Getting To Know: Manele Course By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Manele Course

An Insightful Interview With Scott Ashworth, PGA Director of Golf

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Scott Ashworth who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
High above the crashing surf of Hulopo'e Bay, Manele Golf Course is an outstanding course that lives up to its storied challenge. A Jack Nicklaus Signature course, established in 1993, Manele is built on lava outcroppings, featuring three cliff-top holes that use the Pacific Ocean as a water hazard. The course rolls over dramatic, unspoiled natural terrain, and every hole promises majestic ocean views. Five tees allow the course to be enjoyed by all levels of golfers while presenting a formidable test to the best players. Tee shots over natural gorges and ravines must be precise. In winter months, the course's fairways are among the best vantage points for spectacular sightings of whales making their annual migration.

Tees, fairways and greens are SeaIsle 2000 Paspalum.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Manele is the No. 2-ranked resort course in all of Hawaii. Spectacular views on every hole. A most memorable experience.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Many approaches around the greens at Manele are mowed at a low height. For this shot, it's best to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, and use a utility wood.

For example on No. 6, a par 5 with a big green, the approach funnels back, 5 to 10 feet off the front of the green. Golfers will often make a better chip with the utility club than a pitching wedge to get the ball rolling smoothly on the tight lies to the hole.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Four Seasons Resort Lana'i has earned the highest ranking for golf resorts, the Platinum Award by GOLF magazine. The resort's Manele Golf Course is ranked No. 4 among all courses in Hawai'i (No. 2 among resort courses) and is one of the "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" in the country.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
We are blessed at Manele Golf Course with absolutely stunning golf holes that have amazing ocean views.

Our famous par-3 12th hole is a prime example: Set atop the steep, rugged cliffs, it is of the most beautiful holes in the world. The tee shot is a full carry across a cove - the sound of crashing waves 150 feet below - to the green that sits atop the cliff on the other side.

In addition to its fame as one of the most beautiful holes in the world, No. 12 is also where Bill Gates was married.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
No. 5: The apex of the course is this 433-yard par 4, which affords simply spectacular vistas. Maui and Kaho'olawe appear touchable and, on a clear day, even the Big Island of Hawaii is visible. Drive to the left of a collecting fairway that slopes toward the sea. Careful club selection is a must as big hitters may drive it through the fairway. The long second shot drops 60 feet to the green below.

and ...

No. 13: This 302-yard par 4 provides a great vantage point to see humpback whales during the winter and year-round spinner dolphins. Accuracy, rather than length from the tee guides you to hit at the directional bunker through the fairway. A long tee shot slightly left of this target could find the front of the green, but a hungry greenside bunker feeds on balls hit too far left.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
VIEWS restaurant at the course are amazing!!!

Makai Salad --Lobster, Scallop, Shrimp, Big Island Greens, Mango, Papaya Avocado, Tomato, Lilikoi Dressing

Kapiha'a Breeze -- Jameson, Mango, Papaya, Lilikoi, Mint, Soda, Li Hing Mui

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,039
Slope: 135
Rating: 73.7

More Information
Manele Course
One Manele Bay Road
Lanai Cit , Hawaii, 96763
(808) 565-2225
www.fourseasons.com/manelebay/services_and_amenities/golf/manele_golf_course/

Revised: 11/18/2015 - Article Viewed 33,684 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.