mr. Walters is actively looking for more golf properties ... this opportunity looked like a pretty big challenge and I wanted to see if I could get the job done," Dutt said.

"We accomplished a lot at The Badlands in the two years I was involved in the construction and operation of the project, but I thought it was time for a move across town."

Dutt, who had been on the job at Desert Pines only two days when contacted Monday, could not elaborate on The Walters Group's specific plans. But he said they would include the acquisition of existing properties and the development of new courses in Las Vegas.

"We are looking at both scenarios," Dutt said. "I think if the right deal or the right project came along, I'm sure Mr. Walters would not hesitate to get involved. He has obviously become successful through making good decisions and he understands the golf market a lot better than some operators that I've met and dealt with.

"I was kind of excited or teased by the challenge of what we could accomplish here at Desert Pines and any of the other facilities we acquire. He also is very marketing oriented, which seemed to be my strong suit, and that's one of the reasons he offered me the position."

Dutt said his new position at Desert Pines is not unlike the role he undertook when he took over at The Badlands.

"This course is unique for Las Vegas," Dutt said of Desert Pines. "I've only been to Pinehurst once but this reminds me of a Pinehurst type of look and feel and it has the same mentality we had at The Badlands, which was a first-class facility and first-class customer service. Those are our goals here."

Dutt, a former Nevada State Amateur, Southern Nevada Amateur and Las Vegas City Amateur champion, said his duties at Desert Pines will allow him to continue to serve as executive director of the Southern Nevada Golf Association.

Chip shots ...

* PUBLINKS QUALIFIER: Sectional qualifying for the 72nd United State Amateur Public Links Championship will be held June 21 at The Badlands Golf Club. The Publinks Championship will be held July 14-19 at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Ky. The sectional qualifier will consist of 36 holes of stroke play, and the number of qualifying places at the local sectional will be determined by the United States Golf Association after the June 4 entry deadline. Entries are available to amateur golfers who have not held privileges at any private course since Jan. 1, 1997. Entry forms are available at all area golf courses or by contacting the Southern Nevada Golf Association.

* BIG HITTERS: Vegas Golfer magazine sponsored a long-drive contest Saturday during Demo Day at Las Vegas Golf Club. Bill Kiley of Las Vegas won the men's division with a drive of 355 yards. Las Vegan Richard Dominguez took second with a 354-yard drive and Ricky Thompson, also of Las Vegas, was third at 348 yards. Karen Greenwald of Las Vegas won the women's division with a 235-yard drive. The long-drive contest raised $1,060 for the Southern Nevada Inner-City Youth Golf Association.

* PAIUTE SPECIAL: The Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort will allow golfers to play either of its two courses for $30 from June 1 to Sept. 4 with the purchase of a $95 Paiute Advantage Club card. The special rate will be valid Sunday through Thursday on either the Snow Mountain or Sun Mountain courses. There is no limit on the number of rounds a golfer may play during the promotion period. In addition, every sixth round is free. The $30 rate includes cart and range balls. For more information, call the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort at 658-1400.

* AROUND THE GREEN: In a poll conducted by Golf Digest magazine, only 22 of 30 PGA Tour golfers questioned said they do not carry a rules book in their golf bag. ... Tiger Woods is on course to break the PGA Tour single-season money record of $1.7 million. Woods' victory Sunday in the GTE Byron Nelson Classic pushed his career earnings to $2,085,185 in just 16 tournaments -- making him the youngest and fastest to get to the $2 million mark. The previous record for money won in the first two years was $1.86 million by David Duval, but it took him 49 events.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour remains in Texas this week for the $1.6 million MasterCard Colonial at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth. Corey Pavin is the defending champion of the event, which will be televised by the USA cable network and CBS. ... The Senior PGA Tour will hold the $1 million Bell Atlantic Classic at Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern, Pa. Dale Douglass won last year's event and ESPN will televise. ... The LPGA Tour is in Corning, N.Y., for the LPGA Corning Classic. Rosie Jones is the defending champion. Also, the LPGA Skins Game will be broadcast Saturday and Sunday on ABC.