It’s still not clear when the Kona Country Club’s ocean golf course will open.
Renovations that began in the first quarter of 2013 could wrap up by the fall, but the completion date is still a moving target, the project’s superintendent John Hamilton said. Workers have installed a new irrigation system, new bunkers, enlarged greens and tees suitable for different skill levels on the 18-hole course. The club has also purchased a new fleet of maintenance equipment, he said. However, the owner, Yukio Takahashi, has not yet decided when the Keauhou facility will open, he said.
“We still have to build the new cart paths, sand in the bunkers and plant the native grass,” Hamilton said.
The mauka golf course remains closed, and there are currently no plans to open it in the future.
What the owner plans for the makai course isn’t clear. West Hawaii Today met Wednesday with Hamilton, president of Golf Resources International Inc., the company handling the renovations, and Michelle Abe, who is head of human resources for KCC. Hamilton gave an update on the renovations and took a photographer on a tour, but neither he nor Abe had much information on project costs, future plans, completion dates, nor who will be able to use the course. The future of the closed Vista Restaurant is also unclear.
An outgoing phone message at KCC tells callers the golf course is closed, with plans to open later this year.
The par-72 makai course was built in 1966. The mauka course was completed in 1991.
Lack of public courses are a sore point for Kona golfers, but there do not appear to be any fixes in the offing at the county level. Hawaii County stopped offering subsidies in 2012 that lowered green fees for West Hawaii residents. The fourth phase of the Kealakehe Regional Park Master Plan calls for a driving range to be built at the 190-acre site between the Kealakehe Police Station and the West Hawaii Civic Center. However, plans for the park could be hampered by a Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife proposal to list 18,000 acres of land between Palani Road and Waikoloa as critical habitat for endangered plants. Fish and Wildlife officials are still finalizing the plan.
The Hilo Municipal Golf Course, meanwhile, is undergoing extensive renovations, with the clubhouse, restaurant and greens receiving a makeover. It is the only public golf course on the island.