Golf has been at the fore of HPR's coverage this week following the PGA Tour's announcement to convert the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club into a PGA Tour Champions tournament.
Former pro golfer and sports commentator Mark Rolfing joined HPR along with Honolulu Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon earlier this week to discuss the new tournament.
Now HPR takes a look at a new campaign launched by various golf resorts in Hawaiʻi called “Play Hawaiʻi Golf.” It's a golf-industry led initiative to promote the sport of golf across the Hawaiian islands.
To learn more about the campaign, HPR took time to speak with Greg Nichols, director of Ko Olina Golf Club, and Alex Nakajima, general manager of Kapalua Golf.
Interview Highlights
On why the 'Play Hawaiʻi Golf' campaign was launched
GREG NICHOLS: What ultimately transpired was, with the loss of The Sentry and then the loss of the Sony Open, we realized that that was going to really create a major impact, negative impact for the state. Not only for the golf industry, but for the entire industry, in terms of the economic impact and the social impact, you know, from the charitable aspect of it. You know, Friends of Hawaii Charities, and how much they do, how much The Sentry gave back to Maui. And so we saw a need to try to band together and try to create this, which is really a kind of a marketing co-op, or marketing hui, if you will, to try to address that, the challenges that were coming from the loss of those tournaments.
ALEX NAKAJIMA: With the tournament loss, we were nervous about what the future will bring, and the loss of exposure. And I also understand other parts of the world, strong golf destinations are popping up in South Carolina or Mexico, Cabo, Bahamas, and we need to stay strong and make sure Hawaiʻi is an attractive destination for all the visitors who's thinking about vacationing into Hawaiʻi, and we want to be front and center. So this is an effort for collaboratively all of us to put our funds together and then send our message to the mainland.
On what makes Hawaiʻi a premier golf destination
NAKAJIMA: I think first things come to mind is the beauty. We have ocean, green, lush vegetation … We have so many varieties of golf courses here on the islands, and as you know, each islands are so beautiful and different. And who wouldn't want to come over here if you're a golfer or a vacationer? And golf is just one of the activities when people travel to Hawaiʻi. There's so many other activities, but it's also important that golfers, golfing type of families … they will buy and dine out better than others, and you know these are the important customers for the hotel, too. So it was a perfect match. We have a direct contact with these clientele, and then our efforts, I believe, will go long ways to market Hawaiʻi.
On the economic benefit of “Play Hawaiʻi Golf”
NAKAJIMA: Hotels will benefit, and then dining outlets, restaurants will benefit, car rental, airlines, and so on. And we also have an investment back to our future local communities. So what we're thinking is part of the revenue will go back to the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association or local junior associations to invest into the future of the business, because that's our future right there. They'll be playing golf along the way, so we want to complete that cycle. It's not just for golf, it's for the entire industry and the locals as well.
NICHOLS: Beyond the economic impact is just the social impact that the game brings. You know, there's so many different benefits from playing golf beyond the economics. I mean, it's really the open spaces, it's the time spent with your family and your friends and loved ones, and you know, we already talked about the charitable aspect, but golf is a really great sport for health and wellness.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 9, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
