The Hawaii Golf Marathon
In earlier columns about golf, I’ve profiled Sten “The Slammin’ Swede” Olsen, who is perhaps the most avid golfer in history, and heckled all of you golfers who would rather play in shorts and polo shirts in Florida right about now than don earmuffs and parkas and knock the ball around Scottish links that are the birthplace of the game.
Now I have a new challenge for you: The Hawaii Golf Marathon, whereby you play fourteen rounds of golf in Hawaii, on fourteen different courses on five islands, in the course of a one-week blitz of a golf vacation. I’ve done this twice in the past on assignment for magazines – once with The Slammin’ Swede himself – and guarantee that it’s not only possible to do, but fun in a crazy kind of way that only dedicated golfers can understand.
Here’s the deal. On day one, you fly into Honolulu, pick up your rental car and head straight to a course near the airport, such as the Ko Olina Golf Club. Don’t bother with a hotel room. After the round, turn around and drive back to the airport and take a late flight to Kauai. Rent another car. You’ll get to your hotel at about midnight, in plenty of time for a late snack and your first mai tai.
Check out of the hotel at six a.m. On day two you’ll play the Poipu Bay course, and then drive to Lihue to play the Jack Nicklaus-designed Kiele course at Kauai Lagoons. At dusk, drive the hour or so north to the Princeville resort, check in and have dinner (you’ll be hungry by then). On day three you play the sublime Prince course and one or two of the three nines of the Makai resort course. Drive like crazy to the airport in time to catch a flight to Maui. Get some rest.
Days four and five find you happily tooling around Maui, first at Kapalua, with its Plantation course that is home to the Mercedes Championships every year, and one of the broad, friendly Kaanapali resort courses. Then on the south end of the island, where the Wailea and Makena courses await. On Day 6, and this is the tricky part, you take the morning ferry from Lahaina over to Lanai and spend the day playing the Challenge at Manele course alongside lovely, scenic Manele Bay. Don’t miss the ferry back in the afternoon; you’ve got to head to the airport and fly to the Big Island.
There, the great courses on the Kona side await you: Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani and Hualalai. Take your pick. And when you’re done, you might even have time for a swim before you drive back to the airport one last time and fly home.
Why island-hop to play all that golf and put yourself through such a brutal travel schedule on your vacation? Honestly, would a real golfer even ask?
Now I have a new challenge for you: The Hawaii Golf Marathon, whereby you play fourteen rounds of golf in Hawaii, on fourteen different courses on five islands, in the course of a one-week blitz of a golf vacation. I’ve done this twice in the past on assignment for magazines – once with The Slammin’ Swede himself – and guarantee that it’s not only possible to do, but fun in a crazy kind of way that only dedicated golfers can understand.
Here’s the deal. On day one, you fly into Honolulu, pick up your rental car and head straight to a course near the airport, such as the Ko Olina Golf Club. Don’t bother with a hotel room. After the round, turn around and drive back to the airport and take a late flight to Kauai. Rent another car. You’ll get to your hotel at about midnight, in plenty of time for a late snack and your first mai tai.
Check out of the hotel at six a.m. On day two you’ll play the Poipu Bay course, and then drive to Lihue to play the Jack Nicklaus-designed Kiele course at Kauai Lagoons. At dusk, drive the hour or so north to the Princeville resort, check in and have dinner (you’ll be hungry by then). On day three you play the sublime Prince course and one or two of the three nines of the Makai resort course. Drive like crazy to the airport in time to catch a flight to Maui. Get some rest.
Days four and five find you happily tooling around Maui, first at Kapalua, with its Plantation course that is home to the Mercedes Championships every year, and one of the broad, friendly Kaanapali resort courses. Then on the south end of the island, where the Wailea and Makena courses await. On Day 6, and this is the tricky part, you take the morning ferry from Lahaina over to Lanai and spend the day playing the Challenge at Manele course alongside lovely, scenic Manele Bay. Don’t miss the ferry back in the afternoon; you’ve got to head to the airport and fly to the Big Island.
There, the great courses on the Kona side await you: Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani and Hualalai. Take your pick. And when you’re done, you might even have time for a swim before you drive back to the airport one last time and fly home.
Why island-hop to play all that golf and put yourself through such a brutal travel schedule on your vacation? Honestly, would a real golfer even ask?
