There seems to be little on GCA about golf on Oahu so I wanted to contribute something.
Breezy 2h30 round at Oahu Country Club this morning, playing solo - though they insisted I play in a cart. There were 14 holes I'd loved to have walked but 12-15 would have cooked the legs.
The course is just a touch over 6000 yards with lots of half-par holes and played over really rolling land that's used with heaps of variety.
One ridge/valley runs across the southern side of the property as a feature of 18, 1, 2, 3 & 5 and another valley is used really well for both 10 & 11. The holes are routed so you're encountering the same feature in different ways from hole to hole.
Couple of cracking driveable fours and cool green sites, though surfaces pretty flat to gradual sloped and seemed to have shrunk away from the greenside bunkering.
Aside from the stretch of 12-15, which climbs about 60 metres up a mountain and then races back down it, the course reminded me a fair bit of Riviera. Similar canyon setting, similar tight routing, similar extensive use of the one long ridge/barranca, similar character in the green surfaces, similar use of sidehill lies and undulation in the fairways. I understand Billy Bell had involvement at Oahu CC so that probably explains it.
Some superb views of downtown Honolulu and the ocean beyond also adds to the enjoyment.
Very much worth a game if you're in town.
The opening tee shot:
Tee shot on the 280-yard 5th with the green sloping front to back:
The drive at the 250-yard 10th. Would be great to have those trees short of the bunkers go missing:
From left of the tee on the 200-yard par three 11th:
The last is a cool 360-yarder up and over a ridge to produce this short iron/wedge approach to a green with serious tilt. Not unlike the 18th at Newcastle outside Sydney:
Another feature is the "rig and furrow" fairways on 1, 2 & 3. Haven't seen anything like that since Alwoodley:
