My apologies for the lack of reviews over the past two weeks but I've been making the most of a holiday in Hawaii. It's my 7th overseas adventure and 3rd to the United States. As part of this week's blog (since I have nothing to talk about film-wise), I thought I'd share some photos from my time away...
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| Spent 6 days staying in central Waikiki which has some beautiful beachside views. Tourism is the number 1 industry in Hawaii which gives it a Surfers Paradise type feel. |
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| Stepped off the plane and played my first round of golf at Ko'olau Golf Club - ranked by American Golf Digest as one of the 50 hardest courses in the country. They're not wrong about that. It's long (6,700m) and with hazard everywhere, it plays to a scratch rating of 78. I finished with a score of 84. It's a shame the course was in such poor condition. Definitely the worst of the courses we played. |
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| Yeah, so I put on more than 2kg for the 8 days that I was there. Oops. |
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| A photo from aboard the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial which is a key part of the Pearl Harbour tour. There isn't as much to see here as you might think (a half day tour felt too long) but it's still a moving experience. |
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| It's taken 37 years but I finally had the chance to shoot my first gun. Admittedly I didn't try any huge weapons (I'm a wuss and didn't want to injure myself) but it was a fun experience. Perhaps this was good therapy as my golf improved over the coming days. |
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| While I'd love to claim it was a golfing holiday, this is the real reason why I was in Hawaii - to celebrate the wedding of Morgan and Jordan who had a beautiful ceremony in a small chapel and then a picturesque reception at the Moana Surfrider which overlooks the beach. |
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| Couldn't get on the Palmer Course but was happy to play the Fazio Course at Turtle Bay (located on the north shore of O'ahu). It was a 90 minute drive to get there - made 30 minutes longer after I took a wrong turn on the freeway and had to travel 13 miles before I could do a u-turn! Finished with a round of 75 (3 over) which would have been tolerable except for the fact that playing partner Jordan Daley shot 7 under! |
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| Surfers in action at Sunset Beach which wasn't too far from Turtle Bay. The golfer I shared a cart with at Turtle Bay (George) was staying in Sean Penn's beach house just down the road! Sean (who is a big surfer) lent him the place for 2 weeks while he was off directing a movie in South Africa. Couldn't believe it. |
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| I'd only played one PGA Tour course previously (Pebble Beach) but that total doubled when I played the private Waialae Country Club - home of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Course was in magnificent condition. |
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| Was thrilled to shoot my best round of the trip at Waialae Country Club - finished birdie-eagle for a 69 (3 under par) off the championship tees which play to 6,400m. Not bad considering I was using a $5 putter from K-Mart (my latest effort to cure the yips). The photo above is from the 16th green in the tournament which has the famous Waialae "W" marked with the palm trees. |
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| After 6 days on the island of O'ahu, it was time to slip over to Maui for some quieter time (and of course, some more golf). |
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| The Challenge At Manele is a Jack Nicklaus signature design located on the island of Lanai (which has a population of just 3,000). To get there, you need to take a one hour ferry from Lahaina (on the west coast of Maui). It was my favourite course of the trip with stunning views on every hole! Above is the tee shot on the signature hole - a 182m par 3 that requires a full carry across a steep cliff. |
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| The Challenge At Manele would be one of the top 3 courses I've ever played (along with Barnbougle and Pebble Beach). After stumbling with double bogies on the 11th and 12th holes, I was happy enough to finish with a round of 81 (9 over par) off the championship tees. Would love to play this course again! |
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| The final round of golf was played at the Kapalua Plantation Course - home to the PGA Tour's Hyundai Tournament of Champions. It's almost impossible to walk this course given the huge elevation changes and distances between some of the tees. It too is very picturesque and featured some of the grainiest greens I've ever putted on. |
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| The famous second shot to the 18th at Kapalua. I tried to hit a slinging hybrid from 240m but came up short of the green. Chip shot for eagle hit the pin which was cool. After a tough front nine, came home with even par off the back to shoot 81 (8 over) off the championship tees. It's hard to believe the pros go so low on this course every year. It's a long beast! |
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