My family and I traveled to Oahu, Hawaii around Christmas Break in 2011. My father requested to play golf in Hawaii. I researched several golf courses, but looked for a golf course that was FAR AWAY from touristy Waikiki. Makaha Valley Country Club was a golf haven nestled behind the lush mountains where Jurassic Park was filmed.
Above is a picture of my father posing for the camera. As we were golfing, there was a super strong smell of flowers. Funny enough, the smell was so pungent, that it was like a lady wearing too much perfume. We couldn’t figure where the smell was coming from. Finally, my dad put 2 and 2 together and we saw that the smell was coming from the reddish/pink plumerias.
Golf Play
Golf at Makaha Golf Resort around December 20th was ideal. This resort is more secluded and we were lucky to be able to see anyone. I booked a tee time for around 8:00 A.M. in the morning. Also, Makaha is not a town that many non native Hawaiians hang out in. Makaha is notorious for local native Hawaiians and it is really close to the North Shore. If you hang out in town for too long, they will figure that you are not from the “main island”. Luckily, I am a “happa howlie” which means I am half Japanese and I was able to “blend” in.
My father and I had no one trailing behind us, so we played the whole time with no one pressuring us from behind. We also didn’t have anyone playing ahead of us. This allowed for us to practice a bit more on missed putts. Also, if we hit our golf ball into a sand trap, we tried the shot again. The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS! Couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The only thing that happened was that it got REALLY HOT at around noon.
You can see that this golf course is very manicured. The grass was freshly cut. The property was lush with trees, flowers and exotic plants. The views were breathtaking and reminded me of Torrey Pines Golf Course when we were close to the coast.
This was like the Disneyland of Golfing!
This course was great for me, because I hadn’t played in a super long time. I was able to relax, not feel pressured and take my time on my shots. I was able to practice at a driving range before our tee time. Also, there was a putting green to get me warmed up. The guys at the pro shop was super nice. He gave me a discount. I think he thought I was Hawaiian! They were super laid back and told us to give them a holler if there was anything that we needed. Rental clubs were about $35.00. They were top of the line. I am a lefty and I was happy that they had a set of lefty clubs for me and for my father.
My father and I had a great day! My mother decided to come with us. She brought a book to read. She sat up in the club house and had wonderful conversations with the snack bar lady. My mom walked around parts of the course and took pictures to paint. My mom was stunned by the sparkling beauty that this course had to offer. It was one of our highlights of our trip. My father and I had to cut the game short because it was too hot! We still had a good time!
Travel 4 the Soul 