Round Played: Koloa Landing Charity Golf Tournament –
By Wayne Halm –
On November 5th 2016 Ike Cockett and the Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu put on a charity golf tournament at the Hokuala Golf Club. The format was a four man scramble – and it was just plain FUN..
(Click on any picture for a larger view – then use the browser ‘back’ button.)
Ike
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I played in this tournament. My buddy Ike is the General Manager, and my wife Sally is the Director of Sales and Marketing, at Koloa Landing … but I didn’t play on their team. Before they remembered to tell me about the tournament, Laine Malson with Enterprise Rental Car asked me to play on his team.
Laine
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The Enterprise Team – Laine Wayne and Dax … we had a fourth, Ian, but he couldn’t make it.
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The tournament had a large turn-out. It worked the Hokuala staff pretty hard … but they did an excellent job. We started promptly at 8am.
Kellie and Fran loading carts
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Priscilla keeping golfers supplied
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Michael and Kurt transferring bags
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Laine, Dax, and I began on the 285 yard downhill 16th hole. I stepped on the tee first and hit a 7-iron 165 yards down the middle. Dax asked, “Why didn’t you try to hit the green?” I answered, “Because I didn’t want to lose the first ball I hit.” Laine and Dax both went for the green … we played my ball, missed the putt, and parred the hole.
Laine watching his tee shot
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Aerial view of the hole
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On the 18th fairway we encountered a family of Nene (Hawaiian Geese). The adults are handsome birds and the chicks are adorable little fluff balls. These guys are an endangered species and protected by law.
Perhaps the Mother remembered the accuracy of my shots … anyway she ushered her family well into the woods.
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The boys were happy on 18 – we started out birdie string.
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Having just re-opened from renovation, the front nine was young. But it played well and looked great. Kudos to the grounds-keeping staff. We continued our birdie string.
The par 5 fifth hole
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The par 3 eighth hole – there was attempting prize on this hole … to Sally’s pain I didn’t win it.
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We had some challenging shots, but we continued our birdie string right through the 15th hole. Yeah, that put smiles on our faces.
Laine, Wayne, and Dax – Birdies and ocean views … what more could a guy want?
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Well, hugs from a pretty girl are nice too.
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Laine and Dax – big smiles after the last putt dropped.
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We finished with a gross 16 under. That was good enough to get me more hugs from pretty girls … and a fine seat to watch the winners get their prizes.
This was my prize – not bad for an old guy.
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But there were a lot of other prizes – just handing them out kept Ike busy.
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This charity golf tournament went off exceptionally well. Someone worked really hard on it … and I appreciated that.
Morgan
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Laine, Dax, and I didn’t have the lowest score – but we likely had the most FUN. This was the way golf should be.
I have a 2016 goal of playing golf with 100 people I haven’t met. Laine and Dax are numbers 40 and 41. Want to be in that number?
Come play golf with me.
The Hokuala Golf Club 808-241-6000 http://www.hokualakauai.com
The Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu 808-240-6600 www.koloalandingresort.com
Return to Golfing on Kauai Home Page and read about other Rounds Played
Golfing on Kauai 
‘Aerial view of the hole’ – WOW!!!
Looks like you all had a wonderful day 🙂 and you must be all good for hugs for at least a month lol!
Aloha Wendy,
It was a fantastic day. Laine and Dax are great guys and we laughed constantly. It was my kind of golf. You know me, and you are exactly right, I found the hugs nice too.
A Hui Hou,
Wayne
Wayne
The tournament sound awesome. You finished with a 16 under and did not win….that is crazy! Glad to here you had a great time.
Cheers
Jim
Aloha Jim,
Yes, it was an awesome day – just a lot of guys out having fun on the golf course. And yes, I suspect there were a good many “mulligans” in the scores that beat us, but it was all for fun … and it was.
I attribute our low score to a huge advantage the tournament gave us. One guy on our team didn’t show up so they allowed one of our players to hit each shot twice. I used that several times to dramatically improve our approach shots. But the real advantage came on the greens. It took me two holes to convince the guys that I was not the best putter on the team – after that Laine simply did not miss his second putt. It was a fun day … and I think I learned something.
A Hui Hou,
Wayne
Aloha Wayne,
That is some respectable score you guys put up! Scrambles are a fun format, and good on you for staying “disciplined” on the risk-reward 16th hole. Sometimes its good for the first guy to play safe and take the pressure off the rest of the team and in many cases, as you proved, that safe shot ends up to be the best one. I am not sure I’ll have the same discipline on that hole!
Cheers
Josh
Aloha Josh,
I did contribute to the score … though it was probably more in strategy then in execution. In just a couple of weeks we’ll give you a chance to hit the green on the 16th hole. I’m looking forward to that.
A Hui Hou,
Wayne