The accident happened just before 6 p.m. and involved two golfers riding in a cart near the first tee at the course at 91-050 Fort Weaver Road, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada.

"The driver, for whatever reason, lost control and banged the fence," Tejada said. "The top railing along the fence was rusty. Somehow it broke off and it punctured the passenger's stomach area pretty deeply."

Ewa Beach Fire Capt. Walter Faulconer said the collision knocked the top railing down and that railing acted like a spear. The railing did not penetrate through the other side of the man's body, Faulconer said.

"It's a very odd injury," Faulconer said.

As the man fell from the cart, the 1- to 1-1/2-inch diameter railing became dislodged, Tejada said.

The man was airlifted to Queen's in serious to critical condition, paramedics said. The man and the driver of the golf cart, also in his 60s, may have just finished playing golf because it was late in the day, Faulconer said.

A hospital spokeswoman tonight said the man was in surgery for more than one hour and is expected to live.

The manager of the golf course, Ikuyo Nitta, was not available for immediate comment tonight. Police also responded and classified it as a noncriminal injury case.