Posted on: Thursday, December 16, 2004
AROUND THE GREENS
Kaluako'i's reopening revives stories of past
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| The 11th hole at Kaluako'i Golf Course is one of five holes along the ocean. The course, owned by Moloka'i Ranch, is back after being shut down three years ago.
Courtesy of The Lodge & Beach Village at MolokaÎi Ranch |
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By Bill Kwon
The news that the Kaluako'i Golf Course on Moloka'i is fully back in operation after being shut down for three years brings back a lot of memories from the good old days when it was one of the best golf courses in the state.
"We were just talking about the good times we had there during the Christmas party the other night at Mid-Pac," said Ben Neeley, Kaluako'i's head golf professional for 22 years, beginning from the time it opened in 1977. Neeley had gone from the Mid-Pacific Country Club to take over operations at Kaluako'i, an 18-hole championship course designed by Ted Robinson for the original owners, Louisiana Land & Exploration Co. He also brought along a young assistant pro named Marty Keiter, now the head golf professional at Kapalua Resort. The two will forever have deep roots in the Friendly Isle soil.
Neeley's daughter, Ann Marie, is a 1990 graduate of Moloka'i High School.
Keiter's two children, Chris, 25, and Erica, 23, — yes, Les Keiter's grandkids — were born there.
"The first person to visit my wife Gail after Chris was born was Linda Lingle," Keiter said. "No, she wasn't campaigning. She was a reporter for the Moloka'i Free Press."
"My wife Carol and I really had a great time there. What made it really enjoyable were the people on Moloka'i," said Neeley, who is glad to see Kaluako'i's up and going again.
"With five holes along the ocean, it was one of the finest layouts in the state when it opened," Neeley said.
The Kaluako'i Resort, with the on-property Sheraton Moloka'i, was also the "in" place for many Mid-Pac, Wai-alae and Oahu Country Club members when it first opened, thanks to Neeley, who urged them to come visit for a weekend and play golf.
He originated a special 36-hole tournament for them with a "horse race" the day before. That led Neeley to host Moloka'i's first and only golf championship — the Kaluako'i Open.
The 1980 inaugural was won by David Ishii, who was coming off victories in the Pearl Open and the JAL Rainbow Open that year. He later won the Hawai'i State Open as well.
Interestingly, Ishii, who worked at the Pearl Country Club and had just turned pro that year, left the following Saturday after Kaluako'i to play in the KBC Augusta Classic, his first Japan regular tour event. The rest, as they say, is history.
"It was fun to go there and Kaluako'i was kinda different from the courses in Honolulu, so that made it interesting," recalled Ishii, who won by two strokes over Lance Suzuki after the latter set a course-record 10-under-par 62 in the first round.
It's still the course record, according to Kaleo Lenwai, a Moloka'i native who is Kaluako'i's new director of golf. "Nobody has come close. Not even."
"Play is slow right now, about 30 players a day, but it should pick up in January and February," said Lenwai, who had been the guest services manager for Moloka'i Ranch, the new owner.
The hotel is still shuttered, but Moloka'i Ranch spent nearly $500,000 in course renovations, including a refurbished irrigation system, newly re-grassed greens and tees, an updated pro shop and new golf carts.
"The course looks better than it did seven or eight years before it closed down," Lenwai said.
Golf rates for Kaluako'i are $50 with cart for Hawai'i residents and $70 for out-of-state visitors. For reservations, rates and more information, call (808) 552-0255. The par-3 third hole toward the ocean is my personal favorite. Perhaps because Kaluako'i's signature hole, the par-3 16th, requires a 160-yard carry over a gulch and there's no bail-out area.
Kaluako'i once hosted celebrity golfers, according to Keiter, who has seen more than his share now at Kapalua, where the PGA Tour starts its season every year.
"One time, a little guy showed up and said he wanted to play with the pro," Keiter recalled.
"He said he was an 8 (handicap). So I gave him four aside. I was even par and 5 down. That Bobby Riggs was a hustler."
Another time, Keiter played with NBA stars Cazzie Russell and 7-footer Artis Gilmore, who gave a basketball clinic on Moloka'i.
"At the ninth hole, Cazzie hit his second shot and asked where'd the ball go? I told him in the lake.
"How do you know?" he said. "Even Artis couldn't see it."
Kaluako'i and Moloka'i were fun times, a great experience, according to Keiter. "It was a great golf course. It was sad to see it go away."
Those were the days. A casual round of golf and a taste of old Hawai'i.
It's good to see Kaluako'i back on the local golf map again.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
The ocean views and the course's great holes still remain. As well as the deer, pheasants and wild turkeys that roam the course, the latter especially on the fairway of the uphill 12th hole.
Teeing off
