"Hidden Gem" - Kahuku Golf Course / Oahu Photo Essay

[Evan_Green]

Hi All:

Kahuku Golf Course on the North Shore of Oahu is probably my favorite "hidden gem" golf course. Here is a little tour both of Kahuku and Oahu - I hope those of you that find yourself on this island will make the effort to see it.

When most people think about Oahu, they think about Waikiki:



However, there is a lot more to the island than the bustling beach and hotels.


Leaving Honolulu and heading North for about an hour on the Interstate H2 (which doesn't go to another state) and then onto beautiful route 83 you will pass through the famous North Shore surf spots. The most famous is Pipeline - which while beautiful is a great place to break your neck:



Notice how small the guy's head is compared to the wave (and this wasn't even a very big day there)





Soon you will find yourself at the Turtle Bay Resort which features a beautiful ocean front beach resort. In addition there is a 36 hole golf complex. Both are pleasant experiences, with the Palmer being one of the better resort courses in Hawaii.


A few snaps from the Palmer course:









and a couple from the George Fazio course:






Most golf visitors to Oahu don't make it any further down the road than this.


However, just 4 miles further down the road is the nine hole gem that is Kahuku Golf Course. Drink your Mai Tai's before leaving Turtle Bay as Kahuku is no frills.


Kahuku is a 9 hole course built in 1937 by employees of the Kahuku Sugar Mill and was taken over in the 1950's by the City of Honolulu and is one of the 6 municipal courses owned by the City. A few years ago it was almost turned into a housing tract as the land was owned by private developers, but fortunately it never happened. This January, the City of Honolulu acquired the land under the golf courses and plan to protect it.


9 Hole Green Fee = $16.50 (the Turtle Bay Palmer's rack rate is $195 for 18 holes and $95 for 9 holes)
2,699 Yards


Aerial:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kahuku+Golf+Course/@21.6788578,-157.9436205,1040m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x7c005038f3f0ba59:0x72abab91534665a0!8m2!3d21.6788179!4d-157.9452137


Some things I loved about the experience:
- No tourists
- Hardly anyone on the course on this particular day (they get 25,000 rounds a year)
- The beach and the wind
- Locals walking across the course headed to the beach to go fishing
- Brownish tinted sandy turf (really nice playing surface)


It isn't technically a links but it is the closest thing to it you will find in Hawaii and its a lot closer to it than most "links" courses.


The parking lot, sumptuous clubhouse and locker room   (no lilikoi scented iced towels when you finish your round)



Hole 1: 164 Yards -
A tough target with a push up green (and not a bad view to start with - I just wish it was sans linear tree line)






Hole 2: 457 Yards






Hole 3: 149 Yards - first of two really cool par 3's




crazy green


Hole 4: 110 Yards - Love this little drop shot par 3 (also how great is the staircase to the tee?)







View from the Tee





Hole 5: 310 Yards (plays uphill)






Hole 6: 119 Yards (uphill par 3 - great view when you get to the top)






Hole 7: 552 Yards (in my opinion the best hole of the course - runs right up against the beach)




Back tee box









The beach is just steps from the fairway



Nothing like an empty Hawaiian beach



Cool wind blown little trees





Hole 8: 364 Yards (another neat coast side hole)




Mountain views aren't bad either









8th Green - Check out the sand dunes in the distance!


9th Hole: 474 Yards:









Its a round I just didn't want to end!


The best way to wash your sorrows away is at at Giovannis - the best shrimp truck in Oahu not far from the golf course:



If you keep going East away from Turtle Bay you go around to the North East part of Oahu heading south back towards Honolulu which has scenery like this:














Bottom line is there's a lot more to Oahu than just Honolulu and from a golf perspective, there's a lot more to the North Shore than Turtle Bay... Play Kahuku!

[Jon Wiggett]

Thanks for posting Evan. Some neat looking stuff there and very good value.


Jon

[Thomas Dai]

Thanks for sharing Evan. Nice to see both higher and lower profile courses included and some general island details as well. Golf comes in so many different forms. Evil/wonderful looking hole the wee par-3 3rd at Kahuku. So many bent-over trees show how consistently windy the area must be.
atb

[Scott Warren]

Thanks for sharing Evan,


I did a lap of Oahu with the family while visiting earlier this month.


Agree and had a giggle about the "Interstate" H1 & H2!


That scenery east of Turtle Bay is something else -- lush cliffsides plunging into the sea and the impossibly blue water.


