Meet Robin Nelson and Rodney Wright, the only golf course architects based in Hawaii. After building courses from France to Singapore and from Australia to Japan, Nelson & Wright are finally getting raves -- and respect -- at home. Their local creations include Sandalwood on Maui, two new nines at Mauna Lani and another nine at the Kona CC on the Big Island, and West Loch Municipal and Ewa Beach on Oahu. And their Royal Kunia Country Club, set on the edge of Kipapa Gulch, is due to open by summer. The Makakilo course that was stopped midway through construction because the developer ran out of money was also, alas, their design. And they've done redesign work at Honolulu Country Club, Waialae CC, Makaha West, Mauna Kea Beach and others.
The challenge at Mauna Lani was particularly daunting. Nelson & Wright were asked to create two new nines and blend them with the existing award-winning course.
When the original course opened in 1981, Rick Woodson, the former Honolulu Advertiser sports editor, wrote: "If they ever put a golf course in the Smithsonian, this is the one."
So it was rather like cutting the Mona Lisa in half and asking an artist to create two new half-faces that are better than Rembrandt's original but still match it.
The result at Mauna Lani is nearly seamless. As with Ray Cain's original design, Nelson & Wright created works of art, not just golf holes. If anything, they were even more creative in their use of the black lava flows. The South Course, home of the Senior Skins Game, absorbed the old front nine, including the "signature" par-3 hole across a turquoise bay. Now the 15th hole, it is not even the most dramatic hole on the South. That distinction goes to the new seventh. A par-3 of 220-170-115 yards, it plays downhill over convoluted patches of black lava with the deep blue Pacific immediately to your left. Mark Rolfing, the ABC-TV golf analyst who lives on the oceanfront fifth hole at Kapalua's Bay Course and whose family has a home on the first hole at Pebble Beach, says: "This hole doesn't take a backseat to anything I've ever seen. It's beautiful!"
It was particularly dramatic a year ago when we saw a humpback whale leap free of the ocean just offshore. It was so thrilling, and the scenery is so fabulous, I barely noticed three-putting for bogey.
While the South Course gets the notoriety as the site of the Senior Skins Game, Rodney Wright says "we think of the North Course as the true championship layout."
Blended with the former back nine, the North is at least two strokes tougher.
"We'd already done some redesign work on several holes," Nelson says. "But Rodney and I spent a lot of time on the site, trying to get it right. We wanted to make certain that the integrity of the golf course didn't change. Why fool with perfection."
(Lodging and dining at Mauna Lani, incidentally, are as good as the golf. Conde Nast Traveler rated the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel the second best tropical resort in the world, Andrew Harper's lists it as the second best resort in the U.S. Rooms begin at $275, one night double-occupancy. Conde Nast rates the neighboring Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani at No. 5 in the world. Rooms start at $225. Both hotels boast world-class chefs who feature Hawaii Regional Cousine.)
Nelson & Wright are also on the forefront of a new national trend -- building eco-friendly courses. At West Loch on the banks of Pearl Harbor, they actually increased wetland areas, providing new bird habitat. Species who have taken up residence in the new wetlands include the endangered Hawaiian stilt. At Ewa Beach, they planted fairways and common areas with paspalum grass, an Australian hybrid of Bermuda grass that thrives on brackish water up to 50 percent saline. The result is a saving of millions of gallons of fresh water -- and a lot of dollars.
At Sandalwood, Nelson & Wright planted hundreds of sandalwood trees. Sandalwood, a native Hawaiian species, was harvested nearly to extinction by 1825 by the monarchy, its fragrant wood sold to China. "The thing that pisses me off is that I'm a strong environmentalist, but I'm getting a bad rap from some people just because I design golf courses," says Nelson. "The truth is, a golf course can improve the environment." Before Nelson & Wright went to work, the Ewa Beach site, for instance, "was nearly impassable with kiawe and coral and broken beer bottles. There was no topsoil. It had become a dumping area for junk cars and rubbish," Nelson says. "More to the point, the site had been a toxic waste dump of questionable origin. We found a lot of powdered chlorine lying around, which we immediately got rid of." They also preserved several stone fishing shelters used by ancient Hawaiians.
But building golf courses that birds like won't get you a lot of jobs unless you can also build good golf courses. Nelson & Wright have built some gems in Hawaii.
At West Loch, they proved that a municipal course can be beautiful, challenging and maintain terrific putting greens.
Down the road at Ewa Beach, a private course that is open to public play two and a half days a week, they created a rare new course with loads of character -- because so many trees were preserved.
Nelson & Wright are obviously on to something because their Sandalwood course on Maui also has great character, although the hilly terrain is quite different from Ewa Beach.
On the Big Island, Nelson & Wright's handiwork is again evident on the back nine of the Ali`i CC, which was paired with the former Mauka Nine of the Kona CC (which Nelson designed with Billy Bell). But they took their names off the project because the developer altered their plans so much -- such as moving the 18th green 100 yards from their placement.
While each of their designs is different, and challenging, there is something about playing a Nelson & Wright course that makes it a pleasant experience. That could have something to do with a suble shift in philosophy.
"Our fairways are getting a little wider," Nelson says. "It tends to make the golf more enjoyable when you're not always looking for your tee shot in the trees. We're also using fewer trees and more natural grasses." They are also fond of false fronts for greens.
It is their par-3s that particularly stand out -- although Nelson says: "We also design great 4s and 5s." Yes, they do. The 10th hole at Ewa Beach is one of the best par-5s in Hawaii. But their 3s really do stand out -- each a lovely little work of art.
Nelson & Wright, a subsidiary of Belt Collins architects, have been building so many courses around the world that they've opened a Singapore office and last fall added a third partner, Neil Haworth. Because he is a native of Canada, Nelson, Wright & Haworth have, in turn, formed a Canadian corporation, which allows them to do business in China. They have three courses currently under construction in the People's Republic, with two more in the design phase.
"I'm learning to speak Chinese," says Nelson. "And my new friend is a Communist. He's a cool guy. I'm the first white guy he's met who wasn't Russian. They like us because we don't drink like the Russians." They also don't charge like Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear requires $1 million just to talk about designing a golf course for you.
"We charge about a third of what Nicklaus does," Nelson says. "But we're catching up."
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