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Former Ute Golfers Eric Hogg, Doug Bybee Inducted into Utah Golf Hall of Fame
10/25/2024 12:15 PM | Men's Golf
The two golfers will be inducted into a 55-golfer membership that has brought in classes of historic golfers in Utah since 1991
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Ute golfers Doug Bybee and Eric Hogg are two of seven inductees in the Utah Golf Hall of Fame's Class of 2024, the state's most exclusive sports club.
The two golfers will be inducted into a 55-golfer membership that has brought in classes of historic golfers in Utah since 1991, with each class being honored every four years. Bybee and Hogg's impressive careers overlapped at the University of Utah on the same roster for a couple of seasons while battling each other in a State Amateur final match in 1981. This match-up was the first time two Utes faced each other in the State Am Final as Mitchell Schow and Blake Tomlinson added their names to the exclusive category in 2020.
Bybee spent all four years with the Utes from 1978-82 and claimed the team captain role for his senior season while earning All-Conference honors in the WAC. Hogg spent two years on the team from 1980-82 and earned a spot in the NCAA Championship as an individual in his sophomore season.
UTAH GOLF HALL OF FAME STORY
DOUG BYBEE
In one of the more poignant scenes of a State Amateur awards presentation, Doug Bybee's voice caught in 1990 as he referenced two previous losses in final matches and managed to say, "Third time's the charm, I guess."
Six years later, his "third time" phrase took on a whole new meaning. Bybee became the storied tournament's first three-time winner in 37 years, joining Utah Golf Hall of Fame member Lou North. And it keeps getting better: After more than another quarter-century, nobody has matched Bybee's achievement.
Fair to say, Bybee has been more closely associated with State Amateur match-play success than any golfer since six-time champion Billy Korns in the 1940s (two of North's wins came in stroke play). His record of 43 matches played was topped only by Dan Horner in 2023; with 33 wins, Bybee and Horner trail only Korns (37).
"There's only one guy that leaves the State Am happy," Bybee said. "That's the cool thing that makes it even better. It's always better when it's something that's really important to you. It's even harder to win."
The expression "Par 'em to death" should go on Bybee's Hall of Fame plaque. "I don't necessarily strategize that way, it's just the nature of my game," Bybee said in the book "100 Years of the Utah State Amateur."
Yet that phrase also serves to underestimate Bybee's ability. He once made 14 birdies in two rounds at Bonneville Golf Course before losing in a playoff in the prestigious Salt Lake City Amateur (an event he won twice, while finishing second three times).
An alumnus of Box Elder High School and the University of Utah, Bybee grew up around the old Brigham Willows Golf Course in Brigham City, although the policy in those days didn't allow him to play the course until he was 10. He caddied for his father, Ray. Once he started playing, he caught on quickly.
After his consecutive State Am finals appearances in the early 1980s, Bybee spent five years as a professional golfer before regaining his amateur status and working as a successful marketing executive in the food and golf industries.
Bybee remembers becoming aware of the State Amateur only in 1976, when Brigham City legend Reid Goodliffe beat Jimmy Blair in the final match. Vinny McGuire of the old University of Utah GC would become one of Bybee's big influences. In Brigham City, Goodliffe was Bybee's friend and mentor, teaching him both the value of pars in match play and the meaning of the State Am.
That's why Bybee's losses to fellow Hall of Fame members Eric Hogg in '81 and Steve Schneiter in '82 were tough to absorb. And it certainly entered his mind in '90 that he could become a three-time runner-up, before he defeated Spence Ahrend at Alpine Country Club.
The next year, he knocked in an 85-yard shot for an eagle on the first extra hole at Jeremy Ranch in a semifinal match vs. Ahrend, before topping Brett Taylor in the finals. In 1996 at Hobble Creek Golf Course, Bybee bookended his match-play week with victories over home-course players Doug Baxter and Robert Shunn, winning the last 36-hole match 10 and 9.
