Olomana Golf Links shuts down | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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STAR-ADVERTISER / 2012

Olomana Golf Links closed indefinitely Friday. The company that owns the golf course could not afford to continue paying vendors and employees at the course, which has been affected financially by flooding from Waimanalo Stream.

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An 18-hole Waimanalo golf course once played by President Barack Obama abruptly shut down Friday, leaving employees without jobs and vendors without payment.

Olomana Golf Links, which has operated since the 1960s, couldn’t continue to pay vendors and employees, who were notified that the course would close indefinitely, according to contractors. The company has about 35 employees.

General Manager Edward Kageyama couldn’t be reached for comment.

“I was shocked to see them shut down. It’s very unusual. Normally, somebody comes and takes over,” said longtime vendor Jay Hinazumi, president of Golf Concepts Inc., which has provided golf carts for the course since 1986 and reclaimed 90 carts about a month ago. “As a business owner where our primary business or livelihood comes from golf, when any facility shuts down there’s somewhat of an impact. Any time you carry inventory, it’s costing you money.”

There is no time frame for when it might reopen, he said.

Olomana has been burdened with financial troubles over the years due to flooding from the adjacent Waimanalo Stream on the U.S. Marine Corps property at Bellows Air Force Station. In July the company said it lost around $400,000 due to flooding. It also was having trouble paying its $140,000- per-year lease to the state for the land. As of July the golf course owed about $164,000 in overdue rent for 135 acres and another $9,409 for a golf course plant nursery.

The company also has a restaurant and pro shop on the property.

Hawaii Golf Hall of Famer Casey Nakama has operated the Casey Nakama Golf Development Center, the state’s largest junior golf program, at the Olomana course since 1996.

“Because they closed, my business cannot run,” said Nakama, who is scrambling to relocate classes for the 180 to 200 kids that come through the program every week. “I cannot do any private lessons, so all the kids in high school golf going on right now, I had to stop all the lessons. I’ve never heard of a golf course losing their golf carts and closing down. This is just a headache for me.”

While there have been warning signs, no one expected a total closure, said Al Kakazu, president of B. Hayman Co., which leases equipment for course maintenance.

“There have been some warning signs. They took the carts away. They haven’t paid us everything,” he said. “We hope for the best for them and their employees. They employ a lot of local people who depend on the course for their living.”