There are plenty of outdoor activities to do on Oahu Island which can fully entertain and amuse you for at least a week. Aside from biking around the island, hiking the Diamond Head Crater, visiting the Dole pineapple plantations, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and sailing, a must-see is the Kualoa Ranch, a spectacular site of natural beauty where the Jurassic World, Kong Skull Island and Jumanji Hollywood movies, as well as the TV show Lost were filmed. But as golfers, it was imperative that we seek out the golf courses too. As Oahu boasts a warm tropical climate, it is a year-round golfing haven. The love affair between Oahu and golf began in the late 19th century when Scottish immigrants brought the game to Hawaii. Today, Oahu has roughly 37 public and private golf courses to choose from, making it the island with the most courses of any in the Hawaiian chain.
Kaneohe Klipper is a military course located on the Mokapu Peninsula on the east coast of Oahu, between Kailua Bay and Kaneohe Bay. Situated in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), this golf club only serves current and retired United States (US) military, Department of Defense civilians and US Government personnel. Generally, it is not open to the public. Former US President Barack Obama prefers to golf at Kaneohe Klipper when returning to his home in Oahu, and once hosted Malaysia’s ex-Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak for a round here. Arrangements were made for us to enter and play here by Jim, an American ex-colleague and friend of ours, who had previously served in the US Air Force and global aerospace company Boeing. After passing the identification and security screening at the entrance to the MCBH, we finally registered for a fivesome tee-off time. Jim elected to walk the entire 18 holes and, at his age of 90, put us younger ones riding the buggies to shame!
The course is immaculately maintained, with well-manicured fairways and greens. The Ko’olau Mountains frame the front nine and the Pacific Ocean coastline spans the back nine. The terrain was easy and flat on the first nine, but the back nine was challenging. We also found that our balls rolled further giving more yardage on every shot, likely due to the nature of the hard and dry volcanic soil, characteristic of the island. The notoriously spectacular 13th and 14th holes play right on the ocean and along these two holes and the 15th, the crashing surf was right along the fairways. These are definitely the most beautiful holes we have ever played. Throughout our time on the course, we witnessed many Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights and Boeing C-17 aircrafts circling the air space – either landing or taking off from the military airbase, undertaking training. It was an awesome experience. The Mokapu Peninsula is one of the most aesthetic places on Oahu in terms of natural beauty, and is steeped in Hawaiian tradition. “Mokapu” means “sacred lands” and ancient Hawaiians buried thousands of their dead in the sand dunes along Holes 13, 14 and 15.
Royal Kunia Country Club is situated at Waipahu, and is said to be the most picturesque golf course on Oahu. As the course sits high above the Ewa plains, it has expansive and postcard panorama views of Pearl Harbor, the gorgeous South Shore, skyline of downtown Honolulu and the famed Diamond Head.
The course has sprawling, emerald-green fairways bordered by stately palm trees and lush tropical foliage. The course conditions were exceptional and many holes have a unique layout. The greens were fast, many bunkers are in play, and half the holes have water features. It was a delight to play here and fairly easy to par many holes despite the backlog of flights, as it is a highly popular course amongst the “kamaaina” (locals).
We wish we had more time to experience the 30 other courses on the island! However the rest of our visit was filled up with cycling, hiking, sailing and reconnecting with old friends who live on the island.