Also, in '96, Bybee received the Utah Section PGA's Wesley Ruff Golf Citizen of the Year award for the way he represented the Utah golf community.
ERIC HOGG
The recent achievements of Mitchell Schow, Blake Tomlinson and Zac Blair in two of Utah's biggest golf tournaments evoked the name of Eric Hogg. Induction into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame will ensure that Hogg is remembered forever.
Hogg, who died in 2014 at age 51, is among the nine golfers (including Blair) who have won both State Amateur and Utah Open titles. His 1981 State Am victory over Hall of Fame classmate Doug Bybee was the last meeting of University of Utah teammates in a final match until Schow topped Tomlinson in 2020. Hogg also beat Hall of Fame member Arlen Peacock in the '81 semifinals; he defeated BYU's Eddie Heinen in the '89 final match.
Hogg's 1991 rally to overtake Keith Clearwater, then in the prime of his PGA Tour career, came in one of the Utah Open's most competitive eras as essentially a mini-tour event. It would be another 10 years before another homegrown Utahn (Kim Thompson) claimed the title.
Growing up in Salt Lake City, "Eric always had the support of my parents, don't get me wrong, but so much of what he achieved was through his own passion and grit," said his sister, Amy Porter-Nichols. "He would carry two bags of golf clubs, little sister in tow, over a quarter-mile to the city bus stop. We would ride to the course and I would watch him shag and sell golf balls so he could play a round. … He had a passion for golf and immense personal drive."
Hogg took two individual state championships for a Skyline High School program that created a team dynasty in the late 1970s and early '80s. Clark Garso, a high school and college teammate who became a PGA Professional, believes Hogg is one of the top 10 most talented golfers the state has produced, although a freak injury in the final stage of qualifying kept him from ever making the PGA Tour.
Garso cites Hogg's "exquisite" chipping and putting ability, once demonstrated in a college tournament at The Country Club. Hogg shot 1 under par on the back nine, while hitting only one green in regulation.
"He was so competitive," Garso said, "and I'm not talking just in golf. There was nobody that wanted to win more than Eric, and I've known a lot of great players."
Bybee remembers his Ute teammate as "way more talented than anybody else … astronomically talented. He could do things that very few people could do."
Hogg qualified for the 1989 U.S. Open. In the book "100 Years of the Utah State Amateur," he said, "Playing in the U.S. Open and winning the State Amateur twice are my greatest thrills in golf."
He also enjoyed the Utah Open victory at Willow Creek Country Club, the site of his State Am win vs. Bybee 10 years earlier. In an era when PGA Tour players with Utah ties often competed in the Utah Open, Clearwater took the two-stroke lead on the front nine of the final round before Hogg caught him. "It was nice to beat him; sure it was," Hogg said a year later. "He was sure trying to win that tournament."
That win ended up being the capstone of his golf career. "What a great victory, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," wrote Doug Boudreaux, the Utah Open's media coordinator that year. "He was incredibly humble after the win, and the media ate it up."
"He was so competitive," Garso said, "and I'm not talking just in golf. There was nobody that wanted to win more than Eric, and I've known a lot of great players."
Bybee remembers his Ute teammate as "way more talented than anybody else … astronomically talented. He could do things that very few people could do."
Hogg qualified for the 1989 U.S. Open. In the book "100 Years of the Utah State Amateur," he said, "Playing in the U.S. Open and winning the State Amateur twice are my greatest thrills in golf."
He also enjoyed the Utah Open victory at Willow Creek Country Club, the site of his State Am win vs. Bybee 10 years earlier. In an era when PGA Tour players with Utah ties often competed in the Utah Open, Clearwater took the two-stroke lead on the front nine of the final round before Hogg caught him. "It was nice to beat him; sure it was," Hogg said a year later. "He was sure trying to win that tournament."
