81600_rev_cover
9/26/06
13:29
Page 1
MauiGolf Autumn/W inter 2006/7 Vol. XI, Autumn/Winter 2006/7 •• Vol. XI, No. No.IIIIII
R E V I E W
d u n e s at m a u i l a n i “One of the five best-kept secret golf courses in America.” —Golf Digest—
Nominated as one of America’s Top 100 New Courses. —Golf Digest—
“The best of two worlds: a tropical-paradise layout in an Irish dunes setting.” —Golf Digest—
Among the “35 Best New Courses in the Nation.” —GOLF Magazine—
“The last and best place to play at the end of the millennium.” —Travel & Leisure Golf—
“A fabulous natural golf site...”
The PGA TOUR Starts Here
—LINKS Magazine—
January 1 - 7, 2007
“...like no other layout in the state.”
The 2007 Mercedes-Benz Championship returns to The Plantation Course with an elite field of the 2006 PGA TOUR champions. Qualifiers to date include:
—FORE Magazine—
• Stuart Appleby • Chad Campbell
• Tiger Woods • Tim Herron
• David Toms • Geoff Ogilvy
• Jim Furyk • Aaron Baddeley
Buy and print your tickets on-line. Save if you purchase prior to 12/25/06. Tickets purchased on-line can also be transferred by email and lost or stolen tickets can be replaced. Tickets can be purchased at the Kapalua Resort at all Golf Pro Shops and the Honolua Store.
For more information call (808) 669-2440 or visit www.kapalua.com
“...a British Open course on Maui.”
• Vijay Singh and more! CourseThe The Dunes Dunes at Maui 3 Feature Feature Course Maui Lani Lani66Snapshots Snapshots Makena South/North South/North14 14Aloha AlohaMessage Message Editor’s Note 18 18 Journal Journal What’s up on Maui Maui 20 20 Memory Memory Lane Editor’s Note LaneThe TheLegends Legends of of Golf Golf ‘on Maui’ 22 22 Where Whereto toPlay PlayMaui MauiCourse CourseReviews Reviews 24 24 Golf GolfMap MapAll Allroads roadslead... lead... 48 48 Apres AprèsGolf GolfBrad Brad Bowen Bowen talks aboutatKihili DavidLahaina Paul’s Lahaina 52 Art Cover Art Artist Ronaldo Macedo and our covers. for pupus DavidatPaul’s Grill 52 Grill Cover Painter Ronaldo Macedo.
—Honolulu Advertiser— Tee Time Reservations and Info: (808) 873-0422 • Pro Shop Fax: (808) 871-6647 Group Reservations: (808) 873-7911, Ext. 10 • Internet: www.dunesatmauilani.com
FEATURE COURSE
S p e c t a c u l a r M au i G o l f Wailea Blue Course Enjoy the best of Hawaiian golf at Wailea Golf Club’s award-winning Blue Course, renown for its extraordinary sunshine, spectacular island scenery, superb course conditions and warm spirit of hospitality. Call for your tee time today.
Wailea Blue Course: 875-5155
PHOTOGRAPHED AND WRITTEN BY JOHN BYRNE
6 The 198-yard par 3 sixth often plays to left-toright trade wind, which helps the fade. This hole has an hourglass-shaped putting surface that is long, and shallow. While club selection is at a premium, carrying the water is the priority. Most long balls waill stay nestled in the ensconcing rough behind the green. You can bail out on the right, but a solid shot at the pin is often a rewarding way to play this risky hole.
Don’t forget the 19th hole: Mulligan’s on the Blue at the Wailea Blue Course clubhouse, serving delicious meals and refreshing beverages with a side order of genuine Irish hospitality.
