Golfers must chip in
to repair ailing county
course in Wailua

Mayor Kusaka asks
for higher greens fees
and a bigger subsidy

By Anthony Sommer
Kauai correspondent

WAILUA, Kauai >> The fading billboard above the putting practice green at Wailua Golf Course was erected for a major national tournament held in 1996. It has never been torn down or replaced.

The sign is a fitting metaphor for the course, owned and operated by Kauai County. It is living on a past reputation rather than current reality.

Once on top-10 lists of best courses in the country by many golfing magazines, the course was badly damaged by Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and never was restored to anywhere near its former glory.

Just over a year ago, Kauai Mayor Maryanne Kusaka hired Ed Okamoto, former manager of the Kauai Lagoons resort course, to begin a rescue attempt of the county course.

This year, the mayor is asking the County Council to approve an increase in greens fees that is projected to almost double the revenue generated by the course to $716,325 next year from the current $385,855.

At the same time, Kusaka also is asking the Council to double the county's general fund subsidy to the course to $400,000 next year.

Okamoto said the proposed budget for fiscal 2002 is almost $1.9 million, and virtually all of the increases are due to increased employee pay and benefits in union agreements.

The only major nonemployee increases he is seeking are $50,000 to replace equipment and $16,000 for additional fertilizer and pesticide purchases.

A County Council committee is scheduled to vote on the proposal Thursday. On a percentage basis, residents would take the biggest hit. A monthly unlimited card for seniors would go to $34 from the current $20, a 70 percent increase.

Resident nonsenior cards would go to $49 from $35, a 40 percent increase.

But Okamoto points out the average card holder plays seven times a month. Even with the increase, the greens fee would be just under $5 a round for seniors and $7 a round for nonseniors.

A weekday nonresident round of golf would go to $40 from the current $25, a 37.5 percent increase. A weekend round for a nonresident would increase to $50 from the current $35, a 42.8 percent increase.

At an earlier Council hearing, Dick Oeoka, president of the Kauai Golf Association, said his group has endorsed the higher monthly card rates as "pretty reasonable."

Tom Canute, testifying on behalf of Club 36, a group that plays weekly at Wailua, said despite the installation of a new irrigation system last year, four holes remain only "marginally playable." Raising the rate without first fixing up the four holes may chase away players, he warned.

"Our Wailua Gold Course is in shambles," golfer Robert Yotsuda told the Council. Despite spending $1.2 million on the irrigation system, "There has been no noticeable improvement."

Greens fees at two other county courses on neighbor islands are cheaper than the existing Wailua monthly unlimited-play rates of $20 for senior residents and $35 for nonsenior residents.

A monthly unlimited-play card at Hilo Muni is $18 for seniors and $33 for nonseniors.

At Waiehu Golf Club on Maui, the price is $5 per month plus $2 per round.

Wally Rezentes Sr., Kusaka's administrative assistant, said he believes players should carry much of the cost of operating the course, but general fund money also should be used because it is a major tourist attraction.

The downturn in tourism had as much to do with the declining condition of the course as hurricane damage to the fairways, he said.

"We're only just now getting back to 1991 levels of visitors," Rezentes said.