That win ended up being the capstone of his golf career. "What a great victory, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," wrote Doug Boudreaux, the Utah Open's media coordinator that year. "He was incredibly humble after the win, and the media ate it up."
More information about the Utah Golf Hall of Fame and the 2024 class can be found here.
The two golfers will be inducted into a 55-golfer membership that has brought in classes of historic golfers in Utah since 1991, with each class being honored every four years. Bybee and Hogg's impressive careers overlapped at the University of Utah on the same roster for a couple of seasons while battling each other in a State Amateur final match in 1981. This match-up was the first time two Utes faced each other in the State Am Final as Mitchell Schow and Blake Tomlinson added their names to the exclusive category in 2020.
Bybee spent all four years with the Utes from 1978-82 and claimed the team captain role for his senior season while earning All-Conference honors in the WAC. Hogg spent two years on the team from 1980-82 and earned a spot in the NCAA Championship as an individual in his sophomore season.
UTAH GOLF HALL OF FAME STORY
DOUG BYBEE
In one of the more poignant scenes of a State Amateur awards presentation, Doug Bybee's voice caught in 1990 as he referenced two previous losses in final matches and managed to say, "Third time's the charm, I guess."
Six years later, his "third time" phrase took on a whole new meaning. Bybee became the storied tournament's first three-time winner in 37 years, joining Utah Golf Hall of Fame member Lou North. And it keeps getting better: After more than another quarter-century, nobody has matched Bybee's achievement.
Fair to say, Bybee has been more closely associated with State Amateur match-play success than any golfer since six-time champion Billy Korns in the 1940s (two of North's wins came in stroke play). His record of 43 matches played was topped only by Dan Horner in 2023; with 33 wins, Bybee and Horner trail only Korns (37).
"There's only one guy that leaves the State Am happy," Bybee said. "That's the cool thing that makes it even better. It's always better when it's something that's really important to you. It's even harder to win."
The expression "Par 'em to death" should go on Bybee's Hall of Fame plaque. "I don't necessarily strategize that way, it's just the nature of my game," Bybee said in the book "100 Years of the Utah State Amateur."
Yet that phrase also serves to underestimate Bybee's ability. He once made 14 birdies in two rounds at Bonneville Golf Course before losing in a playoff in the prestigious Salt Lake City Amateur (an event he won twice, while finishing second three times).
An alumnus of Box Elder High School and the University of Utah, Bybee grew up around the old Brigham Willows Golf Course in Brigham City, although the policy in those days didn't allow him to play the course until he was 10. He caddied for his father, Ray. Once he started playing, he caught on quickly.
After his consecutive State Am finals appearances in the early 1980s, Bybee spent five years as a professional golfer before regaining his amateur status and working as a successful marketing executive in the food and golf industries.
Bybee remembers becoming aware of the State Amateur only in 1976, when Brigham City legend Reid Goodliffe beat Jimmy Blair in the final match. Vinny McGuire of the old University of Utah GC would become one of Bybee's big influences. In Brigham City, Goodliffe was Bybee's friend and mentor, teaching him both the value of pars in match play and the meaning of the State Am.
That's why Bybee's losses to fellow Hall of Fame members Eric Hogg in '81 and Steve Schneiter in '82 were tough to absorb. And it certainly entered his mind in '90 that he could become a three-time runner-up, before he defeated Spence Ahrend at Alpine Country Club.
The next year, he knocked in an 85-yard shot for an eagle on the first extra hole at Jeremy Ranch in a semifinal match vs. Ahrend, before topping Brett Taylor in the finals. In 1996 at Hobble Creek Golf Course, Bybee bookended his match-play week with victories over home-course players Doug Baxter and Robert Shunn, winning the last 36-hole match 10 and 9.
Also, in '96, Bybee received the Utah Section PGA's Wesley Ruff Golf Citizen of the Year award for the way he represented the Utah golf community.
