When you hear the word classic, it can mean a lot of things. Classic rock station. Classic Coke. Classic music. Classic example. Classic cars.

The definition of classic is a creation of the highest excellence. Waialae golf course designer Seth Raynor would like that. Originally designed in 1927, Waialae has had a couple of face lifts along the way: green changes, par adjustments, beach alterations, you name it.

But the 18 holes that were completed nearly 83 years ago are pretty much intact. David J. Nakama is the current course superintendent, charged with taking care of the grass for the past 10 years. He has 27 maintenance employees who make sure the course challenges the 144 pros who tee it up each year at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

And while there are plenty of new courses that have been built across America since Waialae took bloom a lifetime ago, the old girl can still hold her own.

“;We were talking about the routing, how interesting the routing is,”; Davis Love III said. “;You never are playing like four shots the same downwind or into the wind. You are always going back and forth. No matter what the wind is doing it's always an interesting sign of a great layout.”;

And it has doglegs.

“;It has a lot of doglegs,”; Love said. “;That's what I told my amateurs. I played in both pro-ams. You struggle when you get to 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. It's just a lot of doglegs. You've got to be really precise. It is tough. It's tricky and that's what makes it interesting. It doesn't have to be big and long and 8,000 yards to be hard.”;

Just ask tour rookie Troy Merritt. He shot a 65 in the opening round of the Sony Open on Thursday. It was only his second time around and he already had Waialae under control. The next two days? Well, those were a different story. He shot 70 on Friday and 71 yesterday to begin today's round tied for 23rd.

How about Chad Campbell? He had a 68 on Thursday, a nice 64 on Friday, only to shoot a 73 yesterday. And he likes the place.

“;It's one of my favorite courses we play all year,”; Campbell said. “;It's got a lot of character to it. I just love playing it. You get to start here, and it's warm weather, and it's cold at home. So it's a great spot to be. I love coming here.”;

So do defending champion Zach Johnson, two-time winner Ernie Els and even Ryan Palmer, who sees similarities to his home course, The Colonial, at nearly every turn. He believes this course can be bedeviling, particularly in the wind.

“;You have to use your imagination a lot, bump and run, try to keep it short of certain pins,”; Palmer said. “;Because you get downhill, downwind, down grain putts on these greens, it's like putting down a sheet of glass. It can make for some interesting days.”;

Those are days Johnson enjoys. He's right in the thick of it, just like Palmer and Love.

“;It's a classic golf course,”; Johnson said. “;The fairways are a premium, the greens are not overly big. And everything comes down to the flat stick, so, in my opinion, this is more my type of golf course.”;