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Published in Golf Vacations
by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski © 2002 KAUAI, Hawaii I stood on the elevated 15th tee at Poipu Bay with a ridiculous grin on my face. Far, far better golfers than me had looked out from this vantage point, trying to judge how much the wind would deflect a tee shot, gauging the distance to the ocean on the left and the bunkers on the right, trying not to be distracted by the beauty of the setting. The optimistic advice from Poipu's head pro, Michael Castillo, flashed on the cart's built-in screen: "Easy one if you drive it straight and avoid the bunkers right." Can't go wrong with advice like that. Each November, when the rest of America celebrates Thanksgiving, Poipu Bay, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, celebrates golfing genius by welcoming the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. In this made-for-TV tournament, the winners of that year's four majors - the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA - go head-to-head for 36 holes for a purse of $1 million. Past winners on this blustery, Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed, links-style course have included Ben Crenshaw, Ernie Els, and Greg Norman, who eagled the par 5, 550 yard 18th in 1994 to win. Greg has won this tournament three times. But the record number of victories belongs to Tiger, who has won four consecutive PGA Grand Slams of Golf. Not that they come easy. In 2000 Tiger had to eagle the 18th twice in a row to win. After 35 holes, Vijay Singh was up one. Vijay birdied 18, Tiger responded with eagle. Tie. Then in playoff, again playing the 18th, Vijay birdied again. Tiger eagled again. Victory to Eldrich. Poipu Bay's 15th, 16th and 17th holes run along a seaside cliff reminiscent of Pebble Beach. Keen-eyed golfers have seen endangered monk seals sunning on the beach, as well as green sea turtles playing just outside the surf line and humpback whales leaping free of the sea. "I've had a love affair with Kaua'i," Robert Trent Jones, Jr. says. "I think it's the best island for golf there is." He was careful not to interfere with the historic sites. An ancient lava rock wall has been preserved and runs down the left side of the 16th, a dogleg left, par-4 501-yards with an elevated tee. With ocean on left, Jones put a lake on right side to catch sliced drives. As the 16th swings along the cliff, the fairway slopes gently but persistently toward the sea. The tradewinds will also urge your ball that way. The last 130 yards is slightly uphill, with the lava rock wall running up the left side and a bunker about 50 yards from the green on the right side. The elegant Hyatt Regency Kaua'i Resort and Spa, adjacent to Poipu Bay, also goes out of its way to respect Hawai'ian culture. "The tourism industry cannot operate as if it's independent from the community," explains Jerry Gibson, the Hyatt Regency's general manager. "It is our responsibility to protect the environment, heritage and culture that make Kaua'i such a special place to visit." This is a superb resort, not too quiet, not too overdone. It's set on 500-yards of white sand beach in one of the prettiest parts of Kaua'i, the almost-always sunny southern coast. To make sure you enjoy the good weather the architects have built five-acres of meandering saltwater swimming lagoons, and a pool with a terrific water slide. The 602-room Hyatt Regency Kaua'i, opened in November 1990 at a cost of $220 million, is built into a hillside overlooking Keoneloa Bay, where the rolling green mountains slope gently down to the sea. The resort showcases an example of "kama'aina architecture" that has come back in vogue in Hawai'i in the 1990s, bucking the megaresort trend of the 1980s. But what is "old-style Hawai'ian" architecture? Claire Morris-Dobie, director of public relations at the Hyatt Regency describes it as " 'appropriateness', a western-style architecture developed in Hawai'i as a response to the islands' climate and people. It has several easily recognizable characteristics, the most dominant one being a rather massive double-pitched roof with wide overhangs - the better to provide protection from Hawai'i's tropical sun and to catch and direct cooling trade winds." Another characteristic is the presence of lanais - all 602 rooms at the Hyatt Regency Kaua'i have these Hawai'ian verandas. The architects have also blended interior and exterior spaces - for example all dining facilities have splendid views of the ocean, the gardens and the lagoons. And, unusually, both ballrooms have natural light. In addition to the usual stack of awards for the resort, including one of the "World's Top 100 Hotels" by Travel & Leisure magazine (most Choice Resorts featured in Golf Vacations have been recognized as being among the finest resorts in the world), the Hyatt Regency Kaua'i has received numerous cultural and environmental awards. For example they were given the 2001 "Keep it Hawai'i Award" for their efforts to preserve and perpetuate Hawai'ian culture, and the "Investing in the environment" award from Hawai'i Investor Magazine for the heat-to-energy program which uses the warm air expelled by the resort's air conditioning system to heat the water for its guest rooms, laundry and swimming pools. All 900 employees of the Hyatt Regency Kaua'i are required to attend "Sharing Classes" run by Aunty Stella, a Kaua'i native whose informal "talk-story" sessions cover Hawai'ian language, place names, history, legends and traditions. Much of the sharing prepares employees to answer guests' questions, but some of the discussions relate to the employees on a more personal level. "We discuss their roles and their feelings about being part of the resort," notes Aunty Stella. The employees are not just providing a service; they provide the 'essence' of the resort. They share a part of themselves everyday. I urge them all to be storytellers, and that they feel comfortable to share their own story with each other, their children, grandchildren-and guests, if they wish." Inspired by the resort's cultural emphasis and the profound leadership of Aunty Stella, small groups of employees have taken on special projects, such as researching and classifying the many heiau (ancient places of worship) located along the resort's coastline, or learning protocol -the proper ways to carry out traditional Hawai'ian ceremonies. Other environmental initiatives include complimentary naturalist-led dune walks dealing with preservation of this fragile environment and providing health care to injured birds at the resort's on-property wildlife preserve. Guests can examine Hawai'ian history close up during the Archaeology and Dune Walk, conducted by the Kaua'i Historical Society, which focuses on the prehistoric native Hawai'ian sites located on the beach in front of the Hyatt and the lithified (turned to stone) sand dunes of Makawehi that stretch from the edge of the Hyatt grounds along the coast - these extensive archaeological excavations include artifacts that indicate this was an area of fishing peoples, with primary occupation dating from 600 A.D. But come back to the resort and watch the sunset while enjoying cocktails and Hawaiian music, followed by fine Pacific cuisine at Tidepools restaurant. Then finish your evening with a nightcap and cigar at Stevenson's Library. Get yourself a single-malt, play a round of billiards, listen to the nightly jazz, and browse the library of South Pacific literature written by Robert Louis Stevenson, Somerset Maugham, Jack London, and Herman Melville, reading tales that recount life during a quieter, less complicated time. Look out at the ocean and, well, even if you didn't eagle the 18th at Poipu Bay like Greg and Tiger, even if you didn't birdie it likeVijay, this is nevertheless a pretty good life. Poipu Bay Golf Course _____ Hyatt Regency guests can enjoy three rounds of golf at Poipu Bay for $300 plus tax. Another option is the Kaua'i'Golf Challenge. Play three of the best courses on the island. The courses: · Princeville Prince Course, arguably the most beautiful
and most challenging golf course in Hawai'i, designed by Robert
Trent Jones, Jr. The Kaua'i'Golf Challenge costs $346, which includes green fees, cart and practice on the driving range. Tel +1 800 634-6400 or +1 808 241-6000 for information and reservations.
