This course USED TO be fun.
It USED TO be a local favorite.
And it USED TO be packed, nearly 7 days a week.
Now, you probably can walk on without a prior reservation on a Saturday morning.
It's sad.
This course has a lot of fond memories.
I had my first eagle here, on the first hole. Drained a chip from off the green.
The lowest score I ever had; a 74 was shot on this course.
The first time I ever opened a round with eagle-birdie-par-birdie was here, at Olomana.
That all is in the past.
The present doesn't look so good and the future looks gloomier.
It all started several years ago when a Chinese company came and bought a pant load of golf courses around the state. This company, Pacific Links, transformed all the courses to semi-private courses. You buy memberships and receive discounted rates and book preferred times.
I don't recall what the membership costed, but I remember being told, "You can make your money back by playing 6 rounds a month."
Oh!
Only six rounds a month?
That's easy!
TOO BAD I GOTTA WORK WEEKDAYS AND THERE ARE ONLY FOUR SATURDAYS IN A MONTH!
Well, that didn't work well.
Most of the locals were turned off by the whole idea and the popularity of the sport was affected. The emergence of Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie on the scene drew a lot of younger players.
Something we never thought would happen was happening. Kids were learning the sport. The PGA and LPGA worked hard to break the stereotype that golf was a sport reserved for the wealthy.
Just when this was getting off the ground, Pacific Links came in and undermined everything.
Furthermore, their international members (mostly from mainland China) would be able to play ANY course Pacific Links owned for free. Of course, their membership fees were exuberant. That attracted a bunch of entitled people.
This was when they were coming in droves, buying up all the high-end brands in Waikiki and Ala Moana.
The golfers were playing for free though.
Golf courses require a ton of money to maintain. None of the money generated by membership sales came back to Hawaii!
Pacific Links packed up and left the islands after a few years, and the golf courses that were affiliated suffered.
The biggest casualties were the two Makaha courses. The West completely shut down, and the East course is running on borrowed time.
Olomana was also a victim of this horrendous management company.
The other problem is that the course is built on a reclaimed swamp, prone to flooding and since it's at or even below sea level at the lowest point, affected by extreme high tides. Weather is also a problem. This part of the Windward side receives a lot of rain, making the course muddy for half the year and since it's a former swamp, the clay-like mud shrinks and cracks, leaving crevasses on the fairway. Local rules accommodate this by giving a relief if your ball comes to rest on a crack.
But when the course is wet, groundskeepers can't cut the grass because the machines will leave tire tracks. If heavy rains continue, they can't cut the grass until the ground dries enough for the tractors to be driven, which could be for a few days.
A course like this, in this condition cannot be charging $65.
And that's the weekend Kamaaina rate.
It's overpriced by at least $10.
I understand the need to recover income from being shut down during the early stages of the pandemic and the torrential rains that flooded the course prior to that, but hey.....
Top priority is to get golfers back on the course. The old, pre-Pacific Links Olomana was always packed.
Trying to find parking in the regular lot on a Saturday was nearly impossible. We usually had to park at the secondary lot behind the cart barn. It's going to take more than nicer carts and a new roof on the clubhouse to bring back the glory days.
Staff needs to be a bit sharper too.
I booked for a group of 5 and specifically asked if it was OK for a fivesome, as most courses don't allow it on the weekends. I was given the OK and booked 11:00.
A few days later, I called back to let them know that we're down to 4 and this is when I found out that I didn't have a reservation....
WHAT?
Fortunately the lack of golfers got me a tee time a half hour later. Turns out the 11:00 group didn't show up and we started early. Funny how that worked out!
And please, for God's sake, somebody show the young blonde girl in the beer garden how to multitask and work efficiently! She can ring up drinks while food is in the microwave....she doesn't have to watch it till it's done!
The golfers need to be kept moving and so give them priority...and "sandwich" has one H, not two!! read more