(Photo by Matthew Thayer/The Maui News)
Waiehu GC’s Matt Allen earned Superintendent of the Year recognition from the Aloha Section PGA for leading a renovation that replaced the 175-acre, oceanfront course’s Bermuda grass greens with salt-tolerant SeaStar Seashore Paspalum. The 15-month project was accomplished within the course’s regular annual budget.
After a two-year renovation that saw all 18 greens enlarged and regrassed, the municipal Waiehu (Hawaii) Golf Course is once again a popular place to tee it up, The Maui News reported. And the quality of the renovation is what has golfers excited to play the 175-acre, oceanfront layout.
“They just love it,” golf course starter Hollie Dalapo told the News. “Everybody’s coming back. Business is definitely picking up.”
Veteran golfer Alvin Inouye offered his own review of the course’s condition to the News as his sixsome walked from the 11th green to 12th tee.
“It’s the best it ever was,” Inouye said. “If it wasn’t for golf, most of us would be dead. This is the best it’s been as far as I’m concerned. Mostly the greens, they’re super nice.”
Much of the credit for the course’s revival, the News reported, is being given to Waiehu GC Superintendent Todd Allen, who has overseen the turnaround during his nearly five years at the property. The renewal even caught the eye of the Aloha Section PGA, which recently bestowed the organization’s 2019 Superintendent of the Year award on Allen.
That was part of an impressive sweep of Aloha Section PGA Ho’olaulea Hawaii Golf Awards, the News reported, Ceremony on Oahu, with Waiehu’s Pro Shop co-owner Art Rego also slated to win Merchandiser of the Year honors, and the course’s golf pro, Lee Sakugawa, winning Teacher of the Year recognition.
Allen told the News that his award reflected the efforts of everyone on Waiehu’s 17-member course- and-grounds crew.
“I’m so proud of my guys,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of growth. They’re taking great pride in the golf course. Everywhere they go, golfers are thanking them.”
“I am extremely humbled and honored that my peers recognized all the work we put in,” he added. “It [the award] was never on my mind. I was just trying to improve the golf course. I appreciate the support of the Parks and Recreation Department and Maui County.”
Waiehu’s renovation started with the back nine’s greens in the summer of 2018 and continued with the front-nine greens in the summer of 2019, the News reported. The full course was reopened in September of 2019.
While the greens previously featured Bermuda grass that was struggling to survive, and was thus susceptible to weeds and disease, the News reported, they are now planted with salt-tolerant SeaStar Seashore Paspalum. The result is lush, hardy greens that require less water, fertilizer and chemicals.
While replacing the turf, Allen also took the opportunity to enlarge the greens and surrounding collars, the News reported. At the fronts of the greens, he created approaches where balls that land short have a chance to bounce onto the putting surface.
“All the greens were small,” he said. “I just used how they naturally were designed and just expanded them out to where most golf courses are designed in today’s age.”
Stopping by the green on No. 5, Allen pointed out how the former postage stamp-sized green now has receptive landing areas on and near the enlarged surface, the News reported. The downwind, downhill 234-yard par 3 may still be one of Maui’s toughest holes to par, especially when the trade winds are howling, but it is no longer as punitive to shots that aren’t perfect.
The key to motivating his crew during the renovation, which had to be completed within the course’s regular annual budget and without any extra funds, was creating a belief in accomplishing the “end vision,” Allen said. That vision, he explained, was “to give the best possible playing conditions for the local golfers and the County of Maui, within the budget we have.”
By comparison, the News noted, 2019’s complete redo of the Kapalua Plantation Course’s greens, tees and fairways cost more than $10 million.
Even with what they’ve accomplished, the News reported, Allen and his crew are not content to rest on their laurels. They have now moved on to improving the tees, and hope to begin redoing the fairways soon.
“We still have a long way to go, but we’re getting there,” Allen said.
Pro shop co-owner Rego, a PGA pro who has been at Waiehu GC for more than 30 years, told the News that while it was tough sledding for his business during all the renovation work, the quality result is beginning to pay dividends.
“The course is the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” Rego said. “It’s getting better every month. Todd [Allen]’s doing a really good job, and the workers are happy too.”
Players have always raved about Waiehu’s beautiful views, but now they walk off the course talking about its greens, Rego added. “Overall, we haven’t had any bad comments,” he said. “For the past two years it’s been pretty quiet, but they are coming back.”
Sakugawa, the course’s golf professional, told the News that the renovation has brought Waiehu GC to a new level. “I think Todd and his crew did an awesome job,” he said. “I’ve never seen the greens like this before. He and his entire crew are out there working hard.”
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