Golf isn't just a sport; it's an integral part of Hawaii's economy, supporting jobs, generating revenue, and driving tourism. Through this analysis, we gain valuable insights into the economic footprint of golf in our state, reaffirming its status as a vital industry.
As stewards of Hawaii's golf courses, it's crucial for us to understand and appreciate the economic impact of our sport. By sharing this report on our website, we aim to inform, educate, and advocate for the continued growth and prosperity of the golf industry in Hawaii.
We encourage all members, stakeholders, and golf enthusiasts to explore the findings of the "Hawai’I Golf Economy 2023 Economic Impact Analysis" and join us in celebrating the economic power of golf in Hawaii.
Together, let's continue to champion Hawaiian Golf and its positive contributions to our communities and economy.
Key highlights from the Economic Impact Analysis include:
Combined financial outlay of $393 Million annual from operational revenue and capital investments.
Over $1 Billion dollars generated in annual golf tourism and golf-related retail spending.
Homes values adjacent to golf courses increase property values by an estimated 32% resulting in real property tax collections in golf course communities amounting $2,695,761.
Direct economic impact of $1.8 Billion and $1.6 Billion from indirect economic impact from core industries bringing the total economic contribution to the Hawai’i economy of $3.4 Billion dollars.
A very brief summary: EPA is responsible for registration and re-registration of pesticide using the “Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act”. There is potential and maybe current litigation by Non-Governmental Organizations against the EPA for not adhering to the “Endangered Species Act.”Hawaii has a large number of endangered species…..golf courses use pesticides.Use, regulation, registration and re-registration of pesticide use on golf courses is up for evaluation.
…Dan Husek
Message from Dan Husek
President HGCSA
THIS IS IMPORTANT…. Please register for the presentation to be made by GCSAA.
Message from Russell Dooge, CGCS Executive Director HGCSA
Please read the email communication from Chava (Director, Government Affairs – Golf Course Superintendents Association of America), this is about the EPA and it concerns Hawaii golf courses.
THIS IS IMPORTANT
Russell Dooge, CGCS
Hi everyone,
It has been a while since we talked to EPA about the Hawaii pilot. They have not rolled anything out yet but it was mentioned yesterday at an IR-4 meeting in Raleigh. I have not heard any more news on the proposed roundtable in Hawaii in October/November. I will let you know when I do.
EPA is dealing with Hawaii separate from the other 49 states. They have rolled out a much more potentially problematic pilot called the Vulnerable Species pilot affecting the 49 states. We have been focused on it the last month. We are working with supers in Milwaukee right now on preparing comments to EPA.
I wanted to bring back to your attention the two data sets that Jennifer Connolly shared with me:
Ahead of our next discussion with EPA on the Hawaii pilot, would you mind having members of the Hawaii GCSA board take a look at both of these data sets and provide any insight. I am interested to know if the golf courses are being mapped correctly. Dan said things were not accurate around him. Also, I am interested to know what types of endangered species are listed at or near your golf courses.
Also, please have your chapter members sign up for the FIFRA-ESA 101 webinar we are hosting on September 27. The USDA and Bayer and Syngenta are helping us educate the membership on the upcoming ESA challenges and alerting everyone to the proposed pilot projects.
Good Monday morning and I hope everyone has a good MLK Day.
Did everyone get a chance to watch any of the golf this past weekend? Dave and his staff did a great job, the course looked and played great. We have one more golf Tournament to be played in Hawaii, this week the Senior PGA Tour play on the Big Island. Lastly I want to again remind you to please donate to Rounds 4 Research.
Russell Dooge, CGCS
I hope this finds you all doing well and preparing for what promises to be another busy year throughout the islands.
I am reaching out to you today on behalf of the Hawaii GCSA Board of Directors concerning the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) Rounds 4 Research program. Rounds 4 Research was started in 2012 to address funding shortages in the areas of turfgrass research, education and advocacy. To date, the auction has raised more than $2,000,000 nationally.
The premise of the program is simple: Golf facilities can support the effort by donating rounds of golf for two or four or “stay and play” packages and other items that will be auctioned online through a nationwide auction from April 24- 30.
The proceeds from the online auction are designated by the participating facilities to their local GCSA chapter (in this case, Hawaii). 80 percent goes to the chapter with the remaining 20 percent going to EIFG to assist with marketing and technical costs of running the national auction. The auction is conducted through the bidding platform biddingforgood.com. Donated items can be viewed at https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/auctionhome.action?vhost=eifg.
The Hawaii GCSA can then decide how to best spend the funds in the areas of research, education or advocacy efforts.
I’m asking all of you today to consider donating a twosome or foursome from your facility to the auction. In times of declining membership, participation and sponsorship, these additional funds can be critical to our chapter to continue providing the member services you have become accustomed to.
The donation process can be completed online and takes approximately 10 minutes. Please visit http://www.eifg.org/research/rounds-4-research/donate-a-round/online-form and complete the form.
The participating facility has the ability to restrict rounds to certain days and times as well as the option of setting your opening bid. You can send in your own certificate for the donation or the EIFG will create a certificate for you.
If you have any questions concerning Rounds 4 Research, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I appreciate your time and consideration. You will be assisting your local chapter as well as raising funds for the future of the game.
Historically bunker sand for Hawaii Golf Courses have been varied and somewhat inconsistent
The most consistent source of local sand is Coral Sand (Calcareous). Maui Dunes Sand, although its long term availability, remains in question at this time; tends to work well in environments where this sand is abundant on the golf property. Courses like Maui Lani, Pukalani, Maui Country Club and Wailua Blue are primary examples. Inland Beach sand (Mokuleia) from the North Shore of Oahu, when available, is our third and generally, least available local sand for bunkers.
Conditions — Limitations and Characteristics of these three local sands
Hawaii has few native sources for bunker sand. Each of the three sand noted are classified as Calcium Carbonate or Calcareous sand. They are what remain of the original organic organism that once flourished as coral reefs around our islands. Each material, as a bunker sand have one similar characteristic, over time and combined with moisture and pressure they will compact and harden!
Most abundant is ‘Coral Sand or Greenside Bunker Sand’ currently sourced from the leeward side of Oahu this quarry was once the primary source for Lime Sand used in the manufacture of Cement (powder). This quarried coral rock is crushed into finer aggregate sizing and into sand for making concrete or for golf bunker’s. Because of its characteristic calcium content “Very High”, this sand tends to compact and harden to a solid surface within several weeks to a few months; example, the beach area, surrounding the Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. The maintenance required to achieve acceptable playability with aged in-place coral sand is extremely labor and equipment intensive.
Second most available is Maui Dunes Sand presently available on Maui and exported to Oahu for making concrete. This once highly abundant local calcareous sand has, over time, become a finer particle size and increasingly difficult to source away from Maui. Like Coral Sand, Maui Dunes Sand will compact and harden but, under the right conditions, it will take a few years. This characteristic difference is related to its “High” calcium content. If this sand can be placed at depths of 20-30 inches it will drain and remain playable for several seasons. However, sizing of the current supply is very fine, with 80% of its particle size retained on or passing #60 sieve (0.250mm).
The least available is, Oahu’s ‘Inland Beach Sand’; better known as Mokuleia Sand it historically is the most popular sand for bunkers. Like the other local sands sources Inland Beach Sand was once our coral reef system on the North Shore of Oahu. But unlike our other two sources this sand is the most stable of the Calcium Carbonate sands. It contains the “Lowest” amount of Calcium and as a bunker sand will remain playable, un-compacted for many seasons. Our best example of its long working life is the recent bunker renovation at the Waialae Country Club. The sand removed after nearly twelve years was Mokuleia Sand and when removed much of the sand was reused in other off course applications. But, like all Calcareous Sand over time, moisture and pressure the Mokuleia sand will compact as well.
Insure the Quality of Your Local Sand
Regardless the use, of your preferred calcium carbonate/calcareous sand it is most imperative the sand you source is a Washed product. Insuring unwanted fines, organics and organisms do not enter your golf course environment.
Silica Sand
Can there be one ideal bunker sand for the Hawaii golf market? Since 1972 Hawaiian Cement has been importing silica sand from all over the South Pacific initially used in the manufacturing of Cement over the past 20 years we have continued to import silica sand for golf specific applications. In our search for the Ideal bunker sand we pay close attention to the silica content of our sourced sands, as well as, its gradation, angularity and crusting characteristics. Silica sand at 97 % or greater silica content is highly stable and makes a high quality top dressing material and has shown to be above average performance as bunker sand with a typical penetrometer value 2.3-2.4 for G-3 & New Castle Blend.
