Sunday, April 1, 2001

HAWAII'S SIGNATURE HOLES

WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB
Golfers must deal with a carry of at least 170 yards
off the tee, and that doesn't include a series of bunkers
that protect the right side of the putting surface.

Waialae’s beauty
is at No. 8

The scenic oceanside par-3
can be the difference between
a good or bad round

Editor's note: The Star-Bulletin will feature the signature holes for courses throughout the state every Sunday.

By Randy Cadiente
Star-Bulletin

The cool breeze off the Pacific Ocean and swaying palm trees nestled near the beach give the signature hole at the Waialae Country Club a calm and relaxing appearance.

But the par-3, 171-yard No. 8 can be a beast.

"The signature hole comes not from just difficulty but also from overall beauty," said Waialae Country Club head pro Greg Nichols. "It's a hole that's so pretty, with the prevailing wind being at your back, it's a relatively easy tee shot."

The key to playing the hole, according to Nichols, is club selection.

It can play anywhere from an 8-iron to a 3-wood, depending on which direction the wind is blowing. If the normal wind blows, it will aid the right-handed player because it will come from behind the golfer, blowing in a right-to-left direction.

Club selection, however, becomes more difficult if the wind gusts the other way.

"During the (Hawaiian) Open many times, the wind blows from the opposite direction and it's a hurting wind," Nichols said.

The Mud Hen: The Hawaiian term for the
No. 8 hole at the Waialae Country Club is 'Alae,
or mud hen. The hole, the 17th in the Sony Open,
is a par 3 that plays to a distance of 171 yards.

"I've seen the hole play, the normal length for the average golfer, at about 175 yards. But the hole can be stretched to close to 200 yards depending how much wind there is."

If the wind doesn't get you, then the bunkers that protect the kidney-shaped green will.

A huge bunker on the left front of the green awaits a tee shot that is short.

Four more sand traps on the right side of the green, which cannot be seen by the golfers standing on the tee, will catch any ball that skirts over the putting surface.

"It's a redan-style hole," Nichols said. "And what a redan-style hole is, is it's a diagonal green that's protected.

"Redan is a style of defense -- it's a military term -- and Seth Raynor, the original designer, used that classic style of hole on many of his golf courses.

"You have to decide how good of a golfer you are because it's fairly open in front. You can hit a shot to the front of the green because you've got plenty of area to land.

"But as you hit into the middle of the green, the target becomes a little bit smaller."

The best strategic tee shot, according to Nichols, is to hit something short of any of those three bunkers on the right side of the green.

"Anything to the middle third or back third (of the green) brings all of the bunkers, all of the trouble into play," Nichols said.

For the high handicappers, there's also a stream that runs in front of the hole.

It's a carry of about 140 yards and even though you make it over the water, the bunkers and a slick green await you.

Seldom are tournaments won or lost on one hole.

But Waialae's No. 8, which was the 17th hole during the Hawaiian and Sony Opens, can determine where you finish on the leaderboard.

"Don January lost (on that hole) one year in the Hawaiian Open," said Nichols.

"He took a 6 on that hole. He went from bunker to bunker and took a 6.

"David Ishii, the year he won it, won the tournament, or should I say, saved the tournament, because he ended up hitting it into the back bunker but was able to get up and down out of that bunker to save (par)."