Development of a golf course at The Canyons is stalled.

Lack of financing and major disputes between stakeholders mire the embattled deal as Summit County officials work toward determining who is at fault. Property owners have been at each other's throats for years.

Some blame Wolf Mountain Resorts Managing Partner Kenny Griswold, who owns much of the land at the resort, which he leased to the defunct American Skiing Co., for The Canyons more than a decade ago. Critics say Griswold has stymied growth at the resort by not conveying land and easements he agreed to provide for the golf course.

Griswold refutes those claims.

Others blame the resort. The development agreement required the publicly traded American Skiing Company, former parent company to The Canyons, to complete the golf course at The Canyons in 2002.

With the county cracking down at the resort, within the next few weeks some landowners could be in default of their development agreements for not providing the golf course.

Property owners came together in the late 1990s to form The Canyons Specially Planned Area, which included an 18-hole course and millions of square feet of commercial and residential space.

"It was anticipated that golf would go in first," deputy Summit County attorney Jami Brackin said. "Golf completion was required but did not occur."

All construction at the resort was expected to be complete within 15 years, Brackin said, adding that 10 years later less than a third of The Canyons is built.

Government officials are investigating to determine if any parties have defaulted on their contracts with the county. But at an enforcement hearing Thursday it was unclear whether The Canyons Resort Village Management Association, which oversees course construction, has enough money to even build nine holes.

A crowd filled the Sheldon Richins Building auditorium as the county grilled stakeholders at The Canyons for nearly six hours.

Because he is currently litigating against Summit County, Wolf Mountain Resorts attorney Paul Peters said he refused to answer many questions in a testy exchange with deputy Summit County attorney David Thomas and interim Summit County Manager Brian Bellamy.

What may be preventing the start of golf course construction is conveyance of a land easement by Wolf Mountain in the West Willow Draw area of The Canyons.

"What's holding that up?" Bellamy asked Peters.

Peters replied: "I believe a mediation between the county and Wolf Mountain would be a good start."

The Canyons had hopes of becoming a world-class four-season resort in the Park City area.

But the current plan for four par-3 holes on the back nine makes the golf course shoddy, Peters contended.

"A standard golf course typically only has 2 par 3s in any given nine," Peters explained. "Wolf Mountain believes this is a substandard design."

The design has changed since Griswold agreed to it a decade ago. The Toronto-based Talisker Corp. development firm is now overseeing course construction since buying The Canyons from American Skiing Co.

The agreement at The Canyons doesn't require Talisker to build a "world-class" golf course at the resort, said Mark Thorne, a Talisker senior vice president.

"Where possible we would keep the arid natural vegetation," Thorne said about the par 71 design. "This golf course gives some nice generous landing areas off the tees and it doesn't play overly long."

The golf course is essential to making The Canyons a summer destination spot, Thorne said in a prepared statement Friday.

"Talisker and The Canyons have worked diligently and at great expense to meet all of their obligations with respect to the golf course, but [Wolf Mountain] has not lived up to its obligations to grant land or easements for road access to adjacent landowners," Thorne said.

Meanwhile, Summit County has stopped Talisker from developing at The Canyons until golf-course construction occurs.

Despite not controlling all the land necessary for the course, the Resort Village Management Association hopes to break ground by grading some holes this summer, said Jen Guetschow, the executive director of the RVMA.

But finding financing to complete an 18-hole course will be difficult without all the land, Guetschow said, adding that Wolf Mountain Resorts is the only entity that has not met its contractual obligations.

But Griswold countered that even 10 years ago American Skiing Co. did not have enough money to build the golf course.

"A golf course was the last thing on their mind," Griswold said, adding that ASC borrowed money 10 years ago to stay afloat. "When you're losing your home, you're not planning on building a brand new swimming pool."