Waialae Country Club, in the heart of Hawaii's state capital -- Honolulu, paints the perfect picture of the islands.
Jan. 15, 2009
The TOUR island hops to Oahu for the second leg of the Hawaii tournaments this week for the Sony Open at Waialae CC.
| Fast facts |
| Course Superintendent |
Dave Nakama |
| Original architect |
Seth Raynor and Charles Banks (1927) |
| Rdesign |
Desmond Muirhead (1992) |
| Par value |
70 |
| Number of TOUR events as host venue |
45 (including 2009) |
| Course ranking |
Ranked 28 (out of 54) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2008 |
| Yardage history |
7,234 yards (1965-1984) |
| |
6,975 (1985-1996) |
| |
7,012 (1997-1998) |
| |
7,060 (1999-2006) |
| |
7,044 (2007-present) |
| Grass |
Bermudagrass (tees, fairways, rough, greens) |
| Tournament Stimpmeter |
13 ft |
| Sand bunkers |
84 |
| Water hazards |
9 |
| Course tour |
Click here |
|
| Course record |
|
Player
Davis Love III
|
Year
1994 |
Round
2nd |
Finish
2 |
|
| Holes-in-one |
| There have been nine aces recorded during the Sony Open in Hawaii. |
| Dan Pohl |
17th |
1983 |
| Bill Glasson |
7th |
1987 |
| Dave Barr |
11th |
1991 |
| Carl Cooper |
11th |
1993 |
| Richard Zokol |
4th |
1995 |
| Greg Kraft |
4th |
1998 |
| Shigeki Maruyama |
7th |
2001 |
| Hidemichi Tanaka |
7th |
2002 |
| Shigeki Maruyama |
4th |
2005 |
|
| 2009 Rankings |
| Most Difficult Hole |
 |
The par-4 477-yard 13th Formerly played as a par-5 at the Hawaiian Open, the redesigned forward tee allows playing this hole as a 475-yard par 4. The fairway bunker on the right has been reshaped to allow more room in the landing area for the drive. Par is now a very good score on this hole.
2008: 0 eagles, 27 birdies, 257 pars, 130 bogeys, 9 double bogeys, 0 others. |
| Easiest hole in 2008 |
 |
The par-5 506-yard 9th Normally played as No. 18 by Waialae members, this par 5 requires accuracy on both the drive and the second shot. O.B. runs down the entire hole on both sides. A strong left-to-right wind makes things even tougher. It is reachable in two strokes, however, and has given up its share of birdies.
2008: 15 eagles, 244 birdies, 147 pars, 15 bogeys, 2 double bogeys and 0 others. |
|
|
| Waialae CC |
2008 rankings | Last 25 years |
| 1 |
4 |
480 |
4.267 |
2 |
4.252 |
2 |
| 2 |
4 |
423 |
4.147 |
4 |
4.213 |
3 |
| 3 |
4 |
422 |
3.979 |
14 |
4.032 |
11 |
| 4 |
3 |
204 |
3.206 |
3 |
3.145 |
5 |
| 5 |
4 |
467 |
4.111 |
6 |
4.103 |
6 |
| 6 |
4 |
460 |
4.142 |
5 |
4.205 |
4 |
| 7 |
3 |
176 |
3.045 |
10 |
2.984 |
14 |
| 8 |
4 |
454 |
4.08 |
7 |
4.046 |
9 |
| 9 |
5 |
506 |
4.397 |
18 |
4.409 |
18 |
| 10 |
4 |
351 |
3.835 |
16 |
3.859 |
16 |
| 11 |
3 |
194 |
3.047 |
9 |
3.064 |
7 |
| 12 |
4 |
440 |
3.981 |
13 |
3.980 |
15 |
| 13 |
4 |
477 |
4.286 |
1 |
4.283 |
1 |
| 14 |
4 |
430 |
4.054 |
8 |
4.032 |
12 |
| 15 |
4 |
398 |
4.043 |
11 |
4.045 |
10 |
| 16 |
4 |
417 |
4.038 |
12 |
4.055 |
8 |
| 17 |
3 |
194 |
2.974 |
15 |
3.020 |
13 |
| 18 |
5 |
551 |
4.492 |
17 |
4.480 |
17 |
|
| Course origins |
The Golf Course was opened for play on February 1, 1927.
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Waialae Golf Course were built by the Territorial Hotel Co. as part of a promotional program to develop luxury travel trade to Hawaii. Matson Navigation Co. built the luxury passenger liner Malolo as part of this program. The hotel and golf course lands were leased from the Bernice P. Bishop Estate.
Mr. Seth Raynor, world famous golf architect, and his associate, Mr. Charles Banks, designed and supervised the building of Waialae. Their outstanding work is reflected on many of our holes.
Local players were able to use the course, and by payment of annual fees for play became "privilege card holders" in the Territorial Hotel Company's Waialae Golf Club. In 1930, a group of these Waialae players formed a private club within the Waialae Golf Club which they called Waialae Country Club. Waialae Country Club dates from September 29, 1930 when this group was formally organized and By-Laws were adopted. It enlarged a small service building close to the main clubhouse, installed showers, and had its own clubhouse where the swimming pool is now.
The great depression of the 1930s severely reduced travel and resulted in bankruptcy of the Territorial Hotel Co. Matson took over the obligations and interests of the Territorial Hotel Co. which included the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Moana Hotel, and Waialae golf Club. During these years play on the course was mainly by local privilege card holders, most of whom were members of Waialae Country Club.
In August of 1941, fire destroyed the Waialae Pavilion which was used by Waialae Golf Club for dining and dancing, and Matson decided to turn the golf course and remaining buildings over to Waialae Country Club. Before this plan was consummated, the United States had entered World War II, the military had requisitioned the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and numerous military defenses had been installed along Oahu's coastline including the golf course at Waialae.
Waialae Country Club was incorporated on September 30, 1942 and became lessee of the golf course acreage and a small section of land owned by Matson on which the old Isenberg home (later The Pavilion) had been located. The military built a replacement for the Pavilion because of the heavy use of the course by military personnel during the war. -- Source: http://www.waialaecc.com |
|
| Tournament course history |
| Waialae CC |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
1965-present |
| |
|
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network