ex-Jarhead said:
Hey Nords: More out of curiosity than for any practical reason, but I've wondered about the "golf" situation for locals in Hawaii.
The folks I know that go to Hawaii during the Dec. and Jan. time frame, and are golfers usually stay in resorts, and don't object (they're only there for a week or two), paying $100.00 and higher green fees.
How about the locals that live there? Do they have enough "public" golf courses that are inexpensive enough not to derail a retirement for an individual that is golf obsessed?
Jarhead
I haven't golfed in nearly 20 years but I looked up [urlhttp://www.hawaiiweb.com/html/leilehua_golf_course.html]this website[/url]. Prices on local public courses seem to range from $32-$50 depending on whether you're a resident, playing on a weekday, or sponsored by someone. Even the courses on military bases seem to be open to Hawaii resident civilians.
Dec/Jan are Hawaii's high-high season. It's not unusual for prices (especially airfare & hotels) to double for those months. That's ironic because Dec/Jan are usually wet & windy, but I guess the demand is from snowbirds (both Mainland & Japan). So anyone coming for golf in those months will pay top retail dollar. There's also airfare/lodging competition from non-golfers-- surfers wanting a North Shore vacation will pay as much as $2000/week for a 10x10 concrete-block bare-bones room. (I can understand why they tend to be a little aggressive on the waves.) So coming to Hawaii for those months is like trying to vacation at a city hosting the SuperBowl or the Olympics.
I don't know if it's still true, but I've been told that the Navy-Marine course is the world's most heavily played. Other "local" courses include Leilehua, Ko'olau, Barbers Point, Ewa Villages, Hickam, Mililani, Olomana, & West Loch. My neighbor the golf fanatic seems to play them all with no particular preference.
It looks like all the courses stick it heavily to visitors at double or even triple the resident's price. And if you want to golf near Waikiki you'll pay for the privilege, just like Pebble Beach. But the Ko'olou & Olomana courses have the same stunning scenery & challenging holes at a fraction of the price.
I bet that each of those courses have memberships or season rates that are even lower than what's on the website. I think that kama'aina are at least as golf-crazy as anyone I've met on the East Coast or in CA, and there's always a local scandal about someone hacking the tee-time telephone system or bribing their buddy to get a good time.
But I'm not sure how good the average local golfer is-- you could make a real killing here as a golf shark and let your opponents pay all your greens fees. And Michelle Wie's dad can't caddy for her much longer!
If you're really motivated to dig up the inside info, try
Tom's Golf Shop. Tom Hrdlicka is a nice guy and a retired Army sergeant major who might not mind talking to a Marine. His customers are mostly the 25th Light Infantry and, at his own expense, he's shipped driving ranges to Afghanistan & Iraq to keep the soldiers proficient during deployments. He knows everything about local golf and he'll be able to tell you precisely when/where to go. Even if you tell him that you got his name from that pony-tailed submariner at Sean & Katy's Christmas party...