The Ideal Bunker Sand Blend?
We believe we have found a better sand alternative for bunkers and possibly the Ideal bunker sand for most golf courses.
Over the past several months we have been working with the Head Professional & Superintendent at Olomana Golf Links on Oahu. Olomana has traditionally placed coral sand (Natural Beach Inland sand or Greenside Bunker Sand) into their bunkers. Over time the sand compacts and become unplayable for traditional bunker shots. Like most courses in this economy bunker maintenance is a lower priority on the daily jobs list; in this case they only get hand racked. Last November, on our recommendation, they agreed to experiment with blending the Hawaiian Sandman G-3 Silica into one of their more problematic bunkers.
They added approximately 1-2 tons of G-3 silica sand into a green side bunker on hole #9 and using a tiller blended the new sand about 4 inches deep into the bunker. Two days later a rain event filled all bunkers on the course with standing water, except this newly blended bunker. Ganin Asao, Head Golf Professional stated “it’s the only bunker on the golf course that drained; it’s never done that before”. Since that time Olomana has continued adding G-3 Silica to other bunkers. Now in late July the original bunker is still quite playable with no change in maintenance protocol.
The Ideal bunker sand would produce a penetrometer value of 2.5 or greater. We believe the approach taken by Olomana is a model for courses that currently have Coral Sand Bunkers. This custom blending approach is a cost effective alternative that will prolong the working life of your bunker during this difficult business climate.
The Makena Resort Beach & Golf Club recent analysis of our Native Sand (Calcium Carbonate) and G-3 silica blend reported a bunker penetrometer of 2.6 by one certified golf testing company and 3.3 by another. This bunker blend is two parts silica sand and one part Native Sand to color match native areas on their property.
We believe blending silica with, in-place, calcareous sand can create the Ideal bunker sand for your environment. Olomana estimates their custom blend may be 50/50% with silica sand but your requirement may be different.
Mixing silica sand into your calcareous bunker sand will give you a stable non sticking sand particle that will not compact and will dramatically reduce the compaction characteristic common in calcareous sands. Benefits include improved drainage of your existing bunker complex, reduced maintenance and labor hours on bunkers and reduced cost to upgrade your aging bunkers and improve the possibility of maintaining the color of your existing bunker treatment.
There may not be one bunker sand that is Ideal for all Hawaii’s courses, but this blend in-place approach may result in the Ideal bunker sand for your property.
Features of a Custom Blend bunker Sand:
Control firmness of your bunker face and fairway bunkers
Penetrometer; create the ideal value for your clientele
Customize your bunker blend for your climate
Control crusting characteristic
Make maintenance easier
Benefits of a customer Blend Bunkers Sand:
Greater Player, Member, guest enjoyment
Prolong working life of your existing bunker complex
Improved aesthetics of bunker complex
Cost effective approach to improve bunker condition
Lower labor cost to maintain bunkers
Bunker play lessons for teaching staff
For more information about a customer sand blend for your bunkers contact Nate Lopez at Hawaiian Sandman 808.673.4213 or [email protected]
I hope this finds you all doing well and preparing for what promises to be another busy year throughout the islands.
I am reaching out to you today on behalf of the Hawaii GCSA Board of Directors concerning the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) Rounds 4 Research program. Rounds 4 Research was started in 2012 to address funding shortages in the areas of turfgrass research, education and advocacy. To date, the auction has raised more than $782,000 nationally.
The premise of the program is simple: Golf facilities can support the effort by donating rounds of golf for two or four or “stay and play” packages and other items that will be auctioned online through a nationwide auction from April 26 – May 2.
The proceeds from the online auction are designated by the participating facilities to their local GCSA chapter (in this case, Hawaii). 80 percent goes to the chapter with the remaining 20 percent going to EIFG to assist with marketing and technical costs of running the national auction. The auction is conducted through the bidding platform biddingforgood.com. Donated items can be viewed at https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/auctionhome.action?vhost=eifg.
