Kauai is Calling

BY TONY DEAR • CG EDITOR

In 36 years of trying, and after maybe 10,000 tee shots on ace-able holes, I’ve yet to savor the singular joy of holing my tee shot. Twelve years ago on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, however, I came about as close as you can get.

The awesome par-3 14th hole on the Ocean Course at Hokuala is one of those pin-up holes you often see on calendars and just sort of gawp at for a while. In person, you stand on the tee and assume you must have stepped into a parallel universe for a moment. It’s not real somehow, a make-believe computer-generated representation of your most vivid golf dream.

From the back tees it plays 210 yards, downhill slightly, from one lush promontory to another with the occasionally white-capped, but usually deep blue, waters of Nawiliwili Bay below and the diagonally oriented green backed by palm trees up ahead.

The first time I was lucky enough to visit this supernatural spot, and after the obligatory cooing and murmured disbelief, I pulled a hybrid from my bag and met the ball squarely on the sweet spot. The other three guys in the group were nice enough to compliment the swing and the strike before we all fell silent, and just watched, wondering how well this shot might turn out.

It was on a good line the whole way and seemed to rise and fall on the exact arc required for the ball to land just short of the pin. It pitched maybe 10 yards from the hole, bounced lightly and began trundling towards the cup. It looked dead center, even from 200 yards away.

You could sense the four of us hold our collective breath for a second, ready to burst as the ball disappeared. The anguished cries of disbelief as the dratted pill made a last-second squirm to the right, catch the lip, circle the cup and come to a stop maybe three maddening, exasperating, disturbing inches from glory could probably have been heard in the clubhouse a few hundred yards away.

Excuse the lengthy retelling of a story I’ve bored family and friends with ever since it happened. Unlike most stories of a similar nature, however, this one needs no dressing up or bogus padding. I mean, it was the perfect shot and the ball was going in…until it didn’t.

The majestic 14th hole is definitely the highlight of the round, but the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout, which MSN Travel has named one of the 12 most beautiful in the world and which winds through mango and guava groves before reaching the cliffs, has numerous other memorable snapshots.

The three other par 3s are especially good, but some of the two and three-shot holes here are among the best in all of Hawaii, not just the Garden Isle. The 331-yard 16th receives almost as much attention as the 14th, and is a particular favorite of the designer.

“The 16th is a standout,” confirms Nicklaus. “It challenges you to make the right club selection on the tee. If your tee ball travels down the slot, then you have a chance to drive it on the green and putt for an eagle. A tee shot miss and you have an awkward pitch to the green. The smart play is usually to hit a hybrid or a 3-iron, leaving you a little wedge down to the green.”

The green sits adjacent to Kukii Point with its 22-foot concrete lighthouse (sister lighthouse to the 115-year-old, 86-foot tall Ninini Point Lighthouse a mile west) looking on. The two finishing holes demand a couple of heroic water carries and close a round you won’t forget in a hurry.

The 450-acre property of which the golf course is a very special part, was bought by Colorado-based Timbers Resorts for $60 million in 2015 since when the management company with 17 properties in the U.S., Mexico, Italy and the Virgin Islands, has made substantial improvements, giving the place a more authentic Hawaiian ambiance and changing the business model to one based predominantly, though not entirely, on luxury residential ownership (whole and fractional) rather than hotel/timeshare.

Vacation rentals are available for guests who will savor every second at this amazing place and probably take a peek at least at the cost of ownership, you know, just out of interest.

Among the newest additions to the extensive list of amenities on offer at Hokuala, which already includes a two-tiered infinity-edge pool overlooking the ocean, spa services and wellness programs, 16 miles of accessible trails, easy access to Kalapaki Beach, oceanfront dining, a Keiki Club for children and full-service concierge, are Tom Freestone’s Hui Aloha Huaka’i tours of the Ocean Course.

“To hui is to circle or surround,” says Freestone, the PGA Director of Operations. “Guests can take a tour of the course where they learn about the culture of the island, the flora, the fauna, the myths and the legends. We give them the tools to embrace the Aloha spirit.” A portion of the proceeds goes towards funding the Hawaiiana curriculum for Kauai kids.

Foot golf, on nine of the Ocean Course’s 18 holes, has been available since November 2019. The par-36 loop measures 1,039 yards with holes ranging in length from 50 to 223 yards (21-inch-diameter cups are cut into the rough to protect the greens and fairways).

Whatever else is added to the attractions at Hokuala, though, it’s doubtful anything will ever surpass the Ocean Course itself — a course of which Jack Nicklaus is justly proud. “I put forth my best effort in the design process,” says the Golden Bear.

It certainly shows.

I can hardly wait for the opportunity to play Hokuala again, and especially the 14th hole. It owes me one. Visit hokualakauai.com to see all this island jewel has to offer.