Pali Golf Course at the mercy of Mother Nature
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
When it rains too much, maintenance workers at the Pali Golf Course can't use chemical herbicides to battle the weeds cropping up on the greens.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
But, when expected rain doesn't come, freshly laid fertilizer eats into the grass, creating brown patches along the fairways.
Lynette Sakamoto hits an approach to the green from the 18th fairway, which shows signs of erosion. Course manager Tom Murata says an automated sprinkler system would help with the fairways' bare spots.
Poor winter weather conditions have left the course in bad shape, according to users of the popular municipal course, but manager Tom Murata said the greens should be back up to par by the end of next month.
The Windward golf course is second in popularity among the city's six golf courses, behind the Ala Wai Golf Course. During the past fiscal year, when play was down because of weather, construction and an economic downturn, 111,457 rounds were played on the course, compared with 115,918 in fiscal 2001.
Like many other city departments, the Pali course faces a staffing shortage, but Murata said present conditions have more to do with cold, damp weather than a lack of maintenance workers.
"We're at the mercy of the weather," he said. "We've been struggling. This is the worst year that we've had as far as maintaining the course during the winter."
However, with more sunshine in the past few days, Murata was optimistic that the weeds would be gone in a few weeks. "By the end of May, we should be in good condition."
He is also hopeful that the golf course will soon have an automated sprinkler system, which will help with the bare spots on the fairways. If the fertilizer doesn't get wet, it acts as a herbicide and eats into the grass.
Now golf course workers have no way to get water on the fairways and have to rely on the rain. "You don't have anything to work with," Murata said. "It's mostly Mother Nature, is what it is."
Money for the sprinkler system has been included in the mayor's proposed construction budget and has survived the first pass by the City Council.
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
