聽Carlisle: 18 Holes For $4.50
Updated: 2/28/11 9:02 a.m.
Mayor Peter Carlisle made a bold claim about golfing (and golfers) in his State of the City speech last week.
“The ‘most dangerous’ people, but more accurately, the ‘most vocal’ people to deal with on the planet Earth are golfers over the age of 60!,” Carlisle said in his prepared remarks. “Joking aside, they pay a weekday rate of $4.50 for a round of golf. The public pays the rest.”
The price of a round of golf may seem manini as fodder for a Fact Check 鈥斅燽ut many in the city take talk of the links very seriously (this Civil Beat reporter included).
And $4.50 for a round of golf sure sounds cheap. Too cheap. So we looked into the claim.
Update A previous version of this Fact Check failed to recognize the monthly, weekday only, 10-round limit per month rate of $45, which would equate to $4.50 a round if a senior played all 10 rounds.
According to the City and County of Honolulu’s , public golf prices aren’t offensive but 18 holes cost more than Carlisle says, unless a senior plays 10 rounds at the monthly rate.
Of the city’s six public courses – , , , , and 鈥斅爐he cheapest price for a single round of golf is $8.
That rate is only available to seniors and persons as “totally disabled” with a Golf ID Card, for play on a weekday and during twilight hours. The is issued to residents and can be obtained from courses by showing a valid Hawaii driver’s license.
Seniors can play 18 holes for $8 at Kahuku (the cheapest course) if they play during twilight. At all other courses, the price is $11 for a full round during the week during regular hours.
For non-seniors that play a full round during the week, run $16 for someone with a Golf ID Card and $46 for someone without the card. The weekend rate is $20 dollars with the Golf ID Card and $46 without one. Kahuku charges $12 for 18 holes with a Golf ID Card and $14 on weekends.
To rent a cart, add another $20 on top of green fees. (That’ll be $9 if you only play nine holes.)
A junior with a Golf ID Card could make it through nine holes during twilight hours for only $4 during the week. But again, a full round costs twice that.
Technically, the mayor is correct that a senior can play a round of golf for $4.50. However his text gives the impression that that is the standard price for seniors, which is not the case.