Present this coupon to receive 10% OFF food and beverages. 3
AUTUMN/WINTER 2006 MAUI GOLF REVIEW
FEATURE COURSE
A MAUI TREASURE The Dunes at Maui Lani G.C. MAUI’S
CENTRAL
VA L L E Y,
KNOWN
as the Kahului isthmus, rests between two separate volcanic mountain ranges. Over a million years ago, the present-day site of The Dunes at Maui Lani was submerged beneath the sea. But
after
hundreds
of
thousands of years, Maui’s volcanoes rose, and the sea receded from the isthmus, forming sand dunes and a wasteland surrounded by a unique variety of estuarine environments...
continued on page 26
MAUI GOLF REVIEW AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7
5
WHERE TO PLAY: FEATURE COURSE
A MAUI TREASURE The Dunes at Maui Lani G.C.
3 No 3 is where all the fun starts at The Dunes. Note the bunker to the right, which is blind from the regular tees. This green has a lot of depth from front to back, and club selection can be tricky, especially with the wind. The safe play is to the front tier, but aggressive players will just go for the hole.
26
AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7 MAUI GOLF REVIEW
Continued from page 5 According to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, they include “the brackish Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary and Kealia Pond on the south coast of Maui....” By all measures, the only thing keeping this rare part of the world’s unique dunes land from being “officially classified” by the USGA as a links (see About links), is the fact that it is not located in Scotland! Well, that’s their call, but we nonetheless regard it to be genuine and authentic linksland in every way except climate. This is the site of the renowned Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course. And, while settlers over the past two centuries have cultivated much of the surrounding land, the site where The Dunes lies remains basically untouched—an unspoiled place where ancient Hawaiian alluvial sand dunes exist—that is, until Maui Lani was created. “I remember when I first saw it,” course architect Robin Nelson said of the land on which The Dunes is built. “You’re lucky if you get one of these sites in a lifetime.” “My vision,” he said, “was to create an Irish links-style course in concept, keeping in mind that it would be unique because the grasses and humidity factors in Hawaii are totally different than those found in the British isles.” Nelson’s design of The Dunes uses the terrain with great imagination and restraint. The result is a rare Hawaiian links with both character and charm. A course unlike any other: “The Dunes site is as close to an authentic links as can be built in Hawaii,” he adds. Robin’s philosophy was simple: “I wanted to follow the contours of the land,” he said. “It related to other Continued on page 29
MAUI GOLF REVIEW AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7
27
WHERE TO PLAY: FEATURE COURSE
10 There is a directional marker in the fairway that you can see from the tee. Your drive should be just right of that. As you tee shot runs down the hill it will either stop on the ledge 200 yards from the green, or roll left to the bottom left-hand side of the fairway. A solid drive is a must on this challenging golf hole.
28
AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7 MAUI GOLF REVIEW
Continued from page 27 courses I have done in that manner, such as The Dragon (the Sierra Nevada layout whose ‘Dragon’s Gate’, the 390-yard, par 4 12th, was named among the three ‘Great Golf Holes’ of California, USGA Golf Journal, 19952000. The others named by the Journal being: the 9th hole at Poppy Ridge, Livermore and the 18th hole at Pebble Beach, and Ravenwood, in New York; ranked the third most difficult public course in New York State). “In each case, where we didn't move much dirt to create the design. This was even more the case with The Dunes,” he notes. Nelson’s use of the terrain and the wind follows a key architectural tenet that has withstood the test of time: that nature provides the most enduring challenge. He didn’t invent this approach, but he was certainly one of the few visionaries in his field who, the more he studied the past, could see the future. Therein lies Nelson’s gift—the principal reason why he is among the great golf course architects of this era. Ron Whitten, the preeminent golf course architecture editor at Golf Digest, wrote this of Nelson in his review of Ravenwood: his “traditional, timeless ideas [will not] allow our minds to wander,” adding that Robin is “one of those veteran American architects who is better known overseas than at home.” Whitten quickly points out why golfers here in the United States are in for a treat when Robin’s new, bold American courses (and there are a bunch on the way) open: “He [Robin] did one of the world's great seaside venues at Mangilao on Continued on page 31 MAUI GOLF REVIEW AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7
29
WHERE TO PLAY: FEATURE COURSE
about
30
AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7 MAUI GOLF REVIEW
What is a true links course? According to the USGA: “‘Links’ is a term that refers to a very specific geographic land form found in Scotland. Such tracts of low-lying, seaside land are characteristically sandy, treeless, and undulating, often with lines of dunes or dune ridges, and covered by bent grass and gorse. To be a true links, the tract of land must lie near the mouth of a river—that is, in an estuarine environment. From the Middle Ages onward, linkslands (generally speaking, poor land for farming) were common grounds used for sports, including archery, bowls and golf. Because many of the early courses of Scotland were built on these common linksland, golf courses and links have forever been associated. The term ‘links’ is commonly misapplied to refer to any golf course. But remember that a true links depends only on geography.”
