David Ishii is the Clark Kent of Hawai'i golf. Unassuming, he can melt into a crowd, unless that crowd is on a golf course. Then Ishii — eyeglasses, loose-fitting polo shirt and all — becomes Hawai'i's Superman.

In our close-knit golf community, Ishii is proudly accepted as the greatest competitive golfer in Hawai'i's long love story with the game. It is how he was introduced at his 2006 Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame induction, along with these descriptive words ... "and a gentleman of character and unsurpassed accomplishment."

He has won everything worth winning here, often more than once, not by overpowering courses but by picking them apart and knowing every nuance of his own game.

"He's a good thinker of golf strategywise," said Guy Yamamoto, the 1994 U.S. Public Links champion who grew up six years behind Ishii on Kaua'i and started the game at Ishii's father's encouragement. "He'll play the course and make sure he plays it the right way. He manages his game well."

Yamamoto also remembers Ishii, notorious for criticizing his own putting and proud owner of some 150 putters, winning the old island-wide putting contest.

Two other victories probably defined Ishii's career: The 1982 JAL Rainbow Open that opened his near-sighted eyes to the Japan pro tour, and the 1990 Hawaiian Open, where he became the second Hawai'i golfer to win a PGA Tour event.

"Years later people would tell me we watched you win the Hawaiian Open in a bar at Kapalua or a bar at Waikoloa," recalls Ishii. "All over the state everybody was just watching. It was like a fairy tale.

WIN BRINGS CREDIBILITY

"I'm really glad I got that one tournament. It kind of made me. In Japan I did all right, but nobody knew my name even though I won all those titles. The Hawaiian Open, after that, they knew me in Japan and America. The first time I played the Hawaiian Open, an official came up and asked if I understood English."

He was more than "all right" in Japan, although his dream had been to play on the American tour. Ishii played some mini-tours after helping the University of Houston to the 1977 NCAA title and tried to qualify for the PGA Tour — five times. It was not meant to be.

Fate led him to Japan, where he turned the exemption given to the Rainbow Open winner into an eighth-place finish, that led to another JPGA invitation into the Suntory Open. Ishii was sixth. He was working at Pearl Country Club then and its owners encouraged him to take on the Japan Tour. The connection now goes back 27 years; Ishii remains Pearl's Director of Golf.

By 1985, Ishii had his first JPGA victory. He won the Chunichi Crowns, a major, the following year. In 1987, he became the first foreigner to lead Japan's money list. He remains among the top 10 in career money leaders with 14 wins and more than $8 million, as he eases into a senior schedule.

His precise game is better suited to Japan's courses, where he can hit the ball low and run it into greens. And, even though he spent his first three years there silently soaking up the language with a kind and patient group of Japanese pros, Ishii always enjoyed the atmosphere more.

"I like the feel of Japan," Ishii said. "On the Mainland ... I didn't grow up with that. America was different. I grew up on Kaua'i. One thing I felt in Japan, I wasn't the smallest guy out there. In America, I'm the smaller guy. In Japan, I'm the little bit bigger guy."

At 5 feet 9, he is living large now. Life at 54 is made up of a few regular tour events, a few cracks at Monday qualifying on the lucrative — but almost impossible to penetrate — American senior tour and the six-event Japan senior series that begins this month. Ishii, free from the rigors and loneliness of touring, is also enjoying his newfound freedom to play back home, where he has won nearly 40 times.

He is also flexing his muscle for Hawai'i's future. He started sponsoring the high school golf championships in 1996 —23 years after he won one. He and wife Lorraine founded the David S. Ishii Foundation in 1999 to provide a secure future for young golfers, and inspire them to dream big.

"Beyond that," Ishii said casually, "I've got a lot of high school kids coming out. A good bunch of kids who like to hit balls."

The most prominent is 'Iolani's Lorens Chan, who won the 2009 state high school championship as a freshman and qualified for this year's Sony Open in Hawai'i. Stephanie Kono, an All-American as a freshman at UCLA, works with Jerry King at Kapalua but is a close family friend of the Ishiis — she and David share golf advice and bad jokes.

The future of Hawai'i golf is a major part of Ishii's future, even beyond his foundation. He wants to play as long as he's healthy, hopefully into his 60s, but clearly he is captivated by coaching kids. Yamamoto, who now works with Ishii as Pearl's head pro, believes the feeling is mutual.

A SMILE IS HIS REWARD

"He is excellent ... the kids always have fun," Yamamoto said. "It's work, they are practicing, it's serious, but he keeps a good medium. He's working them hard to get them to be better and at the same time the kids are enjoying themselves. They want to be there to learn."

Ishii describes this exceptional group of great Hawai'i juniors as a "wave" influenced by Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods. There will be another wave later, inspired by someone else. He hopes to ride a few of those waves.

"I like teaching not so much as a profession," Ishii said. "I just like teaching to see their smile. When I was growing up I got tips from Allan Yamamoto and Ron Castillo. All these guys used to help us when we were kids. I never paid for a lesson when I was a kid, not one lesson. All these guys got to pay for so much ... it's hard for the parents."

Ishii's influence started long before Kono and Chan were born. Kane'ohe's Dean Wilson, the third Hawai'i golfer to win on the PGA Tour, tells a story of watching Ishii play at Ala Wai and "wanting to be able to play like that." Wilson's recollection surprised Ishii, whose parents brought him up to "be polite, be respectful, be a good champion" and never set yourself apart from the crowd.

Ishii delivered on the etiquette side and is one of the most amiable, thoughtful guys around. But he is in a league of his own when it comes to Hawai'i golf. That he has had such an immense impact — blossomed into a Hawai'i Sports Superman — is shocking, but only to the mild-mannered Kaua'i golfer.

"He fits the bill as a person and obviously as an accomplished athlete," Yamamoto said. "As an amateur golfer, as a pro, as a person very giving of himself through his foundation and other events. I don't think he has ever said no to anyone, he's so generous of his time.

"For someone of his stature, that's fantastic."