Holein1
France |
Posted: Sunday, May 2, 2021 @ 5:25:50 PM at |
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May 2, 2021 : Quietly made history, again, this time with... a big bang, an 18-hole Hawaiian beauty, set in Honolulu ! A little more than four months after his spectacular par-3 Downtown at Sylven Glen GC, where cars and trains were moving for the first time, he hit another home run : cars, trucks, buses running by, but also beautiful crashing waves, a plane flying by and, another first (unless mistaken), boats... sailing by ! Not only this course is spectacular, it is also quite tough and you will have to concentrate on every shot if you don't want to end up in the water or in the deep bunkers, surrounding a lot of the greens... From the 1st tee to the 18th green, you will be in for a treat : the par-5 1st hole, along high-rise buildings on the left side and dry lava fields across and on the right, near the green, will test your concentration while you will see cars running on the road on the left side. Then, after the short par-4 2nd hole (about 330 yards), with three bunkers near the green on the left side and another small one on the right, you will reach the very scenic right dogleg par-4 3rd hole, with a small lake on the left, lava on the right and the ocean with crashing waves further to the right : simply superb... If the right dogleg par-4 4th hole has a tough approach shot, with the green on the other side of a small cliff, wait until you see the stunning par-3 5th, with a sailing boat... floating by from the left side, and the green on the other side of a big cliff with crashing waves below ! In fact, I suggest that you wait a few seconds before teeing off, so that you can enjoy the gorgeous view... Speaking of gorgeous, the 6th hole is another par-3, this time much longer, with a great panoramic view from the tee area, with the ocean on the left and in front, high-rise buildings as a backdrop and nice bushes on the right side with a big bunker all the way across in front of the small green, with small lava mounds and rocks behind ! The left dogleg par-5 7th hole, with the ocean on the left and a boat sailing by from the right is another beauty : with buoys to delimit the swimming area, crashing waves, hills on the right side of the fairway, and the skyline in front, not to mention a small pond in front of the green, it is simply stunning visually... The right dogleg par-4 8th hole, on another hand, can be quite tricky with its small pond in front of the green, unlike the left dogleg par-4 9th, with the fairway hugging the sea on the left and its slightly-elevated green. On the back 9, the short par-4 10th hole (about 350 yards) has an undulated fairway along with a couple of trees in the way (on the right near the downhill green), and a very interesting building with a slanted rooftop in front, not to mention cars running below... I also like the very short (less than 500 yards) but tough sharp right dogleg par-5 11th hole, with a small lake on the right side of the slanted fairway, trees in the corner and a very big lava bed in front of the green, impossible to reach on your second shot. After two "easier" holes, the par-4 12th, slightly to the left, with four bunkers splitting the fairways and a slightly elevated green, not far from the road behind, and the par-4 13th hole, slightly to the right with a slanted fairway and trees surrounding the green, you will get away from the "city life" with the par-3 14th hole, with an elevated green and a few bunkers in front with the ocean, further back. The left dogleg par-4 15th hole offers another magnificent panorama, with a plane flying by from the left side, a big lake on the left, the lighthouse in front and the ocean behind and a big bunker almost all around the green : awesome ! Then after hitting two shots over a lake to reach the green of the par-4 16th hole, and another nice approach shot to the slightly-elevated green on the par-4 17th hole (a little bit to the right with a narrow fairway and the ocean behind), prepare yourself for the grand finale ! The sharp dogleg par-5 18th hole is not only spectacular, it is also quite treacherous as you will need to hit a perfect shot to land on the fairway (and not in the bunkers on the left), in order not to be too far from the green for your second shot : easier said than done... If you do, and are able to reach the green on your approach shot, you will then be rewarded with a gorgeous view of an imposing hotel (on the left of the green) and its big swimming pool, facing the ocean, where you might want to stay for quite a while ! Quietly, I will say it... loud and clear : after coming up in January with a spectacular par-3 course that set new designing standards, you upped the ante to another level with this 18-hole masterpiece : thank you so much for your time, efforts and... imagination !
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