Ahem. Well, Jack was half right. The last time I played Kahuku Municipal Golf Course on Oahu's North Shore, a flock of goats was indeed munching grass between the first green and second tee.
But they were also doing what goats, so to speak, do. Naturally mowed and well-fertilized, Kahuku is in the best shape of its 50-plus years.
I've played each of the 70 courses in Hawaii and if I had to choose a favorite, I'd waggle out of it and choose three. Kahuku, a traditional seaside links course, would be on that list. And it tops my list of Hawaii's off-the-beaten track 9-hole courses.
Don't get me wrong -- I love playing the great resort courses around the 50th State as much as the next golfer. Without exception, they're a pleasure, beautiful, lush, designed by famed international architects and better groomed than a spoiled poodle. Most of them also cost about $100 for 18 holes.
But there is another side of golf that I relish: Courses that are somewhat rough-hewn, shall we say. And historic. Most of the courses listed here go back to Hawaii's plantation days. From there, the roots of the game -- when Scottish shepherds knocked around rocks with their staffs -- sometime seems just a stout 2-iron away.
"Oh, geez!" says Jack when I talk like that. "I'll tell you, some of those courses give a whole new meaning to the concept of rough!"
Jack is probably right. Most of these courses don't have a pro shop or restaurant. But they do have their own pleasures. They're not over-crowded. They offer good golf holes and lovely scenery. And they're an affordable vacation budget-balancing alternative to some of those $100 resort courses.
KAHUKU MUNICPAL G..C. Kahuku, Oahu. Par 36. 2,850 yards. Cost: $19 for 9 holes, $30 for 18 holes. Pullcarts $1. Practice area, but B.Y.O. Balls. Phone: 808-293-5842.
This is the most beautiful natural golf setting on Oahu. Kahuku is built on true linksland -- the sandy area that forms the link between sea and arable land -- and runs along a strand of dunes, broad beach and crashing surf. You can see the ocean from eight holes and during the winter and sprin, humpback whales often spout and splash just offshore. Wildflowers bloom in the rough of the seaside third, seventh and eighth holes. Sea mist drifts over the links. Fairway turf is spongy, springy amnd prone to good lies. And because there are no riding carts, there are no cart paths. This is one of the last of the natural courses.
The origins of the course are unclear, but it is believed that plantation bosses had it built for their amusement. By 1937, an aerial photograph of the site when it hosted what is still the biggest rodeo ever staged in Hawaii clearly shows greens and bunkers.
The best hole is the par-3 third. It plays 150 yards to a green with a five-foot swale in the middle. Miss to the right and you're down a long hill with an impossible pitch. Miss to the left and you're on the beach, literally.
IRONWOOD HILLS G.C. Kualapuu, Molokai. Par 34. 2,400 to 3,000 yards. Cost: $10 for nine 9 holes, $2 each additional 9. Riding carts: $7 for 9 holes, $10 for 18. Pullcarts $2. Rental clubs available. Phone: 808-567-6000.
The trick to Ironwood Hills until recently was just finding it. When we played there two years ago, there was no sign and it was not listed on any map. We found it by asking around. "You go up the road toward the Kalaupapa Lookout and just past a water tank on your right, but before you get to the mule ride coral, turn left down an unmarked dirt road that runs past a long row of trees, then go a quarter mile. Can't miss it." We did, a couple of times. But you'll be pleased to know they've since put up a new sign on the road, just past the water tank.
There was nobody at the starter's both that day, just a sign instructing us to put $10 in a metal box. Times change. A part-time Molokai resident is now leasing the course and has put a bundle of money into it, building real tee boxes, improving greens and putting real sand in bunkers. They're even building a small clubhouse and have a head professional.
Built by Del Monte for its executives in 1928, Ironwood Hills is named after its two most prominent features, lots of ironwood trees and hills. If you're walking, take a tip from the locals and after teeing off on the downhill sixth hole, take whatever you'll need to finish the hole and your driver for the uphill seventh, and leave your bag under a tree. That hill is one of the toughest climbs in Hawaii golf even without a full bag on your shoulder.
KUKUIOLONO G.C. Kalaheo, Kauai. Par 36 for men, 37 for women. 2,600 to 3,000 yards. Cost: $5 daily fee. Riding carts $5 per nine holes. Pullcarts $1 per nine. Phone: 808-332-9151.
All that really needs to be said about Kukuiolono is that it was designed by Toyo Shirai, who earlier created the front nine at Wailua, which has hosted the U.S. Publinx Championship three times.
The site here -- sweeping hills with way-off ocean views -- can't compare with the oceanfront he had to work with at Wailua, but Toyo's skill as a designer is again evident. And at age 77, Toyo is still giving lessons as head pro at Kukuiolono.
HAMAKUA COUNTRY CLUB. Honokaa, Hawaii. Par 33. 2,520 yards. Cost: $10 per day for non-members.
Hamakua, located 45 minutes from Hilo, was built in the early 1920s by plantation bosses on a steep hillside that overlooks the sea. The hillside has room for about five holes. Somehow, they managed to squeeze in nine. Of those, eight criss-cross at least one other fairway. Only the par-3 eighth stands alone. The par-4 ninth is an otherwise terrific closing hole -- uphill through a chute of ironwoods and across a yawning ravine -- but is intersected by both the third and seventh holes.
No goats here, just the occasional sheep from across the road. And no riding carts because the terrain is too steep. B.Y.O. Pullcart. A hardhat wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
CAVENDISH G.C. Lanai City, Lanai. Par 36. 3,100 yards. No greens fee -- leave a donation in a little wooden box beside the first tee, as much or as little as you choose. No scorecard, no carts, no phone.
As with everything else on Lanai, Dole owns the land and built the course for its execs in 1947. It has several really good holes and the condition of the course has improved in recent years since the Koele resort, another Dole project, was built nearby.
Three more:
They're not exactly off the beaten path, but Naniloa C.C. in Hilo on the Big Island and Moanalua C.C. and Ft. Shafter G.C. in Honoluu comprise the remainder of Hawaii's 9-hole courses.
Moanalua (808-839-2411) was built in 1898 by Samuel Damon, whose estate also included what is today Honolulu International Airport. Moanalua stakes a claim as the oldest golf club west of the Rockies. It is open to limited public play on weekday afternoons. Cost is $29 with cart for either nine or 18 holes. The par-4 ninth hole, one of the three toughest closing holes in Hawaii, requires a strong second shot over a diagonal creek to a green nestled between trees and water.
Naniloa (808-935-3000), on Hilo's scenic Banyan Drive, is a delightful little course with lots of trees. Two par-3s play over ponds and the par-5 ninth is another great closing hole. Cost is $24 weekdays, $35 on weekends and holidays. Riding carts $7 per nine holes. Rental clubs available. And it's the only course listed here with a real driving range.
Ft. Shafter, one of the best overall layouts among the 9-holers, is an Army course and thus off limits to all but active and retired military and their guests.
Back to Reading Room Home page