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| That's about 150 yards of ravine between these tee boxes and the fairway at the base of the mountain. |
If you've ever thought it might be fun to take your clubs into the rainforest, then Ko'olau is your place. Furthermore, we're arriving at a time when the rain just subsided after almost a week of downpours. Rainforest indeed.
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| Sign at start of course welcoming you to "The World's Most Challenging Course." |
Additional accolades:
GOLF Magazine, 11th in state
Golf Digest, 8th in state
CNN, World's 10 Toughest Golf Courses (#3)
ESPN, America's 50 Toughest Courses (#3)
Leaving the city lights of Honolulu for the darkness of upcountry, we land an early start for our 8am tee time. Given that we landed last night, we could have afforded more sleep, but the sun rise and shadows against the mountainside are my favorite. Can't find that midday. Winding up the dark mountain roads and tunnels, we eventually head back into the valley to find Ko'Olau. The course is under the shadows of the Ko'Olau Mountain Range to the west, and overlooks the ocean at far east. It's layer upon layer of manicured greenscape, spanning three climate zones. The clubhouse is generous and shared with a local church, and the service is every bit the laid back Aloha welcome we anticipated. Shawn brought bright white golf shoes with him–the kind so white they look like first day of school shoes. Those won't last long in the Hawaii red dirt and especially not long on the mud-filled experience that awaited us. This was clearly an oversight on my part, I should have known better to warn him. So, ultimately Shawn procured a new, all-black pair of golf shoes. Mele Kalikimaka!
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See that small gap between greenery down to the right of the path? That's the fairway. |
Stepping up to the first tee, you get your first taste of what you will experience throughout the round—limited to no visibility of the green, and meandering doglegs, which require a delicate tee shot. Unfortunately, delicate may not get you far enough down the fairway, and given the distance Ko’Olau packs, you’ll need every bit of distance you can muster. If the first tee shot didn’t require precision, the second tee shot will clearly demand more. While it is “only” 380 yards from the tips, the trees crashing the fairway from either side will make you feel like you are staring down a long tunnel on the highway, waiting to reach the other side. Don’t mind the giant tree just to the left of the middle of the fairway, nor the elevation change down to the bottom, and back up to the green. I think it was this hole where we first came in contact with the “rough” just off the fairway. The grass just isn’t your traditional grass (no shock, right?) as it has big and thick individuals strands. Given all the rain (and being in the rainforest), you almost have to dig in to stabilize your feet before you swing (especially Shawn, who gives it more than just the ole’ college try on every swing), much like you are hitting out of the bunker. Not only are you sloshing around in the fairway, but you need to account for this mud on every swing—practice swing or otherwise. This requires many towels and precise calculations if you want to hit your target on every hole. |
| The rough |
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| The mud. Can't take too much of a divot, or you might take your club head off. |
The sixth hole follows suit with the target golf style, and the seventh hole is the first to give you a sigh of relief, and to shake that feeling of claustrophobia. Its wide open and the only thing you are dealing with is the 554-yard trek to the green! Rounding out the first nine is a hole that looks like a boomerang on the aerial map, with four bunkers right at the bend in the middle (just ignore them, they aren’t really there…).
Holes 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 all successively require some type of carry over a vegetation wasteland. The most challenging of which is probably 14, in which your tee shot needs to carry a full 150+ to reach the fairway. In reality, any of these holes can bite you if you don’t execute each shot appropriately—it’s all about course management at Ko’Olau.
The last hole is definitely the most exciting and challenging. A 450 yard par 4 from the tips demands both a 250+ yard drive to carry the vegetation wasteland and bunkers into the fairway, and a 45 degree turn to approach the green at 200 yards. The green is protected by an enormous grouping of trees on the side in which you approach, and four bunkers in front of the green…all over another vegetation wasteland. It’s the number 1 handicap for a reason!
Vegetation is to Ko’Olau as desert is to Wolf Creek. You’ll marvel over the coniferous trees, palm, bamboo trees, and thousands of ferns everywhere. Even though there is no “out-of-bounds,” bring extra golf balls because you will lose them. I might suggest anxiety medication if the sight of forced carries makes you queasy, but this challenging course will resonate well with a thrill-seeker and can bite you at every turn. Our highlights were the breathtaking waterfalls, tunnels of vegetation, and the Ko'Olau mountains towering above us. The blind, forced carry on ten, lack of fairway on four and telescoping fairway clearing on three were all memorable for us. All in all, it was a great, albeit muddy, round of golf. The free lunch at the clubhouse post-round wasn't anything to slouch at either. Ko'Olau is a must play if you're on Oahu.
Links
Ko'Olau Official
Our Photo Tour of the Course
Scorecard
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