Nearly 50 years to the day that Rev. Abraham Akaka of Kawaiahao Church blessed the Mauna Kea Golf Course, his nephew Danny “Kaniela” Akaka Jr. carried on the tradition. Nearly 50 years to the day that Rev. Abraham Akaka of
Nearly 50 years to the day that Rev. Abraham Akaka of Kawaiahao Church blessed the Mauna Kea Golf Course, his nephew Danny “Kaniela” Akaka Jr. carried on the tradition.
Akaka Jr. performed Friday a traditional Hawaiian blessing honoring the course’s 50th anniversary and the 41st annual Pro-Am. The blessing marked the official beginning of a yearlong celebration of Mauna Kea Golf Course’s 50th anniversary, having debuted Dec. 8, 1964, and Mauna Kea Beach Hotel’s 50th anniversary which will be highlighted with a gala weekend July 24, 2015.
Mauna Kea Golf Course, recently named to Golfweek magazine’s list of “Best Resort Courses 2015,” was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., who pioneered a technique of creating a soil base from lava rock that became a staple of Hawaii Island golf courses. The course was christened in a legendary match 50 years ago, in December 1964, by golf’s “Big Three”—Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.
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