Anthologia

It’s a beautiful day on the windward slopes of Haleakala; exactly the kind of day that typifies Maui’s vacation destination reputation. The sun is shining across the face of the cumulus clouds that cling sparingly to the West Maui Mountains and dappling the patchwork fields in the Central Valley. Upcountry, in Pukalani, the tradewinds blow just above a whisper, enough to take the edge off the tropical humidity.

Today our group of four is taking the tee at Pukalani Country Club to tackle the 18-hole course. For me Pukalani town is unfamiliar, one of the few places I’ve spent almost no time in, and this is my first time on this course. My introduction could not have been under more favorable conditions. For the last two days it has been pouring across the entire island and Upcountry is well known for receiving a lion’s share of Maui’s precipitation. But this morning it has been warm and sunny and the course has dried out completely.

The country club, at least the part associated with the golf course, is characteristic of many Hawaiian businesses outside the highest-dollar areas like Wailea and Kapalua. There is a clubhouse, a restaurant, both nestled inside aged buildings the size of shipping containers. They are perfectly serviceable, but certainly don’t have the kind of frills that are conjured by the words “country club”. The lot, filled with a mixture of work-a-day cars, imported kei-trucks, and the odd high-end convertible, is cracked and lumpy. But everything is clean and operating, a perfectly non-pretentious place to go to enjoy a hobby sport.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that, despite not being a municipal course, the green fees are extremely reasonable and include the use of a cart. In fact, for visitors, it is on par (no pun intended) with our local course in Waiehu.

We pay our fees, I grab a drink at the clubhouse, and 15 minutes after we parked we are on the 1st hole. The first thing you’ll notice if you decide to visit are the massive Cook Pines that line the side of most holes. Recently, Waiehu has been in rough shape and so my basis of comparison is perhaps biased, but I can’t help but appreciate how well manicured and maintained this course is. The fairways look healthy and green, the roughs are suitably deep to give a real challenge. And those Cook Pines on either side put suitable pressure on players to stay ‘inside the lines’. It can be a little intimidating, but equally enthusing.

My first shot is a satisfying start; fading a little right, but comfortably in bounds. Unfortunately, it’s mostly downhill from here. My follow-up is a chunk into the fairway. It takes a few more brutally frustrating mishits to finally find the hole. Maybe it’s nerves, some of it is definitely adjusting to the course itself, but I can’t seem to find my stride. The rest of the group likewise struggles. That’s okay, it’s hard to be too angry when you’re here with such good company.

Jun and Tom both pick up the pace after the first three holes. Jin and I continue to struggle. My first reaction on the third hole is to bust out laughing. It is a short Par 3, but with a gulley between us and the green that you could hide a body in, much less a golf ball. I hit like an absolute dog, putting three mulligans in the dense foliage below us. It’s only 100 yards across, but mentally it might as well be a the Grand Canyon.

By the fifth hole we are all starting to play passably well, or better. by the end of the day Jun will rack up 4 Pars, Tom will get at least 2, and Jin and I will at least give ourselves a few decent chances, although we won’t be able to capitalize on them enough to seal the deal. The rest of the course is like a maze. It winds its way through neighborhoods of old homes, new homes, high value mansions, and middle class suburbs. We pass public parks, a solar field, large agricultural plots, open fields. Each hole is a unique challenge; some break hard left and right across the fairway, others are deceptively short or long. Several of the Par 5s are bonkers; a 500-yard massive uphill climb on a giant S-curve. The greens are much tighter than I’m used to at Waiehu, although I think the sand traps are far more forgiving. The 3-dimensionality of the course is a stark contrast to Waiehu, which saves most of the verticality for the cart paths.

By the 17th hole the weather has turned and we are dealing with light rain and a bit of chill, but I am driving like a pro. Unfortunately, the 18th hole is a rough end for all of us, and we are all pretty much out of par potential by our second shot. And yet, the company has been great, the course has been a fascinating experience, and all of us are leaving the course in good spirits. It has been an excellent way to wrap up my time here on Maui this Spring and to say goodbye (for now) to our golfing troop. The Pukalani course did not disappoint, and we will all be back, hopefully with better results, in the not-too-distant future.