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KGMB9 Weekend Team
Els Opens First Country Club in Ewa Beach Print E-mail
Written by Tim Sakahara - tsakahara@kgmb9.com   
January 12, 2009 05:54 PM

 
It's been a pretty good week for pro golfer Ernie Els. He made $189,000 at the Mercedes Benz Championship on Maui over the weekend. Then he opened his signature course in Ewa Beach today. But if you want to play there you may have to start saving.

Ernie Els christened his new course by giving a clinic on the 12th hole. He designed the course to be 7,400 yards, making it the longest course on Oahu, fitting for one of the longest hitters on tour.

"The skilled golfer can have a really tough taste here and obviously we've incorporated the trade winds into the design and quite a lot of water features so I'd like to say we have newer and more modern features than the other courses," said Els.

Hoakalei is a par 72 course with plenty of water hazards and deep bunkers to watch out for. It also uses a special Sea Dwarf grass that requires only half the water which makes for fast greens. Els says the course is so nice he’ll personally lobby the PGA to make it a tour stop. He’s even heard rumblings about moving the Mercedes Championship from Kapalua.

"We'd love to see a golf tournament here. I don't want to go too far and say moving the Sony or the Mercedes here but I'll be pushing the commissioner and see how far we can go maybe in 3, 4 or 5 years time we can get a golf tournament here," says Els.

If you want to play here it will cost you. It is a private course and membership starts at $30,000 with an international memberships starting at $100,000 and that's on top of the monthly dues which are $300.

Fifty people have already signed up, in part because it's the first private country club to open in three decades and the first ever in West Oahu. Still the down economy is a handicap in the back of Els' mind.

"We don't like to see this happening. You know obviously people are cutting back a lot with their money and golf will suffer a little bit but there are a lot of golfers out there and there are a lot of golf courses and hopefully it will come back pretty soon," said Els.

For more information click here to visit the Hoakalei Country Club.



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Last Updated ( January 14, 2009 08:14 PM )
 


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