KAILUA-KONA — Golfers interested in taking a few last cracks at Big Island Country Club off Mamalahoa Highway will have to do so sooner than later.
A timeline for the BICC’s transition from a public golf course to a members-only club has not yet been established. But Terry Clark, general manager of BICC, said a massive investment by the new owners to turn the area into a resort destination, develop residential properties surrounding the course and add amenities that will include a new clubhouse and restaurant are being fast tracked.
The switch from public to private would presumably either coincide with the development or happen soon after it’s completed.
“We are envisioning the golf course going private,” Clark said. “The clubhouse we hope to have done by winter of 2018, and we’re working on it every day. What would normally take three years, we’re fast tracking in one year with a tremendous amount of capital improvements.”
BICC was purchased by OAK Capital, UNIVA Capital Group and UNIVA Resort LLC., in November of 2015. Clark said the group invested more than $1 million last year alone to add a fleet of John Deere equipment, increase the course’s maintenance staff and redo most of the bunkers.
An aggressive weed eradication program has also been implemented, he said.
Plans for the new clubhouse and restaurant were approved by the county on April 20, and Clark said the timeline for every improvement and change to what the area offers, how the course is managed and who its primary customers will be is dependent on one thing.
“It’s really about how quickly we can restore the course to its original grandeur,” said Clark, adding the speed with which the land is to be transformed will add to the overall cost, which is yet undetermined.
“This golf course over the years has changed owners several times and in the last five to seven years it has been neglected for course conditions and capital improvements,” he said. “When we start work on the clubhouse, we’ll consider other amenities such as swim, tennis and a learning center.”
The goal is to make not only the course but the surrounding properties a destination for the community and tourists.
Clark said fears about how the aggressive and massive overhaul of the property will impact local wildlife that resides on the golf course should be allayed by the plans themselves.
There are plans for “palatial gardens” on the surrounding properties that will support an abundance of flora and fauna, he said. Their creation isn’t just for future residents, but also for other community members and tourists who aren’t interested in golf.
Clark said the course gets visitors even now who come wanting only to bird watch, but the golf being played around them makes that a precarious endeavor. The gardens will create a supply for that demand.
As for the animals that reside on the course, Clark said they won’t be disturbed. If anything, the upgrades to the course will be upgrades for them as well.
“We protect the nene goose for the Big Island,” he explained. “We have more nene that we manage for the wildlife services than any other place on the island.”