PGA Grand Slam of Golf
05 Dec 2003 - 06 Dec 2003Poipu Bay GC., Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii
 |
||||
|
||||
|
|
|||
|
||||
Mike and I arrived early this week, with a group of friends from the US and Canada. We went deep-sea fishing on Tuesday, and came home with one skipjack and many seasick fishermen! We have managed to play Poipu Bay twice this week, once on Thursday in the pro am. We played with the VP of the PGA of America, Roger Warren, and several of his guests. It was a lot of fun.
Poipu Bay is a wonderful, 18 hole championship golf course, on 210 acres of oceanfront, featuring spectacular vistas and challenging play. 7 of the holes have water hazards, and the course itself is beautifully landscaped with tropical plants and flowers. It has rained a lot here this week, so the golf course is really wet and plays longer than the 7081 yards it normally plays to. The greens are in decent shape and very grainy, so it will be imperative to hit the ball on the right side of the hole.
The course is designed very well, taking into account the strong winds that blow over the island. Short par 4s play into the wind and the long par 4s play downwind so yardage on the card is deceiving. The 7th hole is a very good hole. As the shortest par 3 on the course, it is a short yet difficult hole, 152 yards over water onto a green that is hard to read. Mike will probably use an eight or nine iron as it plays directly downwind.
The back nine is very scenic, with the last four holes running along side the ocean. Hole #11 is a downhill tricky par 3, playing to 193 yards. Water guards the front right side of the green, and it is very difficult to pick the right club, as the wind is strong on this hole.
The 16th is Poipu Bay’s signature hole, as well as the most difficult hole on the course. At 500 yards, the par 4 follows the ocean, guarding the entire left side of the hole. The green is also guarded on the right by water that makes it difficult to hit it close to the hole. This forces players to favor the right side of the hole which brings the rough into play, making 16 a good, challenging hole coming down the stretch.
The 17th is a 220-yard, downhill par 3, playing directly downwind. Club selection is also difficult on this hole due to the challenging, strong winds. Hole # 18 is a reachable par 5, with water guarding the front left of the green. The water will force players to keep the ball to the right, which makes it very difficult to make birdie from the right side of the green, as the center to back of the green runs away from the player.
This will be a very exciting two days. Since we have never played a competitive round at Poipu Bay, it is hard to predict what scores will be, but I expect them to be low. My season finale prediction for first place is 10 under par.
Thanks for reading,
Brennan Little
