September 2002. A year after 9/11 and the world was still in shock from the events that rocked New York City and Washington DC. I was still working for the Pointe South Mountain Resort but we had a new management company and my mentor (Brad Jencks) had left to take the position as General Manager at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii. Airlines were flying half empty planes to Hawaii and room rates were low. It was a great time for a vacation.
Now settle in for a long story and I promise I did not make this up. My wife and I were/are good friends with Kim Hinshaw who was a Captain for Northwest Airlines. My wife was giving Kim golf lessons and she was totally hooked on golf. Over a cold beverage we started talking about golfing vacations. In the middle of the conversation I picked up the phone and called Brad at Turtle Bay. I was patched through to his voice mail and I left a detailed message about the dates we were thinking about and that we were coming to play a lot of golf. Kim committed to getting us to Hawaii if I could set up the rooms and golf. I was excited at the prospect of the trip as Turtle Bay had 36 holes and was set to host a Champions Tour event in early October. I got the call the next day. “Bruce, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that we have rooms available and I can give you a great rate.” “What’s the bad news?” I asked. “Well Bruce, the bad news is that the week after you are here we are hosting the Turtle Bay Champions Tour event on the Palmer Course and the tour officials have asked us to close the course the week prior to the event.” I said, “That’s not bad news, we can still play the George Fazio course can’t we.” “Well you can but as GM of the property I need your professional input on how the Palmer Course conditioning is coming along so we will play the Palmer Course anytime you want and we will be the only players on the course.” Ok. This sounds like a dream vacation. Companion pass for the airfare, low rate for a luxury Hawaiian resort and we will have our own private, tour conditioned, course to play whenever we want. No way this could get any better. Brad interrupted my daydream, “One thing I failed to mention is that while you are here we are hosting the USA Miss Hawaiian Tropic Pageant. This means that you are going to have to put up with beautiful young women dressed in swimsuits constantly strolling around the property.”As my mind once again began to wander Brad interrupted again, “And so the ladies are not left out we also have the cast of Baywatch Hawaiian Wedding staying here and they work out in the fitness center every morning. I think Lynn and Kim will enjoy their workouts.” I asked if that was about it and Brad replied, “Yes except that you should know that we have a secret Mai Tai recipe and our Mai Tais are Internationally acclaimed as one of the top 5 Mai Tais in the world.”
I am really not making this up. Since we were flying standby we Fedexed our clubs to Hawaii and started our journey from Phoenix to Hawaii. Things went great getting out of Phoenix and we only waited a couple of hours to get on a plane in Los Angeles. Three passengers and only one seat available…in first class that is. The ladies wanted to sit together and talk so they actually volunteered to have me sit in first class. Who am I to disappoint? Well rested we arrived in Honolulu and at the car rental place the car we had reserved was not available so they upgraded us to a convertible…chaching! Picked up our clubs at FedEx and we were off to the North Shore and Turtle Bay. The rooms were great with an incredible ocean view and we quickly settled in to seats at the Hang Ten Bar and Grill in preparation for the Sunset Happy Hour that featured $5 Mai Tais. Now you can’t even get a Coca Cola for $5 in Hawaii so we decided that since there was fruit attached that the Mai Tai would suffice for dinner. As we sipped dinner we were treated to the most amazing sunset I had ever witnessed. Brad was not there that first evening but he left a message for us that he was available for a “course tour” at 11 am.
Lynn and Kim were up at 6 am to go to the fitness center for their workout. Lynn spent more time putting on makeup than she did for our wedding and since I seem to be allergic to working out they went down to the fitness center/Baywatch beefcake facility without me. When they returned I think I remember them saying something about J.D. and Hobie and that I should start working out but I really did not know that there were guys on the Baywatch show. I think I was the victor that morning as we got in the elevator and I held the door for 5 or 6 Hawaiian Tropic contestants who “squeezed” into the elevator with us. I am glad it was only a few floors down as I probably could not have held in my gut for more than 10 stories. We had a quick breakfast…real food because the Hang Ten Mai Tai Bar was not open yet.
It was 10:00 so we went looking for our host and found Brad in the executive offices letting his personal assistant know that he would be at the “tournament site “ for the next 5 hours. The Palmer course at Turtle Bay is incredibly scenic and although it had only been closed for a few days it was immaculate. Playing golf on a great course with your wife and good friends is just incredible. Add the fact that it is absolutely private to only your group and it becomes a surreal experience. It was incredibly quiet and each divot one made seemed like a crater that would show up on TV the following week. After golf we headed back to the Hang Ten and for a late lunch we had a Mai Tai that according to the menu consisted of Hana Bay Rum, Orange Curacao, Pineapple & Orange Juices Topped with Hana Bay Dark Rum Served on the Rocks . Now I happen to know at least one more ingredient that makes the Turtle Bay Mai Tai a world class drink but I am sworn to secrecy as disclosing this secret would be a devastating blow to the economy of Hawaii.
This was our daily schedule for the trip other than our overnight stay in Waikiki and the afternoon spent at the mansion on Diamondhead where Lynn learned how to surf but we will save that story for another day. One thought to add is that I am amazed at the places I have been privileged to visit and the people I have met thanks to the game of golf. This story is the 52nd story I have written in a year’s time. I will continue as long as I feel I have something you will enjoy reading.
