Sunday, May 13, 2001
[HAWAII'S SIGNATURE HOLES]
An ocean hole THE KLIPPER GOLF COURSE at the Marine Corps Air Base in Kaneohe is the site of one of Hawaii's most spectacular ocean holes -- the 465-yard, par-4 13th.
to remember
The 465-yard, par-4 No. 13
at the Klipper is one
of Hawaii's bestBy Grady Timmons
Special to the Star-BulletinSet between ancient Hawaiian sand dunes and the blue Pacific, the Klipper's 13th is rarely forgotten by any golfer who plays it. It was the personal favorite of President Dwight D. Eisenhower whenever he visited Hawaii in the 1950s. And it was recently voted the top hole of any U.S. military golf course in the world.
The Klipper course sits at the tip of Windward Oahu's Mokapu Peninsula. Mokapu translates as "sacred ground," and in ancient times the dunes that border holes 13, 14, and 15 were Hawaiian burial mounds. Today they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Architects William Bell and Billy Anderson designed the front nine of the Klipper Course in 1949. The back nine, completed three years later, was the work of well-known island pro Jimmy Ukauka.
From the championship tees, the Klipper measures 6,559 yards. It is a relatively flat course framed by kiawe, palm and ironwood trees. The greens are small and there are few fairway bunkers or lakes.
Like most seaside courses in Hawaii, the Klipper is exposed to strong, easterly tradewinds. The ocean is almost always within earshot here, but for the first 12 holes it is hidden from sight by the dunes.
Arriving at the 13th tee, the golfer takes in a truly magnificent view.
Below and to the right is a popular surfing site known as North Beach, where swells of six to 12 feet roll in with mesmerizing regularity during the winter. North Beach stretches a mile down the coast to Pyramid Rock. Beyond it is Kaneohe Bay and the majestic sweep of the northern Koolaus.The 13th hole itself is as impressive as the view. The golfer shoots from an elevated, three-tiered tee. From the top tier, the drive must carry 150 yards to reach the fairway, which is bordered on the left by the dunes and on the right by the beach.
A well-placed tee shot is critical and should be aimed down the left-center of the fairway, where it will catch a slope and move back toward the middle.
From here, a long approach shot has to be negotiated from a downhill, sidehill lie to a slightly elevated green guarded on the left and right by bunkers.
The 13th marks the beginning of a string of memorable ocean holes at the Klipper. Like the 16th at Cypress Point in California or the 18th at Pebble Beach, it is a reminder of how the land and sea can come together to produce a great golf shot.
Editor's note: The Star-Bulletin features signature holes
for golf courses throughout Hawaii on Sunday.