ERIC HOGG
The recent achievements of Mitchell Schow, Blake Tomlinson and Zac Blair in two of Utah's biggest golf tournaments evoked the name of Eric Hogg. Induction into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame will ensure that Hogg is remembered forever.
Hogg, who died in 2014 at age 51, is among the nine golfers (including Blair) who have won both State Amateur and Utah Open titles. His 1981 State Am victory over Hall of Fame classmate Doug Bybee was the last meeting of University of Utah teammates in a final match until Schow topped Tomlinson in 2020. Hogg also beat Hall of Fame member Arlen Peacock in the '81 semifinals; he defeated BYU's Eddie Heinen in the '89 final match.
Hogg's 1991 rally to overtake Keith Clearwater, then in the prime of his PGA Tour career, came in one of the Utah Open's most competitive eras as essentially a mini-tour event. It would be another 10 years before another homegrown Utahn (Kim Thompson) claimed the title.
Growing up in Salt Lake City, "Eric always had the support of my parents, don't get me wrong, but so much of what he achieved was through his own passion and grit," said his sister, Amy Porter-Nichols. "He would carry two bags of golf clubs, little sister in tow, over a quarter-mile to the city bus stop. We would ride to the course and I would watch him shag and sell golf balls so he could play a round. … He had a passion for golf and immense personal drive."
Hogg took two individual state championships for a Skyline High School program that created a team dynasty in the late 1970s and early '80s. Clark Garso, a high school and college teammate who became a PGA Professional, believes Hogg is one of the top 10 most talented golfers the state has produced, although a freak injury in the final stage of qualifying kept him from ever making the PGA Tour.
Garso cites Hogg's "exquisite" chipping and putting ability, once demonstrated in a college tournament at The Country Club. Hogg shot 1 under par on the back nine, while hitting only one green in regulation.
"He was so competitive," Garso said, "and I'm not talking just in golf. There was nobody that wanted to win more than Eric, and I've known a lot of great players."
Bybee remembers his Ute teammate as "way more talented than anybody else … astronomically talented. He could do things that very few people could do."
Hogg qualified for the 1989 U.S. Open. In the book "100 Years of the Utah State Amateur," he said, "Playing in the U.S. Open and winning the State Amateur twice are my greatest thrills in golf."
He also enjoyed the Utah Open victory at Willow Creek Country Club, the site of his State Am win vs. Bybee 10 years earlier. In an era when PGA Tour players with Utah ties often competed in the Utah Open, Clearwater took the two-stroke lead on the front nine of the final round before Hogg caught him. "It was nice to beat him; sure it was," Hogg said a year later. "He was sure trying to win that tournament."
That win ended up being the capstone of his golf career. "What a great victory, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," wrote Doug Boudreaux, the Utah Open's media coordinator that year. "He was incredibly humble after the win, and the media ate it up."
"He was so competitive," Garso said, "and I'm not talking just in golf. There was nobody that wanted to win more than Eric, and I've known a lot of great players."
Bybee remembers his Ute teammate as "way more talented than anybody else … astronomically talented. He could do things that very few people could do."
Hogg qualified for the 1989 U.S. Open. In the book "100 Years of the Utah State Amateur," he said, "Playing in the U.S. Open and winning the State Amateur twice are my greatest thrills in golf."
He also enjoyed the Utah Open victory at Willow Creek Country Club, the site of his State Am win vs. Bybee 10 years earlier. In an era when PGA Tour players with Utah ties often competed in the Utah Open, Clearwater took the two-stroke lead on the front nine of the final round before Hogg caught him. "It was nice to beat him; sure it was," Hogg said a year later. "He was sure trying to win that tournament."
That win ended up being the capstone of his golf career. "What a great victory, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," wrote Doug Boudreaux, the Utah Open's media coordinator that year. "He was incredibly humble after the win, and the media ate it up."
More information about the Utah Golf Hall of Fame and the 2024 class can be found here.
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