Just having returned from a week in Hawaii, I thought I'd
share with you my photos of the newly renovated
Mauna Kea golf course. The director of golf tells me that
the course underwent a complete "tee to green restoration".
My personal observation is that all of the bunkering was
completely redone in serpentine style, bunkers were
moved more into the fairways, and that all of the greens
were re-contoured. The new putting surfaces have much more
internal movement, with lots of shelves and tiers. On my
first visit 4 years ago, I left fairly unimpressed. This
time, although I have some reservations about the style of
the bunkering, I left with a fairly high opinion of the
place...especially the first 11 holes.
Ok...here goes.
#1 is a nice dogleg right par 4 opener ....my only beef is
the out of bounds on the right because of the driving range.
The uphill approach:
#2 downhill par 4 ...much better approach angle if you stay
right
The tee shot looking down toward the ocean:
The approach, which must play deceptively shorter than the
yardage...played 3 rounds and I landed on the back of the
green all 3 times..the first two one hopping over the back:
The famous 3rd hole par 3 275 from the tips:
the introduction sign:
the beautiful hole (too many bunkers, I know!):
I thought I’d post this picture from my trip 4 years ago…just so you can compare the bunker styles:
Number 4 is a strong par 4 with a semi-blind approach from the bottom of the hill…by memory I believe the bunkering has certainly been brought into the fairway…listed as the #1 handicap hole.
Tee shot..
Approach after a perfect drive:
Number 5 is a long par 5 swinging to the left…A very long drive could get a turbo…
The approach must avoid the centerline bunker about 80 yds short of the green:
And if your in the bunker you have this challenging shot:
Number 6 is a short par 4 with a significantly elevated tee and green…I will defer to the experts but this might be a spion kop hole. The approach angle sure seemed better to the right off the tee…played into the wind all 3 days.
Number 7 is another long par 3 playing at about 200 yds uphill:
Number 8 is a par 5 again moving to the left with another chance to get a downhill kick and a very interesting undulating fairway:
The eighth fairway:
Number 9 is a downhill par 4 with an elevated tee and a gorgeous ocean view:
I will add the back nine in the next few days…Enjoy. I look forward to your feedback…Although I don't love the bunker style and feel the back nine is not as strong, I would have a lot of trouble naming 100 better courses in the US.
Bart