Mills had big impact on city's golf courses

By Bill Kwon

For someone who wasn't a golfer, Dave Mills made an impact on the game as the golf course systems administrator for the City and County of Honolulu.

Dave Mills, a former city golf course systems administrator, died last week in Pennsylvania. He is credited with many changes, including the start of the automated telephone tee-time reservation system. Advertiser library photo • November 2001

Ironically, Mills got the job because he didn't golf. And because he didn't know anyone who got more than a fair share of tee times at the widely popular Ala Wai Golf Course.

There had been a lot of criticism about an abuse of playing privileges when Mills interviewed for the position more than 20 years ago. So, city officials were glad to hire a fresh face, an outsider, to dispel any talk about cronyism.

Mills came straight to the job after retiring as a lieutenant colonel following a 25-year stint with the U.S. Marine Corps. He had two tours of duty in Hawai'i, first at Kane'ohe MCAS and then at Pearl Harbor. He decided to retire in 1983 and stay in Hawai'i rather than be reassigned to Cherry Point, N.C.

Before he retired as the golf course systems administrator at the end of 2001, Mills instituted several major changes, including the setting up of an automated telephone tee-time reservation system and, probably his biggest contribution, the idea of the city leasing its own golf carts instead of having an outside concessionaire.

The reservation system lists around 76,000 registered golfers, making it one of the largest in the nation.

But Mills' idea about leasing the golf carts resulted in a huge windfall for the city, turning a $500,000 deficit when he took over into revenues totaling about $3 million a year.

It was also during his term that the city added two more golf courses, West Loch and Ewa Villages. Now more than 600,000 rounds are played yearly at the five municipal courses, with Ala Wai the busiest at more than 170,000 rounds annually.

Mills kept in touch after retiring, talking about the local golf scene. And he finally took up the game as well.

Football was his sport. A 1960 Holy Cross graduate, Mills was a fullback and linebacker for the Crusaders. And the first guy he tackled was Jim Brown, who starred at Syracuse before becoming an NFL Hall of Famer.

Mills remembered the first time he was forced to play a round of golf. That was when he was the provost marshal at the Kane'ohe Marine base, which was then under the command of his good friend, the late Col. Bob Shuford.

Golf was literally a duty then. Later, it became a labor of love.

So this is how I would like to remember Mills, sharing part of the last e-mail message he sent.

It's particularly poignant, because it came right after a trip he took to Scotland with his wife, Peggy, a retired Kaiser Hospital nurse, before she passed away last year.

"Peggy and I recently visited Scotland and played the Olde Course at St. Andrews. They said it is difficult to get a tee time. Not true. We put our names in a lottery and two days later we got a 0950 tee time.

"We were paired with a couple from South Africa, who did not have a wood in their bags ... There were no motorized or pull carts so a caddie is a necessity and the two we had were great. Peggy had an older guy who knew where all of Jack's and Arnie's shots went. I had a younger guy who was a self-proclaimed expert on Tiger and John Daly."

They also played a round at the Nairn Golf Club, site of the 1999 Walker Cup and where Colin Montgomerie owns the pro shop.

Best part of the message, though, were his final words:

"Good golfing, Dave Mills."

In the end, Dave Mills was a golfer, after all.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net