Continued from page 29 Guam and one of the world's loveliest at Bali in Indonesia.” Ron Whitten and Golf Digest backed up their words of praise by instantly recognizing Robin’s first East Coast layout as the No. 5
me a lot in designing The Dunes to be enjoyable for both the pro and the average golfer alike,” he said. “I never intend holes to be birdie or bogey holes. I try to cre-
possibility of going for the green in two.” “On the [362-yard par 4] 5th, the longer the tee shot, the easier the second, but longer gets increasingly more difficult.”
"Best New Public Course" in America when it opened in 2003. (This is in addition to the long list of accolades bestowed on The Dunes since it opened in 1999.) But awards and accolades mean only so much. It’s the golf itself that is what counts. “I play to a 10-handicap,” Nelson explains. “So although I’m usually looking down the middle of the fairway, my eyes are always darting to the rough. This helped
ate strategic holes—where risk/reward values are higher on some holes than they are on others,” he declares. “For example, on hole No. 2 [a 381-yard par 4], if the tee shot carries the bunkers on the right, the second shot is not blind from the berm long of the landing area on the left. “On No. 4 [the 509-yard par 5],“ he adds, “it is more obvious: the perfect tee shot rewards the
Robin’s focus on player strategy is consistent throughout the round: “On the [547-yard par 5] 9th,” he points out, “the tee shot is wide open, and the challenge is on the second shot. The pot bunkers in the middle of the fairway are bigger than they look, so it appears that the golfer can easily carry them to set up an easy pitch to the elevated green. However, because of the scale of the bunkers and the background
of the hill and the blind green, depth perception is skewed, and those bunkers come into play a lot more than one may think.” Robin drives his point home on No. 12: “The tendency,” he says, “is to hit as long a tee shot as possible, but the best shot is to lay back on the top of the hill. There is a trick to each hole, and the more you play, the more you learn,” he confides. In the tradition of the classic links courses of old, the front nine heads out, and the back nine heads in. According to Nelson, “Anyone who has seen Ballybunion, Royal County Down, or Shinnecock Hills will recognize a similar look and feel at The Dunes at Maui Lani.” In their August 2004 “Secrets Issue,” The Dunes was listed as one of the “five best-kept secret golf courses in America” by Golf Digest. The number-one monthly golf magazine in the world went on to say that The Dunes: is the “best of two worlds: a tropicalparadise layout in an Irish dunes setting.” In sum, make sure you play this course during your visit. •
5 The 381-yard par 4 5th has prevailing trade winds and a slope all heading toward the fresh water pond that guards the left side of the fairway as well as the green. A long iron or utility wood is the play, unless you think you can carry that mound on the right and stop your ball. The approach can easily run right into the pond so play for it.