We sadly got a day that the surf was glassed out but the turtles were ENORMOUS. I expected little hand-sized jobbies, certainly not those the size of a mini-trampoline.


But for me the jewel of the North Shore was the Triple Crown sandwich at Kono's in Haleiwa -- pulled pork, bacon and ham with slaw and BBQ sauce. Next level and I'm still salivating at the memory of it.

[Brad Tufts]

Cool stuff Evan...I haven't been to Oahu since the mid-90s, as we tend to find the direct flights to Kauai/Maui/Big Island when we go, but I'm starting to feel like it deserves another visit.

Over 8 trips to Hawaii since 1991 (we now go every other year, parents have a timeshare on Kauai), I have never played golf on Oahu!

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Thanks for the pictures Evan.  I have previously looked at this course on google maps and it appeared to me, and probably some here, as the best golf course site on Oahu.  Naturally the city does little with its courses when it comes to architecture and for this 9 hole even less. And that is probably a good thing.
There is a part of me that says let Doak or Hanse have at it, and another part that says keep it as it is.

[Steve Fekety]

Great pics.  Been really missing HI to the point of watching last weekend's event at Ko Olina.  If you troll through Zac Blair's Twitter account, you will see he really enjoyed it too and he posted some cool pics as well. 

[Andy Stamm]

Thanks for the pictures Evan.  I have previously looked at this course on google maps and it appeared to me, and probably some here, as the best golf course site on Oahu.  Naturally the city does little with its courses when it comes to architecture and for this 9 hole even less. And that is probably a good thing.
There is a part of me that says let Doak or Hanse have at it, and another part that says keep it as it is.

To be fair when the land was owned by a company looking to develop it and the city had a short lease there wasn't much chance that any improvements would be attempted. No real reason to think anything will change, but at least it would now make sense.

[Andy Stamm]

It's hard not to think what could be when playing Kahuku and particularly when looking at the dunes just past the property in both directions. But at the end of the day the soil and turf is poor. It looks and feels linksy, but that's it. The soil on Oahu just isn't great for golf. It's a shame that it's neither firm nor fast.


Through the green is all maintained to one height, and it's mowed once a week. The course really demonstrates how enjoyable really truly minimalist golf can be.

The 3rd is a generally great hole. And it plays right back into the teeth of the trade winds. The 4th is an interesting drop shot also effected by the wind. The tee ball on the 6th is nice, but the rest is about as boring as it gets. The 8th is quite a good hole with a blind approach and some angles in play. The 3rd and 8th are very good, there are a couple of ok holes, and the rest are very very plain.


If you play it, leave your bag by the green and go past the 8th green to the beach and you'll find a small cemetery with an amazing view, which is not to be missed.

[Jason Topp]

Thanks Evan!

[Steve Lang]

   Yes thanks Evan!


We were at Turtle Bay Resort in 1994 and looked at the resort courses, but didn't think it was really that necessary to play them vs playing in the ocean, it looks like those 9 holes would be something worth taking in and to write home about!


Did you take in the Polynesian Cultural Center?

[Evan_Green]

<sub>Thanks to all for looking and your comments! I hope you all get to experience Kahuku if are on Oahu.

Scott- that sandwich looks like a "10" to me even after eating dinner (both in terms of quality rating and as in you would gain 10 pounds eating it) - will look for it next time in Haleiwa !
Steve - didn't have time for the Polynesian center... worth seeing?</sub>

Lynn & Andy - All things considered, as is the case with these types of "hidden gems" I personally hope this little course never changes -its simplicity has a charm to it... and frankly I don't see the city hiring a great architect and creating a "South Pacific" Dunes...especially given its main purpose is for preservation of the land and providing inexpensive recreation to residents... but still fun to think about - especially gazing at those dunes behind the 8th green.

[Brent Carlson]

Thank you Evan.  This post brought a lot of value to the site.  Not much better than the north shore and I'll have to check it out.  Mahalo

[Evan Fleisher]

Evan...great stuff!


Thanks so much for seeking out a course like this and sharing here with the group!  I always also enjoy throwing in a little foodie find as well, you get bonus points. 


These off-the-radar spots are so cool, well worth taking the time to seek them out AND get a chance to play them as well.  My time on Oahu (and the North Shore) was about 15 years ago...maybe it is time for another visit?!?!?

[John Morrissett]

Evan, thanks very much for sharing.  I have been tempted a few times to go check it out but for some reason never did.  Next time for sure!