Muni Mondays: Your guide to Honolulu golfing

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The claim regarding who and when golf was invented continues to be a controversial historical point for those who love the game.

As we know, the very first time that golf was mentioned it was described was by a professor at the University of Aberdeen which is located in northeast Scotland. In 1636, he described the game and made the first mention of a golf hole. It makes one wonder if he ever imagined golf would be played around the world.

Since then, golf has become a global phenomenon; and with that status comes a multitude of golf courses in all corners of the globe.

For Hawaiʻi, golf has become an incredibly popular sport for both professionals and recreationists. On Oʻahu, there are 40 public and private golf courses. For comparison, Los Angeles, which is approximately four times the size of Honolulu’s population, has 20 golf courses.

So, to say that locals take golf seriously is an understatement.

Due to its huge popularity, the City and County of Honolulu’s Golf Division has announced that they are partnering with Rick Hamada from iHeart Radio launching a new bi-weekly radio show that is called Muni Mondays. The show focusing on City golf courses or municipal golf courses, hence the name Muni Mondays.

“We are humbled by the awesome and unprecedented opportunity to be a part of the Rick Hamada Show, one of Hawai‘i’s premier talk radio morning shows on the AM dial and are truly grateful for his generous support and advocacy of City golf,” said Dita Holified, Department of Enterprise Services director. 

The pilot episode aired on Monday, Oct. 2 as part of Hamada’s show. And you can catch it every other Monday, with the next one broadcasting on Monday, Oct. 16 at 9 a.m. You can also access the show online at 8:30 a.m.

It’s a live program that features City golf administrator, Jordan Abe and assistant golf administrator, Nainoa O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan recently took the helm of the City’s Golf Division and is implementing plans to modernize City golf.

“Our Golf Division, under the leadership of two dynamic, young administrators, is working hard to improve the playability of its courses and have embraced comments and suggestions from muni-golf enthusiasts to enhance their game and experience,” added Holifield. 

Recently, the Golf Division took the imitative to upgrade the golf reservation system from a call-in only process to an online system. This will maximize tee time opportunities for all of the six municipal courses: Ala Wai, Pali, Ted Makalena, Ewa Villages, West Loch and Kahuku.

“Tune in to hear guest speakers, and Jordan and Nainoa share stories to support a revitalization of the game of golf in Hawai‘i and to ignite the passion for junior golfers—as muni-golf is a healthy and affordable way to recreate,” concluded Holifield.