Royal Kunia no longer best course no one plays
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By Bill Kwon
In the early morning before the Royal Kunia Country Club scheduled its blessing and opening ceremonies for the long-awaited debut Friday, general manager Leighton Wong was awakened from a deep sleep by a loud thunderstorm, rumbling over his 'Aiea home.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Oh, oh," Wong said to himself, worried that heavy rains would drench the festivities. The day was overcast but it didn't rain and everything went on as planned.
After a long wait, the Royal Kunia Country Club finally opened to the public Saturday morning
Later, when the invited guests, including the new owners and golf course architect Robin Nelson, finished play, Wong told them: "I guess it was God's way to make sure I would get up and go to work. It was my alarm clock."
As if Wong needed a wake-up call.
He had been waiting nine years, one month and three days for the golf course to open because of a legal entanglement between the developers and the city over a $25 million impact fee.
Wong started as golf course superintendent for the Royal Kunia project on March 1, 1994, leaving a similar but more secure position with the Ko Olina Resort. He almost became a one-man crew as negotiations with the city and several prospective owners stalled, resulting in no income to maintain the course.
Finally, a compromise was reached last year with Sports Trust, a Japan company co-owned by Masahiro Ehara and Hizuru Serizawa. It called for the city to waive the remaining $13 million in impact fees if the owners paid $2.5 million and $1 per round in perpetuity.
Green fees for residents are $50 on weekdays and $55 on weekends. For non-residents, the cost is $125 on weekdays and $135 on weekends. The course's phone number is 688-9222.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Ehara is CEO, while his wife, Serizawa, is the president.
Hizuru Serizawa, left, a co-owner at Royal Kunia, and Robin Nelson, the architect of the course, were on hand for the opening.
They were well aware of Wong's selfless dedication to Royal Kunia over the years, and promoted him to general manager. In turn, Wong has finally been able to put together a staff.
In charge of golf operations is Jared Kato. The new golf course superintendent is Jared Nomitsu, a former assistant superintendent at Mauna Kea Beach. Wong's comptroller is Tomoko Takamoto and Al Awakuni is in charge of food and beverages.
The course was opened to the public over the weekend with 224 golfers playing Saturday and 232 Sunday.
"Pinch me, to see if I'm dreaming," said Wong. "The course is still not in its best condition as yet, but we had a lot of good comments from the golfers."
Karla Okada had good comments about the course.
"It's great, the scenery is great and the workers were very nice," said Okada, whose Malu Golf Club was the first to play the Central O'ahu course.
She is the tournament coordinator of an otherwise all-male golf club, made up mostly of her 'Aiea High School classmates.
Considering she outdrove the guys, including boyfriend Mel Dagdag, on two holes, Karla enjoyed the friendly forward tees, which measure 1,000 yards shorter than the regular tees. For the more adventuresome, the black tees measure 7,007 yards from the tips.
The layout can be a tournament championship course, according to Nelson, who could only say, "Finally," when he attended the opening ceremonies.
It has been an equally long wait for Nelson, who had been calling Royal Kunia "the best golf course in Hawai'i nobody played."
For Nelson, who has also designed several other courses in Hawai'i, including Mauna Lani, Coral Creek, New 'Ewa Beach and the Dunes at Maui Lani, 2003 is an especially significant year.
Besides Royal Kunia finally opening, his Puakea Golf Course in Kaua'i will finally have all 18 holes ready for play in mid-July. Because of similar financial difficulties, only 10 holes had been open for play.
"These are my children," said Nelson, who designed another course scheduled for a July opening: Ravenwood Golf Club near Rochester, N.Y., which will be the site of the 2003 New York State Amateur.
Although the original nines have been reversed — the signature 18th hole with Diamond Head and the battleship Missouri prominently visible in the background is now No. 9 — Royal Kunia is keeping with the developer's intent, according to Nelson.
The opening and closing holes on each nine are par-5s. And the final three holes on each side are a par-4, par-3 and par-5 like the original owner wanted, said Nelson, who now lives in Mill Valley, Calif.
The ninth and 18th, both with water right of the green, are two of Nelson's favorite holes at Royal Kunia. The finishing hole is reachable in two for long hitters, making it clearly a risk-reward attempt for an eagle or a two-putt birdie.
In terms of aesthetics and playability, Royal Kunia should become a popular course with local golfers. More so for the women with the friendly forward tees.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
