Around And Around They Go
What else would you call playing 101 holes of golf in one day? That’s exactly what these Boys Scouts of America-Aloha Council board members will be doing Oct. 16 at Makaha East, and you can join the fun. An Island custom that never grows old is mutual giving. It’s the Golden Rule for givers. In other words, if I pledge money to support your walk for mankind, I expect you to return the favor when I’m selling Portuguese sausage for my ladies club.
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If you’ve heard that golfers are a bit crazy, the 101 Holes of Golf may be proof. But those who tee it up every year do so for a good cause: local Boy Scouts
An Island custom that never grows old is mutual giving.
It’s the Golden Rule for givers.
In other words, if I pledge money to support your walk for mankind, I expect you to return the favor when I’m selling Portuguese sausage for my ladies club. It’s our small-town survival mode to help one another, so that we all thrive. Hawaii’s residents are known to be among the most generous charity supporters in the nation.
We’re happy to help a good cause.
The products we hawk are, of course, offbeat and diverse. We sell chili, mango chutney, Huli-Huli chicken, Christmas trees, mochi and cookies of every shape, size and flavor - with and without nuts.
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Then there are the fundraising special events, including gourmet food-and-wine feasts and elaborate golf tournaments.
In the latter category there is a unique challenge called 101 Holes of Golf.
It’s not known exactly who is to blame, er, who started this concept, or when, but it is mecca for golfers who endure five-and-a-half rounds of golf plus two more holes for good measure - nonstop.
“Don’t call me, dear, I’ll be on the golf course - from dawn to dusk!”
That will be the scenario for 40 avid golfers Friday, Oct. 16, at Makaha Valley Country Club (Makaha East). The occasion is the 15th annual 101 Holes For Scouting, a benefit for Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council.
Co-chairs Russ Saiki of Oceanic Time Warner and Franklin Tokioka of Island Holdings lead the charge to raise up to $45,000 to aid Scout programs. Individuals and teams play for donor pledges ranging from $1 to $100 per hole.
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At great personal sacrifice to their weekend schedules - yeah, right - community benefactors turn off computers, cell phones and business agendas to do a good deed for Boy Scouts. Their reward is knowing that their efforts (and money) go to Boy Scout programs serving at-risk youth.
But there are perks.
Each golfer in the 101 Holes competition gets a new HDTV and six months service from Oceanic Time Warner Cable. For the first hole-in-one on any of the par-3s, there’s a whopping $7,000 prize. There are at least 23 chances for each golfer.
Seventy-five percent of the participants are repeaters. In other words, these hardy souls are gluttons for punishment on the links, and sign up year after year.
For Brad Tokioka of Servco Insurance, it’s his “10th or 12th” year. He’s done so many, he’s lost count.
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“Score is secondary,” he says. “The main thing is to keep the momentum of continuous play to the finish. It’s not an endurance test so much as it is fun.”
Well, that’s easy for Tokioka to say, with his 10 handicap and ability to hit the ball even in predawn darkness.
“We tee off as soon as we can see the ball,” he says. (Something about chasing a tiny white ball at 6 a.m.)
Larry Goeas is a 10-year veteran of the 101 Holes of Golf. He’s learned a few tricks along the way to survive the eight to 10 hours of rigorous golf.
There are some mental acrobatics, too.
“In the beginning, you’re excited and focused on perfection,” Goeas says. “After you’ve been out there for three hours - covering 30 to 40 holes - your attitude changes. You realize you have three or more hours more to go, and you’ve got to grind it out. Once you hit the 70th hole, you’re home free.
“And don’t worry about hitting a bad shot - you have a lot more times at it!”
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“Fortify yourself with nutrients (bananas) and water,” he advises. “Keep hydrated, and keep a bunch of clubs right next to you so you’re not having to go back and forth to the golf cart.”
Aloha Council CEO Jeff Woolsey will make his first try at conquering 101 holes.
“It’s not your typical round of golf,” he says. “Many golfers have designated drivers for their carts. This is not a leisurely day of golf, by any means.”
It can get competitive, although that’s not the main focus. Woolsey, an Eagle Scout, says those tried-and-true Boy Scout values like honesty, courtesy, obedience, bravery and respect are expected at all times.
Well, the 101 Holes of Golf does have an auspicious purpose. It’s a prelude to a historic milestone.
Boy Scouts everywhere are about to celebrate 100 years of Scouting in the U.S. and Hawaii.
John Henry Felix, local centennial celebration chair and distinguished Eagle Scout, reminds us that “W.D. Boyce brought the Boy Scout program to America from England in 1910, and later that same year the first Boy Scout Troop was formed here on Oahu.”
Since then, Scouting has enriched hundreds of thousands of lives across Hawaii
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