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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, September 29, 2005

GOLF REPORT
Hawai'i sweeps top five on resorts list

 •  Archer had long history, friendships in Hawai'i

Advertiser Staff

Hawai'i sites make up the top five, and nearly 20 percent overall, of the Conde Nast Traveler 10th anniversary list of Top 100 Golf Resorts.

The magazine's golfing subscribers picked from 334 properties they had visited in the past three years, in the United States as well as Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, Ireland, and Scotland. Properties were rated on six criteria — course design (30 percent of overall score), speed of play (10), rooms (30), service (10), food/dining (10), and other facilities (10 percent).

In the debut poll, Lana'i's Lodge at Ko'ele took first. This time, No. 1 goes to the Big Island's Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, which ranks highest in the food/dining and service categories and earns accolades for rooms and other facilities.

This is the second year in a row that three properties have tied with perfect scores for Course Design. None of the three — California's Lodge at Rancho Mirage, Maui's Prince Hotel, and Michigan's Inn at Bay Harbor — previously received such a score.

Hawai'i's finish, in order:

1, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. 2, Manele Bay Hotel. 3, Lodge at Ko'ele. 4, Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. 5, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. 8, Mauna Lani Resort. 11, Fairmont Orchid. 12. Princeville Resort. 14, Hyatt Regency Kaua'i Resort & Spa. 21, Fairmont Kea Lani Maui. 22, JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa. 29, Kapalua Bay Hotel. 36, Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort. 38, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. 39, Grand Wailea Resort, Hotel & Spa. 47, Kaua'i Marriott Resort & Beach Club. 52, Maui Prince Hotel. 60, Hapuna Beach Hotel.

KAPALUA, PRINCEVILLE, MANELE CITED BY ZAGAT

Hawai'i's Kapalua Plantation, Princeville Prince and Challenge at Manele are among the country's top-rated courses according to the 2006-07 edition of the Zagat Survey of America's Top Golf Courses.

The guide contains ratings and reviews for 1,095 of the best golf courses across the country. It is based on the experiences of 6,000 "avid" golfers who played more than a half a million rounds of golf in the last year.

More than half said they would pay at least $200 to play a top course. The average green fee surveyors paid this past year was about $110 per round.

There was much change in the most recent guide. Whistling Straits (Wisconsin) scored a perfect 30 rating (on Zagat's 0-30 scale), jumping six spots to unseat Bandon Dunes (Oregon) from the top of the leaderboard for "Best Course."

Pebble Beach (Calif.) remains the "Most Popular" course for the fourth year in a row, but Kapalua and Spanish Bay (Calif.) leapfrogged over Montauk Downs (New York) and Kiawah Island (South Carolina) to make their way into the top five.

Along with Hawai'i's three top-rated courses, Experience at Ko'ele and Kapalua Bay were listed among the nation's Most Popular Courses. More than 30 Hawai'i courses are included in the guide.

A sampling from the guide:

Best Courses: 1, Whistling Straits (Wisc.), 2, Bandon Dunes (Ore.). 3, Bethpage Black (N.Y.). 4, Pebble Beach (Calif.). 5, TPC at Sawgrass Stadium (Fla.). Most Popular: 1, Pebble Beach. 2, Bethpage Black. 3, Spyglass Hill (Calif.). 4, Kapalua Plantation. 5, Spanish Bay (Calif.). Best By Region: Hawai'i—Kapalua Plantation. Top Facilities: 1, Sea Island (Ga.). 2, Whistling Straits. 3, Greenbrier (W.V.). 4, Pinehurst Resort (N.C.). 5, Hualalai. Top Service: 1, Hualalai. 2, Coeur d'Alene Resort (Idaho). 3, Greenbrier. 4, Whistling Straits. 5, Sea Island (Ga.).

ABILITY TESTS FOR JUNIORS

Playing Ability Tests for membership in the O'ahu Junior Golf Association will be in November and January only. There are two PATs in November and one final PAT in January.

For more information, or to sign up for a PAT, call the OJGA Voicemail Center (952-OJGA) or e-mail oahujuniorgolfassoc @hotmail.com. Members in 2005 will be sent applications.

The OJGA was established as a non-profit organization in 1966.