SIDEBAR I
Confession. I love spas. Correction. I love good spas, full of the aromas of herbs and oils, open to nature yet private. I love the skilled hands of a good masseuse. And I love reading the succulent prose that most copywriters use to describe the services on offer. Here are some excerpts from the promotional material of the ANARA Spa at the Hyatt Regency Kaua'i Resort and Spa, where each massage room faces its own private garden. Actually, ANARA deserves a bit of flourish - after all, it is rated by Condé Nast readers as one of the top ten spas in North America and the Caribbean, and as one of the top ten in "America's best hotel spas" by Travel and Leisure magazine. Start by considering the name itself -- ANARA - A New Age Restorative Approach. Then choose from 75 treatments, including: "Anara Essence Body Masque. This fifty-minute treatment is an exfoliation of the body using Honey Mango Bath Gel and loofah pad. It continues with a clay body mask. A cellophane and bath sheet wrap keeps the mask warm. The face is then massaged with Papaya Blossom Oil and an herbal towel is placed over the face." Want something more New-Agey"? Try: "Pohaku -- an ancient technique with transformational powers - warm stones are placed along your spine and used as a part of the massage ritual. The stones help you to discover your own patterns of tension so that together with your therapist, you can start to release them." Or why not go for the whole thing. Listen to this luscious description: "Kapu Kai 'alaea (sacred bath and clay treatment). Alaea is
a red colloidal clay found only on three of the Hawai'ian islands
and only mined by Hawai'ian elders or kupuna. This one hour treatment
starts with ten minutes in the spa's eucalyptus steam room to relax
the body and open the pores. In a warmed room, the body is then
coated with a mixture of 'alaea, Hawai'ian sea salt, alowe and kukui
nut oil. The sea salt, collected on Kaua'i, contains 110 minerals.
Acting together with the clay and oil, the treatment exfoliates
the skin, draws out impurities and relaxes both body and mind. The
mixture is applied using lomi lomi Hawai'ian massage. The treatment
concludes with a twenty-minute therapeutic limu (seaweed) and salt
bath, using a pungent, mineralizing Hawai'ian seaweed. The bath
aids in stimulating blood circulation and detoxification of the
body." SIDEBAR II IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE LEGENDS Chances are you'll never get invited to play at Augusta National. You might balk at the exorbitant green fees of Pebble Beach. But you'd like to try your swing on some of the challenging courses where professional golfers have played. Come to Hawaii, which has perhaps the highest concentration of courses in the United States that have hosted professional golf tournaments. On Kaua'i you can play Poipu Bay, home of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf since 1994, and the Kiele Course at Kaua'i Lagoons, which hosted the event once, in 1991 (see accompanying article). On the Big Island of Hawai'i, you have even more choice. You can play at Mauna Lani Resort Golf Course, which hosted the Senior Skins Game (see Golf Vacations article by Daniel Navid, July 2002), Hualalai (open only to guests at the Hualalai Four Seasons Resort), home of the Senior PGA Tour's MasterCard Championship (see Golf Vacations article by Paul Sochaczewski, October 2001), and Waikoloa Beach course (see accompanying article in this issue by Paul Sochaczewski) which has hosted the LPGA Match Play Championship and the LPGA Takefuji Classic (formerly held at Kona Country Club, also on the Big Island). On Maui, a visitor can play the Plantation Course at Kapalua, where
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els fought it out on the par 5, 18th hole
in the 2000 Mercedes Championship (see Golf Vacations article by
Paul Sochaczewski, January 2001). Remain another day in Maui and play Wailea's Gold Course, which has hosted a Senior Skins Game. And there's no shortage of pro tournaments on Oahu, an island which has much excellent golf but which is often given unjustified short shrift by visitors eager to fly to the Neighbor Islands. The Waialae Country Club hosts the Sony Open. Turtle Bay's George Fazio course hosted the inaugural Senior Skins Game, which included Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gary Player and Sam Snead, and the Ladies Hawai'ian Open. Turtle Bay's Palmer Course, designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, hosts the Senior PGA Tour in October 2002 during the Turtle Bay Championship. (see article by Paul Sochaczewski in Golf Vacations January 1998)
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