Designer of the Drive
October - November 2010
An Exclusive Interview with Hawaii’s Most Prolific Golf Course Architect
UC-BERKELEY HAS PRODUCED ITS SHARE OF RADICALS, but Robin Nelson isn’t among them. The Class of ’73 landscape architecture graduate became one of the most successful Hawaiian golf course designers in history by sticking to a very simple notion: emphasize the islands’ natural beauty. (As Bill Clinton might have put it, ‘It’s the views, stupid.’) Leave it to others to torture players with trickery and excessive difficulty.
The formula has produced several Hawaiian classics in Nelson’s 35-plus years in business, including Mauna Lani’s North and South Courses, Royal Kunia and the Dunes at Maui Lani; Nelson has remodeled another dozen Hawaiian courses, among them Mauna Kea. His design firm, Nelson & Haworth, has built courses from Australia to France to India, and is currently working on projects as far-flung as Morocco and Pakistan. But Nelson will always be best known for his work in Hawaii, and that’s just fine with him.
What has made you so successful as a designer on Hawaii?
I suppose the fact that I lived there for close to 20 years has something to do with it. I spent a lot of time understanding the nuances of the culture and the wide variety of ecosystems. I pay particular attention to the average golfer, who is by far the most prevalent golfer who frequents Hawaii. I understand where they will be missing the fairway and how skilled most are to recover, or not. I’d also say that one of the biggest parts of my philosophy is to create variety in the game-to never produce holes that are similar and try to create unique experiences based upon the natural landscape.
Do you design differently on Hawaii versus elsewhere?
I don’t emphasize difficulty as much as trying to allow Mother Nature (or in many cases, Madam Pele) to dictate the design and create a memorable experience. Most players won’t necessarily have the luxury of playing it multiple times, so it is even more important that every hazard, and every route to the green is visible and understandable.
Do you ever worry that visitors obsess about the views at the expense of the strategy you put into your work, or is that just the cost of doing business here?
On the contrary, I think the view is the best part. I’m not ego-driven-my satisfaction is to receive a letter or a note from people who say the course was beautiful and the views were wonderful. Working with beauty within nature is the ultimate creative process.
What’s the favorite hole on Hawaii you’ve ever designed?
No. 11 at Ewa Beach Golf Club, and, No. 9 at Royal Kunia Golf Club, both on Oahu. The former at Ewa Beach is a classic, short par 4 that will fool most golfers into thinking driver off the tee; the latter is a spectacular downhill par five of 600 yards that affords probably the best view of Diamond Head, Waikiki, the Honolulu city skyline, the Ko’olau Mountains, Pearl Harbor, and the Pacific Ocean.
What’s your favorite hole on Hawaii that you didn’t design?
No. 11 at Mauna Kea. It was very bold of Mr. [Robert Trent] Jones [Sr.] to set up a par 3 playing directly toward the ocean, downhill, and very long. It was a great way to feature the vistas without actually using them as hazards other than as a distraction. Every time I play it, I get an adrenaline rush because you are so high above the green that it really takes a perfectly struck tee shot to make the green.
Any favorite “only on Hawaii” golf stories?
While building the Dunes at Maui Lani in central Maui, we needed to mark specific trees for removal to create the various fairways, and every tree on that natural sand-dune site was a kiawe. These trees are very thorny, much like gigantic rose or blackberry bushes. To walk among a forest to tie ribbons or somehow mark them was proving way too slow and treacherous. Right around the time we were building the course, paint-gun wars were popular. It was my idea to go to the local sports store, buy a paint gun and mark the trees from afar. It was fun and sped up the work quite nicely, until we boarded the plane to come back to Oahu. We didn’t think that one of our “tools” in our backpacks could be cause for a minor panic at the airport.
What trends are making you happy at the moment?
I really enjoy the diversity of all the newer courses. I also very much like the trend of courses being built in areas of redevelopment- where the site has been used before for a different purpose, such as a quarry or landfill. Some of these courses are remarkable. I’m pleased, too, that the general public is finally learning the huge benefits that golf courses bring to an environment, something we in the industry have known for years but have had an uphill battle in certain situations because of public misconceptions.
What’s your favorite non-golf activity?
My favorite activity on Hawaii, outside of golf and sipping mai-tais while enjoying an ocean view, is to whale-watch. The only skill it takes is to relax as deeply as you can. I remember one February day when we were rebuilding a few holes at the Bay Course at Kapalua, we counted over 30 whales breaching within a 10-minute period. It was magical and I’ll never forget it.