The Hawaii GCSA can then decide how to best spend the funds in the areas of research, education or advocacy efforts.
I’m asking all of you today to consider donating a twosome or foursome from your facility to the auction. In times of declining membership, participation and sponsorship, these additional funds can be critical to our chapter to continue providing the member services you have become accustomed to.
The participating facility has the ability to restrict rounds to certain days and times as well as the option of setting your opening bid. You can send in your own certificate for the donation or the EIFG will create a certificate for you.
If you have any questions concerning Rounds 4 Research, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I appreciate your time and consideration. You will be assisting your local chapter as well as raising funds for the future of the game.
As Clarence Nakatsukasa approaches his 80th birthday, he is closing his latest career, presumably so he can play more golf.
Fittingly, the Hawaii Golf Course Superintendents Association awarded its executive director a Lifetime Achievement Award at February’s annual golf Ho‘olaulea. Nakatsukasa will retire as ED the end of this year.
He will retire again. The award was given for his service to Hawaii golf, his country and community. There have been several retirements.
Nakatsukasa graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1959 with a degree in history. Then he set about making some.
His Army career covered the next 20 years and he retired — for the first time — as a major. Military awards included the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious and Commendation Medal and Vietnam Campaign and Service Medal.
His golf game also was impressive.
“Golf gave me a lot of opportunities,” Nakatsukasa recalled about his military days. “I met a lot of people, played courses all over the world — on the mainland, in the Far East and Hawaii. The game really helped me in my career so I’m trying to give back. That’s why I’m still doing it.”
When he came home, Nakatsukasa was a Personnel Management Specialist with the Army Corps of Engineers and at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, along with Administrator for COMSAT, a satellite communications company.
His golf career — basically his third career — wouldn’t start until 1988, when his kids were out of school. He was a starter at Ala Wai and Golf Operations Assistant at Ted Makalena, then at Pali.
In 1994, the history major accepted the position of Golf Course Superintendent at Ala Wai, one of the busiest courses on the face of the earth. A year later, he began serving on the HGCSA board of directors.
Nakatsukasa’s training for his new position consisted of a huge course load ahead of time and hours of reading course maintenance material. He talked early and often with his new peers, along with suppliers of everything from equipment to fertilizer.
“I learned a lot from them,” he recalls, “and experienced a lot on my own.”
There was a lot to experience, with his assistant by his side. They usually showed up at Ala Wai at 4:30 a.m. and finished between 2-3 p.m. Nakatsukasa, who worked Pali simultaneously for eight “overwhelming” months, would be back on the weekend to play, and keep an eye on the place.
Along with the crowds, the flat course also has to deal with an abundance of salt in the soil, which causes bare spots. Its greens, which can be surprisingly good for a municipal course, are immensely difficult to maintain and nurture.
Along with everything else — for a multitude of reasons some courses face, and many do not.
“We’d be trying to do things to the golf course, but we’ve got so many people on it that it’s really hard to work around them,” Nakatsukasa recalled. “We had a lot of unhappy people when we’d close certain sections of the golf course. I always tried to talk to them and said, ‘Look, we’re trying to make it better for you guys,’ so they kind of understood.”
Ala Wai, with its legendary six-somes, not only deals with massive numbers on the course. It has relatively few maintenance workers, particularly in comparison to resort and private courses.
“The difficulty was not having the resources,” Nakatsukasa says. “Meaning primarily people and money and equipment. We have to make do with what’s available. We had to work hard and you had to get your workers convinced about what the job was all about, and why it was important to do the best you could.”
He sometimes still speaks about Ala Wai in the present, but he retired — again — 10 years ago. He quietly became the HGCSA’s first Executive Director. “For me,” he admits, “it’s a volunteer position.”
Golf must be a passion. He has worked too hard for it to be anything else.
“Maybe I’m crazy,” Nakatsukasa says. “I always felt along the way that golf was really good to me so I’m always trying to give back to something that did a lot for me.
“When I was playing and in the military I was a pretty decent golfer. A lot of people, I’m talking about generals and officers and members of Congress, I’ve gone out and played with them because I was involved in the game. That helped me in my career. Once I was done with that I needed to give back so that’s what I want to do now.”
