Sunday, May 20, 2001
[HAWAII'S SIGNATURE HOLES]
Mid-Pac has its GOLFERS love water. They are attracted to it like no other element. If a hole has water, a golfer will find it.
own watering hole
The par-5 No. 5 has water
on its right, left and
around the green
By Grady Timmons
Special to the Star-BulletinTake the Mid-Pacific Country Club, for example.
Mid-Pac is a relatively dry course. Water only comes seriously into play on one hole, the par-5 fifth.
But on that hole it's pretty much everywhere.
According to Mark Sousa, the longtime head professional at the club, Mid-Pac retrieves about 1,000 balls a month -- and sometimes a few clubs -- from the water bordering the fifth hole. That's 12,000 balls a year, or enough to operate a driving range, which is what the course does with the balls.
Mid-Pac is located in the secluded windward community of Lanikai, and extends into nearby Enchanted Lakes. Before it was a golf course, Mid-Pac was mostly a kiawe forest. The club was founded in 1926 and this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Seth Raynor, architect of the Waialae Country Club, also designed Mid-Pac's original nine. The back nine was added 22 years later, in 1948, and designed by Willard G. Wilkinson, the architect of the Pali Golf Course.
The "Signature Hole" dogleg left, par 5 requires accuracy to avoid the stream on the right and Kelly's Pond on the left. Approach shot to the island green is best from the right side of the fairway. PRO'S TIPS
In the 1960s and again in the '90s, Mid-Pac underwent renovations.
Today it is one of Oahu's top private clubs and the site each spring of the prestigious men's Mid-Pac Open and this weekend's Jennie K. Invitational, the most coveted title in women's amateur golf in Hawaii.
From the back tees, Mid-Pac measures about 6,800 yards. It is a challenging course, known for its kiawe-lined fairways, its stiff ocean breezes, and its hilly terrain.
Water hardly comes into play -- except at the fifth, where it is a serious issue.
This signature par-5 plays downwind with a slight dogleg left. A canal borders the entire right side of the hole, and there is a large lake in the driving area along the left side. The green sits on an island surrounded by water some 525 yards away.
The average golfer tries to squeeze the tee shot between the canal and the lake, then lays up short of the water fronting the green with a mid-iron.
From there, it is a wedge shot in.
For the long hitter, the fifth is a terrific gambling par-5, reachable with two good shots.
During the Mid-Pac Open, said Sousa, some golfers would take the drive across the lake on the left -- a carry of 240 yards -- and fade it back toward the fairway. Then, depending on the wind, hit anything from a 4-iron to a 7-iron into the green.
"It's a great hole, because if you play it right, you can walk away with a birdie or even an eagle," Sousa said.
Of course you can also walk away with a double-bogey or worse.
Judging by the number of golf balls the hole swallows up, most golfers find the water before they find the green.
Editor's note: The Star-Bulletin features signature
holes for courses throughout Hawaii on Sunday.