MAUI GOLF REVIEW AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7
31
WHERE TO PLAY
THE DUNES AT MAUI LANI GOLF COURSE Pro Shop: (808) 873-0422 w w w. d u n e s a t m a u i l a n i . c o m Located in Maui's central valley, The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course is a championship linkslandstyle track designed by architect Robin Nelson, and opened for play in January 1999. The course is constructed over natural, alluvial sand dunes created when the island of Maui was formed. Nelson wisely made sure the design artfully followed this naturally sloping terrain. The course also takes advantage of the Pacific trade winds, which add challenge to play. The rolling fairways are characterized by massive elevation changes, and the medium-sized greens are undulating and often tricky. The fairways are lined by dense kiawe forest, and strategically placed revetted pot bunkers lurk throughout the design. Water comes into play on three holes: Nos. 5, 6, and 18. This par 72 course plays from 4,768 to 6,841-yards and offers four sets of tees to accommodate all skill levels. The Dunes Clubhouse features one of Central Maui’s better bars and grills, aptly named: The Dunes. The course also features a great pro shop
FROM SOUTH MAUI Take Mokulele to Kahului. Go right on Kuihelani Hwy. Two miles on right.
FROM WEST MAUI Head toward airport. When on Kuihelani Hwy., look for course on the right. About five miles from crossroads. The short par 3 third at The Dunes is where the course really begins, with
6841 6413 5833 4768
dunes, and wind and undulation awaiting.
Year built: 1999
N/A
Rating/Slope: 73.5/136 with some of the best new lines of logowear to be found. Instructor Bill Greenleaf is a master PGA professional, who is joined by local PGA legend Henry Yogi, on the Nelson-designed lit all-grass practice range. •
Practice Range: yes, lighted Lockers/Showers: yes Architect: Robin Nelson Course Supt.: Brian Kaulupali Metal spikes: not allowed Dress code: collared shirt
David H. Gleason, PGA GM/Director of Golf (808) 873-0422
“Ranked by GOLFWEEK (2006) as the No. 2 resort course on Maui, Top 10 in Hawaii. Golf Digest called it: “One of the (five) best-kept secret golf
Greens: TifDwarf
courses in America.”
PUKALANI COUNTRY CLUB Pro Shop: (808) 572-1314 Pukalani differs from the island's 16 other venues because of its 1,200-foot elevation. The climate is cooler, and the location affords golfers gorgeous views of Maui. Opened in 1978, the course measures 6,945 yards from the back tees, has 19 greens, and plays to a par of 72. The course was designed in part by developers Robert E. Baldock Sr. and Jr. Pukalani's 18 holes wind up, down, and around a 160-acre residential community. This course has doglegs, so the fade and the draw work here. The fairways are ample, and the loosely spaced Norfolk pines framing most of the holes are set 10 to 15 yards into the kikuyu rough. Pukalani is straightforward in design and offers many spectacular views. It is very easy to under- or over-club on this course, so the golden rule is get the ball to the hole on uphill shots and play for the front on downhill shots. Pukalani has many unique holes. One is the short par 3 third, which features two greens. Golfers can choose which to play. The fairways, tees, and roughs at Pukalani consist of
pukalanigolf.com
FROM SOUTH MAUI
This well-maintained golf course has some of the best views on Maui. Be sure to play it!
a thick-bladed, ruddy perennial species from Africa known as kikuyu (Paspalum urvillei). Fortunately, balls tend to sit up high, and judging what the ball will do is part of the fun. We highly recommend you play this cool, well-maintained course. The views are magnificent, and the course is a very thoughtful design. Despite the fact that the clubhouse was struck by fire this year, Pukalani has never looked better. Be sure to add this course to your list of must-plays. You’ll be happy you did. •
Take Mokulele to Dairy Rd., go right. then right again onto Hana Hwy (by K-Mart). Follow Hana Hwy. two miles then go right onto Haleakala Hwy. Go right onto Old Haleakala Hwy, and right onto Pukalani St. Course is at end of this road
FROM WEST MAUI Go to Kahului, then follow above.
N/A
N/A
6495 6494 5612
Year built: 1979 Rating/Slope: 72.8/128 Practice Range: yes Lockers/Showers: no Architects: B.E. & R.L. Baldock Course Supt.: Pat Watanabe
“It is tough to beat Pukalani for what you get for the price. Try it!”
Yasuo Nishida Manager (808) 572-1314
Metal spikes: allowed Dress code: shirts and shoes Greens: Bermuda
MAUI GOLF REVIEW AUTUMN/WINTER 2006/7
33