Sounds like yet another career might take him into his 80s.
The rover ant, Brachymyrmex sp. (Figure 1), alate swarms have been a seasonal nuisance at some of Hawaii’s golf courses for the past several years, especially at Hualalai Golf Course / Resort on Big Island. Colonies are mainly formed in soil underneath turfgrass, bases of trees, and in leaf litter, etc. Alate swarms, attracted to objects in bright colors such as white/yellow shirts, throughout the warm summer months drive golfers off the course, as mating flights usually occur from May to August.
Figure 1. Brachymyrmex sp. alate (winged male) (photo by Hara, A.)
Several entomologists and ant experts have been consulted to review the situation. Major observations and findings prior to this research are briefly summarized as below:
Brachymyrmex sp. appears to infest all turf areas throughout Hualalai Golf Course / Resort.
Alate (attracted to light) swarms throughout the warm summer months drive golfers off the course.
Standard treatments (neonicotinoids, chlorpyrifos, bifenthrin) have not been very effective.
A bait manufactured on sugar and protein base may be attractive to Brachymyrmex sp.
This research aims to identify effective means to control rover ant, Brachymyrmex sp., at Hualalai Golf Course / Resort, which has been negatively affected by this nuisance turf pest. The golf course superintendent at Hualalai golf course received many complaints from golfers over the years, and is positioned to resolve this situation. In recent observations and communications with several other golf course superintendents, golfers, and home owners, it became apparent that this nuisance ant pest had affected several other golf courses in Hawaii, possibly at Ted Makalena Golf Course, and more. Therefore, this research will not only benefit the superintendent at Hualalai Golf Course / Resort, but will also bring broader benefits to other affected golf courses in Hawaii.
Objectives
The overall objective of this research is to test the efficacies of several newly developed granular ant baits against the rover ant, Brachymyrmex sp., both in the lab and in the field. Specifically,
Objective 1: To determine which ant baits to be included in the field trial, based on lab tests.
Several relatively new granular ant baits were tested in this project, including Maxforce Complete (by Bayer), Advance 375A (by BASF), Sieta (by BASF), and Intice (by Rockwell Lab), with and without sugar amendment.
Objective 1: To determine which ant baits to be included in the field trial, based on lab tests.
Seven baiting treatments were tested in the lab to determine which were to be included in the field trial. These were Maxforce Complete (MC), Advance 375A (Ad), Advance 375A + Sugar (AdS), Sieta (Si), Sieta + Sugar (SiS), Intice (In), and Intice + Sugar (InS). The ratio of bait to sugar amendment was 1:1. A control without any bait was included in the lab test. There were 4 replications for each bait and the control. Therefore, 32 petri-dishes were used in the lab test. Five active Brachymyrmex sp. individuals were placed in each petri-dish. Some soil collected together with Brachymyrmex sp. was placed in each petri-dish to mimic the field environment. Attractiveness to baits was observed, and dead ant numbers were counted right after setup, and then at 18 hours, 30 hours, and 48 hours after these ants were exposed to the baits.
Based on lab test results, selected baits were included in the field trial at Hualalai Golf Course / Resort on Big Island, Hawaii. These were MC, AdS, and In. The field plot layout, including the check/control, was as below:
Each plot was 20 ft by 20 ft, and there was a 3-ft buffer area between any 2 adjacent plots to avoid cross-treatment contaminations. Baits were applied at manufacturers’ recommended rates, and irrigation in the field trial area was ceased for 3 days after baits were applied.
Four random spots (1.5×1.5 sq ft, 1 ft deep) were dug in each plot to evaluate Brachymyrmex sp. population density on the scale of 0-3, 0 being no ant at all, 3 being extremely populated with ant eggs, pupae, workers, and alates. Three people evaluated at the same time, and the average of three people’s ratings was considered the final evaluation for each spot. Initial Brachymyrmex sp. population density was evaluated prior to treatments. The same three people did post-treatment ratings at 2 weeks after treatments. Data were subject to appropriate statistical analysis.
