Waialae Country Club

By Brent Kelley, About.com Guide

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It's golf among the palm trees at Waialae Country Club in Hawaii.

Photo by John Brown; used with permission

What and Where:

Waialae Country Club is located on the east side of Honolulu, Hawaii, northeast of Diamond Head State Monument and alongside Maunalua Bay. A private club, Waialae Country Club includes 18 holes of golf, a course that annually hosts a PGA Tour event.
Waialae Country Club pictures

Address: 4997 Kahala Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96816
Phone: (808) 734-2151
Web site

When and Who:

Waialae Country Club's golf course opened for play on Feb. 1, 1927. The course was designed by architect Seth Raynor.

Yardages and Ratings:

For members, Waialae Country Club's golf course is a par-72 that tips out at 7,125 yards. It carries a 75.1 USGA course rating and a slope rating of 135.

The setup is a little different for the PGA Tour Sony Open, where the course plays to a par of 70 and a yardage of 7,068.

Course Records:

Par 72 setup: 60, Davis Love III, 1994
Par 70 setup: 62, John Cook, 2002

Significant Tournaments Hosted:

Waialae Country Club has been the host course of the PGA Tour's Hawaiian Open - now called the Sony Open - every year since 1965. The tournament has been known by several names over the years:

1965-90: Hawaiian Open
1991: United Hawaiian Open
1992-98: United Airlines Hawaiian Open
1999-present: Sony Open in Hawaii

Trivia:

For the PGA Tour Sony Open, Waialae Country Club's two nines are reversed. The first hole for members is the 10th hole for the tour pros; the 9th hole for members is the 18th hole for tour pros.

Hole Names
Each hole at Waialae Country Club - with the exception of No. 18 - is named twice, once in Hawaiian and once in English. Here are the names of the Waialae holes:

1 - Kipaku / Drive Away
2 - Kailani / Sea and Sky
3 - Imua / Straight Ahead
4 - Akau / Right
5 - Hema / Left
6 - Pilikia / Trouble
7 - Welo - Float in the Wind
8 - Alae / Mud Hen
9 - Kilou Loa / A Long Hook
10 - Mamao / Distant
11 - Oolea / Unyielding
12 - I'i Brown / "Mr. Golf"
13 - Apiki / Tricky
14 - Auwai / Two Ditches
15 - Lalau / Go Astray
16 - Upiki / Trapped
17 - Huluhulu / Hairy
18 - Aloha

About Waialae Country Club:

Waialae Country Club, on the edge of Honolulu and the edge of Maunalua Bay, offers one of the top golf courses in Hawaii. The course has been the site of the PGA Tour's Hawaiian Open (now called the Sony Open) every year of that tournament's existence, dating to 1965. And while the PGA Tour didn't come until '65, the Hawaiian Open itself dates to 1928 when it was first played at Waialae.

The golf course was built in conjunction with the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in the first third of the 20th century, with the goal of luring tourists to the remote island group in the Pacific Ocean. The course was designed by architect Seth Raynor, considered one of the all-time greats, and opened in February of 1927.

Raynor incorporated elements of some of the era's most famous courses into his design at Waialae. The Waialae Web site points out a few:

The par three 13th features a biarritz green, modeled after the original one at Biarritz Golf Club in France.
The No. 8 hole at Waialae is modeled after the original Redan hole.
Waialae's No. 16 is modeled after the No. 6 hole of the National Golf Links on Long Island.
And on Waialae's 10th hole, the club says, Raynor incorporated elements of the famed Road Hole at St. Andrews.

Waialae's golf course was originally open to the public, but over the years it morphed into a private club. Waialae Country Club traces its origins to 1930, when a group of golfers formed a private club and even built a second, private clubhouse next door to the public one. The club went fully private in 1941 or '42.

Raynor's original design went virtually untouched until one hole was lengthend in 1954, but in the 1960s major changes to the original design were necessitated by construction of apartments and hotels. Bob E. Baldock was in charge of the redesign at that time.

The golf course now plays to a par of 72 and more than 7,100 yards in length. However, during the Sony Open week, the nines are reversed, the par is reduced to 70, and the yardage is a little less.

Waialae Country Club golf course is a lush setting with bermudagrass greens and fairways. Palm trees and other tropical vegetation dots the layout, which also is crossed by a natural stream that empties into the bay. One lake is situated between the 11th and 12th fairways. The course is buffeted by steady breezes blowing off the bay, and high winds can play havoc with golfers' shots and scores.

The No. 8 holes plays directly along the shoreline of Maunalua Bay and is considered the signature hole. A 189-yard par-3, it might require any iron in the bag depending on wind conditions - and pin placement, since the green is 40 yards deep. Deep bunkers also guard the green.

The greens of the second and seventh holes also are situated on the shoreline.

See also:
• Waialae Country Club Pictures

On the Web
• Waialae CC Web site

Sources: Waialae Country Club, PGA Tour