Erosurfermaui

Golfin' at Waiehu

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:47:00 -0700

Got out for the second time this year. Played with a family friend, Wayne, visting from the LBC. He's played all of the top 100 golf courses in the country in addition to all of the U.S. Open courses. He really liked No. 5, par 3 200+yds., elevated tee. We both walked 18, $8 local rate...got to love it!! Greens were in the best shape I've seen in a long time. No. 2 is always sandy, but they were all rolling nice and super fast! First time to play in Northerly winds. Made No. 6 into the wind and nearly impossible to reach in two. To make matters worse, the evil greens keeper put the pin back left on a slope. So, if you putted from below the hole and didn't make the putt, like me, the ball would roll back to where you just putted from. After two attempts, had to pick up and move on to the next hole.

Waiehu, No. 7, Par 5 along the east shore, where O.B. is the ocean

Daly-esque Day at Makena South Golf Course

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:50:00 -0700

Had a chance to play Makena South before it closed (Today) for renovation, expected to be 12-18 months. They just finished renovating the same course in 2002...the new owners of Makena Resort must have deep pockets because the course is in perfect shape. Rumor has it, one of two courses, North Course or South Course, will turn private.
Hole #3 with Kaho'olawe in the background

Hole #7 Par 5 Green slopes down to ocean with Molokini in the background

Hit a great drive on this hole and was told to stay away from the left and aim right center. Never trust guys your betting against. I hit a decent shot right center in the fairway, or so I thought. My ball hit a lava rock waste area, shot up 20 feet in the air and settled on the edge of this hazard. Got on in 4 and one-putted for a par, but now I knew it was "game-on." Local knowledge has to be worth 5 strokes, you think?
Hole #16 Par 3 elevated tee, hole slopes dramatically down to the ocean.

Incredible views, when the sun is out, and the hole is flanked luxury homes starting at $3 Million!
I shot a 90 on this day from the "Resort" tees. A big part of that "90" was a quad on hole #6, par 4. Here's how it played out: I hit a decent drive to about 170 yds. out. A choke down rescue hit fat, hit a tree and ended up short left still about 60 yds. from the green. A sand wedge to the elevated green hit short and rolled back about 30 yds. Pulled out my putter and hit it firmly from off the green up the slope of the green AND...back down to my feet. Not to be discouraged, I hit a PW, bump and run, up the slope towards the pin AND...back down to my feet again. The pin placement was at the top of this slope, so if you hit it too hard, you can end up 12-15 feet past the hole. Members of my golfing group were having a hard time watching this all unfold. I started to think of how this was very reminiscent of John Daly at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst when he hit his approach short left into one of those dreaded swales.
He tried twice to putt the ball close to the flag, only to have it stop short and roll back toward his feet both times (sound familiar?) With the ball still rolling after his fourth shot, a frustrated Daly took a swipe and sent it rocketing over the green almost hitting his playing partner, Tom Watson. That counted as another stroke, plus a two-shot penalty. He finally put the ball on the green with his eighth shot, then three-putted for an astounding 11.
I wasn't going to let that happen. So I chose the putter on my third try and made just to the top of the slope and for some reason, it stayed. I sprinted to the ball and marked it right away. Finished out with a two-putt, carding a Snowman, 8. If my ball didn't make it up the slope on the third try, I could have easily gone "John Daly" on that ball. That "8" ruined my round and after walking off that hole, I felt "Dalyesque" jonesing for a fag and several shots of tequila to put me out of my misery.

Dunes at Maui Lani, Kahului

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:02:00 -0700

Should have known not to play golf a couple days after mondo workout...but Tiger works out the morning of his rounds...?????? Played the Dunes at Maui Lani, right outside of town. It's my favorite course. Probably Top 3 in difficulty on Maui, next to Kapalua Plantation and Makena North. It has a unique layout, a Irish links design. You have to deal with tight fairways, strong trade winds, greens that won't hold approaches and pot bunkers.
Shot of the green at Hole #2 with Haleakala in the background. Maybe you can see my approach to within 5 feet of the pin...did seal the deal with a birdie!

They have GPS on all carts now, so you can see the distance for your drives. Today, downwind, I was at 250 yds. at best, but averaging 230 yds. for the round...really embarrassing. And Rawleigh reminded me of it every chance he could, Mr. 280 off the tee today.
Here's Rawleigh at Hole #15 after a drive of 282 yds. He put it within 8 ft. and sank his birdie putt (finished with a 81).

Had a great day of golf with Rawleigh and Doug and the Dunes course was in excellent condition.
Shot 89 from the Blue Tees. Work on lowering that next round.