In The Wood
Craig Forgash, 30, head golf professional at the Ko Olina Golf Club, departed yesterday for Arizona to become head pro at Camelback Golf Club in Scottsdale. Forgash bids a fond
aloha to Ko OlinaForgash said that his main role at Ko Olina has been the service level and supervising the staff. He feels the amenities and service at Ko Olina rank with the best anywhere. These include free use of the driving range before the round, Callaway rental clubs, new carts with coolers of ice water and cups, a cold wet face towel at the end of the round and the Pro Link yardage system on the carts.
The system is a gem. As golfers approach a hole, a full layout of the hole, including hazards and contour info, is displayed. It gives the yardage to the green as the cart moves about the course. Emergency calls can be sent to the clubhouse and food orders can be placed while on the 9th and 18th holes.
Ko Olina Golf Director Jim Richerson said the Pro Link system speeds up play and has increased food and beverage sales.Richerson said the course has been revitalized as the owners -- Jeff Stone and brothers Ernest and Kane Hui -- spent $2 million on improvements in the past two years.
To get more local people on the course, Richerson said there will be more charity tourneys at Ko Olina, such as the Marriott Links to Literacy event Sept. 28. Michelle Wie, the 11-year-old phenom, will play in this one. Also, the junior golf program at the course has grown from 40 to 150 juniors in two years.
Kamaainas get a break on greens fees, paying $70 every day and $50 after 1 p.m., compared to $145 for a visitor.
Both Richerson and Forgash have high praise for course superintendent Alan Nakamura and his staff for their work.
Golf crosses all boundaries and oceans as well. Last weekend the second biennial Japan/Hawaii Junior Golf Challenge was held at Turtle Bay with a team of eight junior golfers from Hawaii defeating a team from Tokyo's Ebara High. The visitors won the inaugural challenge in 1999. The isle team was made up of Kellen Asao, Josh Chin, Ryan Campos, Pomaikai Shishido, Matthew Ma, Steven Nguyen, Andrew Ching and Landon Mizuguchi. They played against Ebara's best eight: Takahisa Uchida, Kensuke Aoyama, Tomohiro Uchida, Hirotsugu Kobayashi, Yohei Sakagami, Masahiko Sakurai, Toshihide Kasuga and Naohiro Umehara. Thirty-one players from Ebara made the trip and they played 36 holes for five of the seven days they were here and 18 holes on two days.
Ben Wood, who played his first round of golf at Ala Wai
50 years ago, vows to learn how to play the game well even if
it takes another 50 years. E-mail him at bwood@starbulletin.com.