Members Experience Hawaii

Rob and Carol Humphrey, Jim and Annette Screen, Rowan Geitz and Chris Leveille spent two weeks on three islands playing nine games of golf. Hard work, but somehow we all struggled through, with the help of various Hawaiian cocktails and our well organised tour people.  The weather was great too - 33-35 degrees during the day and a balmy 27 degrees in the evening, meaning we were always dressed very lightly and very comfortably. The courses we played were mostly very good - on Oahu it was Kapolei, Big Island was Waikoloa Kings, Hapuna, Mauna Kea and Mauna Lani South, while on Maui we played Kapalua Plantation, Wailea Gold, Wailea Emerald and the Robert Trent Jones designed Makena North.

Stand out courses for me was Kapolei with its beautiful landscaping, five
large lakes and elevated greens; Kapalua Plantation (home of the PGA
Mercedes Benz Championship every January) with its magic 18th hole measuring 663 yards (603metres) from the back tees and 585 yards (527 metres) and 489 yards (441 metres) from the front tees, Mauna Lani with its amazing 15th Par 3 hole straight over the ocean, and of course Makena North - so beautiful and so deadly!  The greens were not too fast, but nonetheless hard to read, with the grains playing a major part in any putt.  Everyone plays in a cart everywhere - some of the distances between green and tee have to be seen to be believed and would take far too long to walk.

Maui would have to be golf paradise, but the three islands are all very
different.  Oahu is Honolulu and Waikiki and shopping paradise at the
enormous Ala Moana Shopping Centre when you have the day off, plus many
things to see around the island itself.  Big Island is, well, lava, lava and more lava.  Unless you stay on the eastern and wetter side of the island, the landscape is unrelieved lava, with small islands of communities dotted around the coast.  Kailua-Kona on the western coast is the place to stay, with many hotels, shops and restaurants.  Unless the trade winds are blowing, you also live with the 'vog' - the fog from the active volano in the middle of the island.  Maui with its beauty and lovely beaches is balm to the eyes after Big Island.

For anyone interested in the food - take your appetite!  The enormous meals still exist, and it pays to share some of them.  The beef eaters loved the prime rib and the different species of fish make for interesting eating. Hawaiians must eat an enormous amount of salt and sugar in their diet - everything is loaded with both, so it also pays to be a bit discerning in your choices.   The economy there is not good - tourist numbers are down, and it is obvious many businesses are under serious stress.  Everyone was looking forward to the summer season when the US school holidays mean more tourists from the US mainland, and maybe a return in numbers from the Japanese tourists, previously the backbone of their income.  The general view seemed to be that it will be at least two more years before Hawaii returns to a reasonable economy.

Carol Humphreys