Off the Fringe
IF the USGA is shopping around for another course to hold the U.S. Open, one that will bring Tiger and his den down to their knees again, they should consider the Koolau Golf Club. USGA should hold
U.S. Open at KoolauI mean, have you played there lately? I have.
Koolau is tough -- with a capital T.
"You have to have game if you want to play Koolau," said retired Star-Bulletin writer Lyle Nelson, who at 77, found out first-hand last Wednesday how tough the course designed by Dick Nugent and Jack Tuthill really is.
"This place is beautiful but I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon."
Who can blame him.
If you can't hit the ball straight, and long, stay home.
But imagine the U.S. Open at Koolau. Imagine Tiger trying to birdie the 593 yard, par-5 dogleg left opening hole. Better yet, let's see him try to get a birdie on No. 18, a treacherous par-4 where golfers have to hit their tee shot over a huge gorge to a narrow fairway, and then back over the same gorge to a green well protected by bunkers.
Did I say bunkers?
There are 22 on the closing hole alone.
"For those guys, it's doable," said Rob Nelson, Koolau's general manager and director of golf.
Yeah, but don't you just want to see them try?
You have to admit, Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., home of the just-completed U.S. Open, looks tough.
I mean, it has to be.
If Woods, the best player in the world, is the only one in a star-studded field to break par -- a field that included Phil Mickleson, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, David Duval and Davis Love III -- then there should be no doubt about how hard Bethpage is.
But I'd like to see them test their shot-making abilities at Koolau.
I bet the pros will have high praise for the course. Either that or they will be crying all the way to the 19th hole.
Golfers, you see, are the biggest crybabies.
If you make a noise as they're about ready to hit the ball, they complain. If you move when they're about to putt, they'll stare you down. And if you dare to grow the rough too high, they'll scream. Heck, I have yelled out a few expletives myself. But that's another topic to get to at another time.
Koolau, in a word, is tough.
As tough as it is, though, Nelson said golfers do come back. In 2000, he said there were 50,000 rounds played and 28 percent were visitors.
"Most of our play have come from locals," Nelson said.
Never played Koolau?
Here's your chance.
There will be a member/kamaaina day tournament next Sunday. Registration begins at 7 a.m. There is a 8 a.m. shotgun start and the fee is $40 for Koolau members, $50 for kamaaina. It will be a three-person bestball. (Personally, I think it may take more than three people).
After you play Koolau, you might agree that it could host the U.S. Open.
Or, as Nelson dreams about, the Ryder Cup.
Only then will we know if Koolau can be mentioned in the same breath as Bethpage.
Until then, Koolau is high on my list for tough golf courses.
Will I go back?
Definitely. U.S. Open or not.
Star-Bulletin assistant sports editor Randy Cadiente is a once-a-week hacker who carries a 15-handicap. He can be reached at 529-4785 or: rcadiente@starbulletin.com