OAHU, HAWAII — Opened in 1999, Coral Creek Golf Club is Oahu’s most recently built golf course. Short par-4s playing into the prevailing trade winds are Coral Creek’s trademark.
The scintillating water features at the signature par-3 10th hole and No. 18 are noteworthy. Lushly appointed in Seashore Paspalum grass from tee to green, the foremost challenge, besides the wind, is how to putt the greens. While paspalum has no grain, the direction in which greens are cut dictates speed. Putts here tend to slow near the hole and break about half of what the golfer sees.
At Coral Creek, Nelson incorporated a run of culverts, the likes of which are rarely seen. He also laid a number of holes right into the beast. Some of Oahu’s best golf holes are found here, as the outside moves back in. Big hitters will be tempted to let the dog out on the downwind trio of the seventh through ninth holes. A shotmaker’s delight is found at Coral Creek’s crafty finishing hole, a short par-4 into the wind with a coral base pond to the right. (For more information, please visit www.coralcreekgolfhawaii.com)