Timeless Magic, 1965 - 2015

49 MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL up front on the edge of the water to add another shorter but more dramatic tee box and restored the old Black tee from Big 3 days Those new tees at No 3 I dont know it might have been illegal to do that he says Bobby Itamoto was a nervous wreck I said You do the work Ill take the bows and arrows The restored back tee proved to be the perfect place to film a memorable Spalding commercial The waves went up over my head remembers Ebersberger Another item that Ebersberger addressed was pace of play They had taken out all of the rough he says but that actually made things too tough I put in a little bit of rough around the perimeters of the course so the ball wouldnt funnel into the lava rock I also put in a one inch cut in front of the greens on the really steep holes to keep the ball from rolling all the way back down Our pace of play went down to four hours or so HAPUNA AND THE K ING By the early 1990s Mauna Kea was ready to expand and this they did with the creation of a sister property on the next beach to the south Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel The King Arnold Palmer and design partner Ed Seay were selected to create the new Hapuna course which opened in 1992 Situated on higher ground than Mauna Kea Hapuna complements its elder sibling beautifully Its environmentally sensitive design with minimal disturbance of its brown and black lava field surrounds was ground breaking in its day and its links like setup provides for firm fast conditions From just under 700 feet of elevation the course climbs and descends broad sometimes steep slopes and features views of the Pacific from every hole Accuracy is a must more so than power yet proper trajectory is demanded as the mostly treeless layout allows the wind to influence play to maximum effect A fistful of forced carries off the tee to slender islands of turf lend drama beauty and menace throughout the round and handsome panoramas of the crinkled coastline are soothing salve for the occasional topped shot R EES JONES AND MAUNA K E A TODAY In 2008 Mauna Kea turned back the clock in an effort to once again restore its golf course to elite status Rees Jones the younger son of Robert Trent Jones Sr was hired to re invigorate this iconic layout for the next generation Following a sympathetic renovation of one of his fathers most cherished creations Jones has restored the magic and the bite to Mauna Kea Dad built a classic course the younger Jones says Its a great routing with naturally elevated tee and green sites We wanted to bring it back especially the old style of sculptured bunkers In all Jones successfully restored many of his fathers bunkers deepening a number of them and relocating others several to be nearer the greens He improved irrigation and drainage carpeted the layout wall to wall with new grasses and added 200 yards to the tips bringing it to 7370 yards Greens were made more receptive to approach shots though the putting surfaces themselves now sport more internal contour Jones even tweaked the iconic third hole bringing back the heroic thrill to be had in conquering it at its post modern length of 272 yards My father was so happy to have that opportunity says Jones It triggered his imagination To restore this hole this course was important to me It was very special I went there with my dad when I was in college I went there on my honeymoon in 1968 Its always been near and dear to my heart It will always stand the test of time Through all of its journeys changes and the ebbs and flows of 50 years Mauna Kea undeniably remains one of golfs iconic courses What elevates it to the level of the elite Perhaps Ebersberger sums it up best He remembers one day in the early 1980s when Laurance Rockefeller told him in simple terms the appeal of Mauna Kea JD said Rockefeller Were not for everybody Were for the fortunate few Indeed Mauna Kea like its namesake mountain rises to rarefied air