Results So Far
As briefly mentioned in Materials and Methods, Maxforce Complete (a.i. 1% Hydramethylnon), Advance 375A + Sugar (a.i. 0.011% Abamectin), and Intice (a.i. 5% boric acid) showed the best overall baiting effects in the lab tests. Maxforce Complete, Advance 375A + Sugar, and Intice resulted in 60-90% mortality at 48 hours. Therefore, these 3 granular baits were included in the field test.
In field trial, however, we did not observe similar results as in lab tests. Figure 2 below shows the ant infestation reduction 2 weeks post treatment. Only Intice shows minor efficacy compared to the untreated control. This result is somewhat unexpected, but not unusual as sometimes lab test results do not match well with field test results due to uncontrollable factors in real world situations.
Figure 2. Field trial results
Next Steps
With additional support from GCSAA, we will continue exploring possible means to control Brachymyrmex sp. issues. Some additional granular ant baits will be tested, such as Distance (by NuFram), and modified Intice (with different a.i.), and others. A granular ant bait with fipronil as active ingredient (such as Top Choice by Bayer) will also be tested if permission from Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture is obtained. The research approach will be similar, i.e. conducting lab test first, and then field trial. Repeated applications of selected ant baits may be conducted and field efficacy tested.
In addition, we will explore the possibility of suppressing mealy bugs in the turf area and test if that will result in lower Brachymyrmex sp. population. For this approach, we will include popular insecticides for mealy bug control, such as TriStar, and others.
Acknowledgements
Funding from HGCSA, GCSAA, and Z. Cheng’s Hatch and Smith-Lever projects at CTAHR UH Manoa made this research possible. We also thank staff members at Hualalai Resort for help with field trial, and graduate student in Z. Cheng’s lab for help with lab test.
References
Arnold H. Hara, Cas Vanderwoude, Susan Cabral, and George Nakashima, 2012. Rover Ant, Brachymyrmex obscurior, at Hualalai. DRAFT COPY (05/02/2012). Unpublished data.
Personal communications with Mr. Earl Sanders (Hualalai Resort),Mr. George Nakashima (Crop Production Services), Mr. Art Guzman (Rockwell Labs), and others.
A few courses which may be of interest to the professional turf industry; Windward Community College has the only educational program on Oahu dedicated to helping develop turf professionals.
We have a 3 hole par 3 facility to enhance the learning experience.
AG 182 Turfgrass Management meets Wed. 1:30-3:45pm, 1/12-5/13, 3 credits
Identification, maintenance, and planting of turf grass for home, Park, and golf course areas. Discusses irrigation, fertilization, species, and pest control.
AG 40 Turfgrass Equipment meets TH 5-7:45pm 1/13-2/11 1 credit
Teaches the operation and maintenance of equipment used in turf grass operations.
AG 36 Pesticide Safety meets T 5-7:45pm, 2/14-3/18, 1 credit
Pesticide application, formulation, toxicity, transportation, storage, disposal, and rules and regulations governing their use.
This course is worth 17 DOA recertification credits
AG 235 Irrigation Principles and Design meets W 5-7:45pm 1/12-5/13 3 credits
Fundamentals of irrigation principles, plant, soil, water relationships,
soil moisture sensing devices, delivery systems, set up of drip,
sprinkler. Use of chemigation
Often when I reach out to you, it is to give a status report on the association or to make you aware of a change at GCSAA. But, today I have the opportunity to share some significant news that has resulted from GCSAA’s dedication to advocating on your behalf.
Yesterday afternoon we were contacted by the EPA to let us know that GCSAA’s request for the extension of the fenamiphos (Nemacur) end-use date has been granted until Oct. 6, 2017. We have been given a three-year extension of use of existing Nemacur stocks. Nemacur is used to control the major genera of nematodes attacking turfgrass. This includes root knot, root lesion, sting, lance and ring nematodes. The EPA plans to publish a notice in the Federal Register on the extension next week. We greatly appreciate the EPA’s understanding of the needs of our industry.
Our advocacy efforts are a team effort and are making a difference for superintendents and their facilities. A large part of GCSAA’s advocacy efforts take place behind the scenes, with meetings in Washington or in statehouses around the country or in countless phone calls to stakeholders and decision makers. But it is not just GCSAA staff or the Board or the Government Relations Committee who are championing the cause. Outcomes such as this one would be impossible without an engaged membership playing a vital role.
