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Hawaii Country Club

Public Course 18 Holes - Par 72 - 5761 Yards P.O Box 966, Wahiawa, Hawaii 96786 Tel: (808) 621-5654 Fax: (808) 622-2168 Green Fees (subject to change) Time/Day Kamaaina Non-Resident Foreign Visitor Weekdays 30.00 49.00 65.00 Weekends/Holidays 40.00 59.00 69.00 Cart is $14.00. Dress code: No tank tops or cutoffs

 

	Par	Yardage	Course Rating	Slope
White	72	5910	67.3	119
Red	72	5180	64.3	112

 

Built in 1958 Red Aldrick

Greens: Bermuda Grass

Fairways: Bermuda Grass

 

Despite the formal sound of its name, Hawaii Country Club is not a members- only private club. This 18-hole par-72 course in Kunia is open to the public every day.

Located in the central Oahu this course offers panoramic views of Pearl Harbor, the Honolulu skyline, Diamond Head, and both the Koolau and Waianae mountain ranges.

Built in 1957, the Hawaii Country Club was the first public course opened on Oahu for more than half a century after the Moanalua Country Club, which originally was built in 1898 for public use, and later became a private club.

Aldrick found 100 investors who provided $300 each for the venture, then purchased a bulldozer and cleared the land himself for the course's first nine holes. The second nine soon followed, but tourism had not yet taken off prior to Hawaii statehood in 1959, and competition from the three Oahu municipal courses (Ala Wai, Pali and Kahuku) made times difficult for this new public course in what was considered a remote location. Today, tee times on the municipals are at a premium, and golf-hungry tourists are more than willing to drive a few miles in order to play.

Hawaii Country Club is a short, par-72 layout of only 5,664 yards from the regular or men's tees. But the design is hilly and quite tricky, with ravines (where Army troops trained during World War I) and tight fairways adding to the challenge. The golfer also is confronted with more than 200 mature monkeypod trees, as well as coconut palms and other varieties, onjust about every fairway.

The trees, in fact, come into play on several holes--particularly on the 2nd green, the 4th fairway, and on the 9th, 10th and 12th holes. On the 15th hole, trees actually cut the fairway in half, with only a small opening demanding an accurate second shot to reach the green in par.

There is also a liberal sprinkling of sand bunkers in Aldrick's design. The first hole, a par four at 281 yards, features four sand traps right in front of the large green. Number 8, a 188-yard par-three dogleg right, has four bunkers on the right side of the green.

Most of the par threes are deceivingly tricky, but the par-four number 13 hole has a blind tee shot. The golfer must know the layout to decide where to place the ball for the second shot on this 357-yard challenge.

The Hawaii Country Club features a clubhouse with a restaurant and cocktail lounge, a pro shop and lockers. There is a practice putting green and a driving range. The moderate green fees (less expensive for Hawaii residents, especially on weekdays) include powered golf carts. Tee times are required, but golf shoes are not.

This is a unique course that is fun to play, yet offers a challenge to any golfer. About a 30-minute drive from Honolulu, a relaxing round of golf here certainly is a change of pace from fast play on the busy municipal courses.

Hawaii Country Club Website
 

 

 

 

Golf Pro Tips to help with your golf game in Hawaii Trade Winds The prevailing trade winds come directly from the northeast or from the direction of Diamond Head. If the winds are coming from the northeast, then the trade winds are blowing. If the wind is coming more from the south, then the Kona winds are blowing. "Kona" means south. The key to playing in the wind effectively is making the right club selection and to try to always make the wind your friend - in other words, don't fight it! Playing into the wind, take plenty of extra club and always swing within yourself. A hard aggressive swing puts more backspin on the ball causing it to fly higher and be more affected by the wind. As the Scot's would say, in the breeze, swing with ease! The same truth holds for down-wind shots - try to estimate the affect of the wind and choose the correct club. A crosswind will always magnify the direction of your ball - a slight fade can turn into a monster slice. So the key to playing into a crosswind is to try to work your ball against the wind. If the wind is a slice wind from left to right, then try to draw or hook your ball into the wind and vice-versa with a wind from right to left. Again, remember that the wind can be a friend if you allow for it!

Sand You will find that most of the Golf Courses here in Hawaii have beach sand. It may play a little different from what you're used to because it tends to be more granular and firmly packed. Luckily, you can avoid the dreaded plugged lie with this type of sand. Since the sand tends to be hard-packed, a sand wedge designed with minimum bounce will work best. A sand wedge with a lot of bounce will tend to deflect or "bounce" off of the firm sand and into the ball resulting in shots that fly over the green rather than land softly on them. If you're not sure of the bounce on your club, check with the Golf Shop. You also will want to avoid opening up the face of your sand wedge a lot since that creates additional bounce on your wedge. Good luck and remember you came to Hawaii to spend time on the sand.

Uneven Lies Swales and hills are a big part of most of the course designs in Hawaii and can make for some uneven lies. Remember to adjust the level of your shoulders to match the level of the slope. You will also need to adjust your balance to match the slope. On downhill lies, it's natural for your weight to be more on your downhill foot. To balance this out, try to place a little more weight on your uphill foot. Then, take a practice swing or two to see where the bottom of your swing is and then try to match your ball position to that bottom point.

Multi-tiered Greens A majority of our greens have multiple tiers. If you've missed the green on your approach, then getting it close to the pin is a real challenge. A high lofted pitch shot has a very small landing area to be successful. I would encourage you to consider chipping the ball with a lower lofted club to deal with these conditions. Keep the ball back in your stance, keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball to deliver a downward strike and always accelerate through the ball.

Reading Greens Most of the greens in Hawaii are Bermuda grass and tend to have "grain" in them. "Grain" means the tendency of the grass to lay over or to grow in a particular direction. A putt that is "down grain" will be faster and run farther than a putt of the same distance "into the grain". The best way to tell which direction the grain is growing is to look at grass on the edge of the cup. The grass will appear to be browner or slightly frayed on the side of the cup that is down grain so putts in that direction will be faster.   Generally speaking, the "grain" tends to grow in the same direction that the prevailing trade winds blow and also the setting sun.

 

 

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