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Sea Mountain

Pahala, Hawaii
Resort
Par: 72
Phone: (808) 928-6222
website

Men's Summary:
Tees Yards Rating Slope
Blue 6416 71.1 129
White 6045 68.6 124

Women's Summary:
Tees Yards Rating Slope
Red 5590 70.9 116
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Sea Mountain Golf Club

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The Bogey Golfer © Course Guides

Sea Mountain - Overview

Sea Mountain, the southernmost golf course in the 50 United States, is one of the most gorgeous, and most dilapidated courses I've ever played. It is the victim of a real estate deal gone bad. Currently valued at just over a tenth of its purchase price, the course is all but abandoned. The clubhouse stands empty, waiting for zoning approval to demolish it completely and start over. Temporary quarters are established in a real estate sales office. The course appears to get mowed about once every other week (unless the equipment is under repair, as it was when I played there). The greens are shaggy, with outbreaks of crabgrass. Traffic is light (not a lot of population to support the place), but the prices are right...

Ah, but the course...

Whoever designed this course (and that information is difficult to come by, given the current difficult circumstances) did a wonderful job. The first and ninth holes seem a bit out of place, like they belong to an underfunded muni. But the rest of the course is world-class. Starting from hole #2, you think to yourself at all times, "Gosh what a wonderful course. I'm playing a seaside course in Hawaii, and it is gorgeous!"


Sea Mountain Course Detail

This writeup was done from the blue tees (6416 yards). Usually, the Bogey Golfer doesn't play from the back tees, but this course is short enough, even at sea level, that length alone is not too big a problem. Having said that, I did run up a large number (52) on the front nine, but mostly because of penalty strokes for lost balls. (Two or three in the fairway, no less, because it hadn't been mowed lately!)

The first hole is only 290 yards, and wraps around a stand of palm trees. Hit your 200 yard straight shot down the middle, and a wedge into the green. (Yawn).

The course really starts on #2, a short 480 yard par 5. It's straightaway, and sets up an excellent vision of Tropical Paradise. The ocean is visible just the other side of the jungle flanking the eighth fairway to your right. Palm trees sway in the offshore breeze. Banyan trees lurk off the sides of the fairway. (Dang! I'm playing golf in Hawaii on a seaside course, and it's gorgeous!) Hit your driver down the middle. If you catch one really good, you can reach this green in two, despite the heavy air at sea level.

#3 is a 414 yard par 4, dogleg left. The tee shot calls for a bit of precision because of the trees framing the tee box, although the hole widens out nicely once you squeeze off your first shot. Remember, the hole doglegs left off the tee, so either start it up the middle with a draw, or crowd the trees on the left as much as you dare. (I dared too close, and they knocked me straight down...)

The fourth hole is 400 yards, straightaway, down a little swale, and back up the other side. It looks a little bit narrower than it really is, and driver is definitely the play here, especially because your drive is going to come down on an upslope, and it isn't going to get any roll-out. So even with a decent drive, you're still going to be using a mid-iron or long-iron on your second shot. On your approach, if you're going to miss, miss short -- I missed left and got thoroughly blocked out by a palm tree.

#5 is a 184 yard par 3, fronted by a big gravel bunker (not a spec of sand to be seen on this course...). Take an extra club -- you're probably hitting into a slight breeze.

#6 is another par 5, this one a bit longer (551 yards). As with #4, you're hitting cross a swale, and the upslope on the other side is going to kill any roll-out you might have been hoping for from your tee shot. So, hit your driver, you need all the distance you can muster. For you second shot, more distance is obviously better, but be thinking about two things:

  1. the green tucks in to the left behind a clump of trees, and
  2. trees are bad.
All of which is to say, keep it on the left half of the fairway for your best approach into this green.

#7 is a tasty little hole. At 293 yards, you might be tempted to disregard it, like I did #1. However, there is considerably more to this hole. First there's a gully full of junk to hit over off the tee. Second, there is a stand of palm trees in what appears to be the middle of the fairway. Third, the green is beautifully framed by varied vegetation. Let's take these in order:

  1. Ignore the gully. It doesn't really come into play, it's just there to get inside your head.
  2. Don't ignore the trees. They represent a choice. Either hit a club that's high enough and long enough to fly them completely (seven wood?), or steer left of them. Although you can't tell this from the tee, there is actually a lot of fairway beyond the trees. (Or you could just drill through them and hope to get lucky...)
  3. On your approach shot, do not hit long.
Great hole.

#8 runs back along the jungle parallel to the ocean. It's 406 yards, so you need a long straight tee shot. Fortunately, the fairway is plenty wide, so swing away.

#9 is a 170 yard par 3, to an elevated green. Because of the elevation, you don't want to miss long (the ball will roll out a long way away from the hole. Also, it's good to avoid the trap on the left. Actually any wide miss is bad for the same reason that a long miss is bad -- you'll kick off the sidehills, and roll away. So either hit the green, or be a bit short.

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

Background photo: #16, the Cedars at Salmon Creek, Brush Pairie, WA

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