Golf is golf is golf the world around, right? Or so you might assume by looking at the names and nationalities of players on America\u2019s various professional tours \u2014 from throughout Asia, Europe, South America and Africa. The \u201cauld game\u201d of Scotland has truly become an international spectacle and passion.<\/p>\n
And with Hawaii being America\u2019s 50th State, you might well assume that golf here is just like it is wherever you call home. \u00a0Well, yes. And, well, no.<\/p>\n
Yes, we play 18 holes at a time and enjoy a stop afterward at the 19th hole, but from the first tee to the last beverage, Island golf is different. Here are a few suggestions to make your golf in the islands more pleasant.<\/p>\n
Really, you can play without them. Most resort courses and many daily fee courses provide rental clubs, and they\u2019re often the latest lines from Titleist, Ping, Callaway, TaylorMade, Tommy Armour, or Cobra. This is true for both men and women, as well as left-handers. This means you don\u2019t have to schlepp your clubs across the Pacific and can give the newest clubs a test drive. Of course, call ahead or go online to check what each course you want to play offers.<\/p>\n
Likewise, pro shops are well-stocked with balls, tees, and other accouterments, so even if you bring your own bag, it needn\u2019t weigh a ton. And given what airlines charge for overweight bags these days, you don\u2019t want it to. Trust one who got nailed.<\/p>\n
Hawaii courses generally do not permit metal spikes. So if you bring your own golf shoes, make sure they\u2019re the greens-friendly rubber variety. Most courses also rent shoes. Call ahead.<\/p>\n
By all means, do bring a camera. Don\u2019t, and you\u2019ll wish you had. From waves crashing on the shore to lush jungles to black lava fields to misty mountain forests, the golf courses of Hawaii offer scenic vistas at every turn. Plus, back home, photos of you playing golf in Hawaii will make your friends nearly as jealous as photos of you at the luau with a mai tai in one hand and in the other a beautiful hula dancer.<\/p>\n
No nah-nah-nah here, just stating the obvious, given Hawaii\u2019s southern latitudes and exposure. The sub-tropical rays here are intense, even in December and January. Which means sunscreen is your new best friend. Buy it, apply it \u2014 minimum 30 SPF. No kidding, real men wear sunscreen. Good advice is to apply it, at a minimum, on the first and 10th tees. Yes, it can be greasy, but this is why the golf gods invented handi wipes. Fortunately, if you forget to bring sunscreen, most pro shops offer it.<\/p>\n
Hats are a splendid idea to keep the noggin from getting fried. We say, the broader the bonnet\u2019s brim the better. Logo caps and hats from Hawaii\u2019s courses also make swell souvenirs.<\/p>\n
Spending four-plus hours in the heat and humidity means you\u2019ll perspire away considerable fluids and energy. So it\u2019s important to drink plenty of water or sports drinks. Many courses provide water coolers and\/or beverage carts on the course. Drink more than you think you should. And don\u2019t use the word hydrated, it makes you sound like a fairway.<\/p>\n
Intense as the sun can be, the Hawaiian archipelago is blessed with cooling trade winds out of the northeast. Without them, we\u2019d be Guam or the Philippines. So for golfers, wind is almost always an issue. Most courses are routed with the prevailing trades in mind, so southwestern Kona winds can turn a course completely around. There\u2019s no better example of that than what veteran Island pro-Dick McClean accomplished at the par-3 second hole at Kapalua\u2019s Plantation Course. Playing with the trade winds at his back, and NBC golf commentator Mark Rolfing as a partner, Dick hit a 6-iron for a hole-in-one. A week later, playing into a howling Kona wind, as Mark began to tell NBC colleague Johnny Miller about Dick\u2019s ace, he nailed a driver \u2014 and knocked this one into the hole too!<\/p>\n
Hawaiian pros suggest that when playing into the wind you take another club or two or three, and then swing easy \u2014 the harder you hit, the more spin it imparts to the ball, which is magnified by the wind.<\/p>\n
In theory, you can play golf in Hawaii 365 days a year. The fact is, though, there\u2019s a reason these islands are so green. It rains, in some places and some seasons more than others. Better to bring an umbrella and light jacket and not use them than to not bring them and get soaked. And remember, to Hawaiians rain is a blessing.<\/p>\n
One of the happy developments in Island golf is that more courses and pros are emphasizing teaching. And many visitors find that they\u2019re more relaxed and receptive to lessons while on vacation. Places such as the sprawling Kapalua Golf Academy and the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Wailea (both on Maui) offer everything from half-day to multiple-day instructions, including video analysis and customized golf-specific workouts. Every resort course offers similar programs, including \u201cplaying lessons,\u201d going out on the course with a teaching pro. It\u2019s always best to make an appointment in advance.<\/p>\n
With just a couple of exceptions, putting greens at Hawaii courses is planted with Bermuda grass. There are a variety of Bermudas \u2014 somewhere white-coated mad scientists are cackling in labs while stewing up new strains \u2014 they all have grain. Which describes the direction in which blades of grass grow. The three factors in determining grain are the direction of the setting sun, the direction of the trade winds, and water drainage. Putting and chipping with the grain, the balls rolls faster and further. Going against the grain, the putt is slower. When it\u2019s sideway, well, I\u2019ve actually seen putts break uphill. The easiest way to determine grain is to check the rim of the hole. The side that shows a slight browning of grass is the direction the grain goes \u2014 the browning caused by roots exposed to the blades of a mower.<\/p>\n
Resort courses, in particular, offer more than the usual three sets of tees, sometimes four or five. So bite off as much or little challenge as you like. Tee it up from the tips and you\u2019ll find yourself playing a few 600-yard par-5s and see a few 250-yard forced carries.<\/p>\n
Unless you play a muni or certain daily fee courses, plan on taking a cart. Riding carts are mandatory at most courses and are included in the greens fees. More and more courses are offering on-board GPS.<\/p>\n
Most courses offer \u201ctwilight\u201d rates, usually a substantial savings over the morning \u2014 which is preferred because the sun is less intense and the wind tends to come up in the afternoon. Exactly when twilight begins varies from course to course, generally from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Lava tends to be razor-sharp and not good for the life of golf balls, golf shoes, or golf clubs. So if you hit a ball into the black stuff, consider it an offering to Madame Pele, goddess of the volcano, and drop another one. At Waikoloa\u2019s Kings and Beach courses on the Big Island, they tell first-timers that, if they should hit one toward the lava, to call out to a friendly neighborhood menehune, \u201cMoki! Moki! Moki!\u201d Sometimes it works and he kicks it back.<\/p>\n
At the end of your round, there\u2019s a 19th hole where you can enjoy a chilled beverage and some pupus. Which is the Hawaiian word for appetizers, or perhaps in hipper modern parlance, tapas. Edamame, steamed soybeans, is a particular Island fave. Some of our favorite 19th holes include Ko Olina (Oahu), which is set above a waterfall and splashes down beside the 18th green; Plantation Course (Maui), great food with a view down the 9th fairway toward the blue Kaiwi Channel and beyond the island of Molokai; Arnie\u2019s at Hapuna (Big Island), great food and a virtual Arnold Palmer museum; Kaanapali (Maui), where you can watch other golfers struggling with the watery 18th hole, one of the state\u2019s toughest par-4s.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t forget to stop and smell the plumerias.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Golf is golf is golf the world around, right? Or so you might assume by looking at the names and nationalities of players on America\u2019s various professional tours \u2014 from throughout Asia, Europe, South America and Africa. The \u201cauld game\u201d of Scotland has truly become an international spectacle and passion. And with Hawaii being America\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":111547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visiting-hawaii"],"yoast_head":"\n