• O’ ahu Island boasts 37 golf courses, the most in Hawaii.

• Kaneohe Klipper offers stunning views of the Ko’ olau Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

• Royal Kunia Country Club is known for its panoramic views of Pearl Harbour and Diamond Head. Well-maintained and manicured fairways at Royal Kunia.

| April. 2025

BY FARAH SUHANA SARJI & PAUL RIZAL BAIRD

HERE are plenty of outdoor activities to do on Oahu Island, which can thoroughly entertain and amuse you for at least a week. Aside from biking around the island, hiking the Diamond Head Crater, visiting the Dole pineapple plantations, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and sailing, a must-see is the Kualoa Ranch, a spectacular site of natural beauty where the Jurassic World, Kong Skull Island and Jumanji Hollywood movies, as well as the TV show Lost were filmed. But as golfers, it was imperative that we seek out the golf courses too. As Oahu boasts

Kaneohe Klipper’ s famously scenic 13th Hole.

a warm tropical climate, it is a year- round golfing haven. The love affair between Oahu and golf began in the late 19th century when Scottish immigrants brought the game to Hawaii. Today, Oahu has roughly 37 public and private golf courses to choose from, making it the island with the most courses of any in the Hawaiian chain.

Situated in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii( MCBH), this golf club only serves current and retired United States( US) military, Department of Defense civilians and US Government personnel. Generally, it is not open to the public. Former US President Barack Obama prefers to golf at Kaneohe Klipper when returning to his home in Oahu,

Followed by the equally beautiful elevated 14th Hole of Kaneohe Klipper.

and once hosted Malaysia’ s ex- Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak for a round here.

The Ko’ olau Mountains frame the front nine and the Pacific Ocean coastline spans the back nine. The terrain was easy and flat on the first nine, but the back nine was challenging. We also found that our balls rolled further giving more yardage on every shot, likely due to the nature of the hard and dry volcanic soil, characteristic of the island. The notoriously spectacular 13th and 14th holes play right on the ocean and along these two holes and the 15th, the crashing surf was right along the fairways.

Throughout our time on the course, we witnessed many Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights and Boeing C-17 aircrafts circling the air space- either landing or taking off from the military airbase, and is steeped in Hawaiian tradition.“ Mokapu” means“ sacred lands” and ancient Hawaiians buried thousands of their dead in the sand dunes along Holes 13, 14 and 15.

It was a delight to play here and fairly easy to par many holes despite the backlog of flights, as it is a highly popular course amongst the“ kamaaina”( locals).

We wish we had more time to experience the 30 other courses on the island! However the rest of our visit was filled up with cycling, hiking, sailing and reconnecting with old friends who live on the island.–