Aloha Section PGA’s Growth of the Game committee is growing its Folds of Honor Foundation fundraising this year.

September is Patriot Golf Month. The goal is to provide educational scholarships to families of military members who have been killed or disabled, and grow the game in the military market.

What the month-long emphasis does, besides kicking in more money for a program that’s provided 13,000 scholarships nationwide since it began, is give us more time to appreciate our military — and our military golf courses.

Can any other state claim such a pretty and playable collection of courses dedicated to giving our military an opportunity to relax?

Navy-Marine, across the highway from Honolulu International Airport, constantly ranks among the military’s finest courses and is known as “Pearl of the Pacific.”

Kaneohe Klipper showed up on PGA of America’s 2011 list of best military courses. At the top was Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where President Barack Obama likes goes when he gets off work early. Klipper, ranked seventh, is where you find him when he comes home for Christmas, enjoying breathtaking back-nine ocean views.

“It’s not the longest course you’ll ever play,” the PGA of America admitted, “but it might be one of the most scenic.”

Hickam’s name change to Mamala Bay is a reminder of its ocean side location, which also provides views of Diamond Head and up close and remarkably loud looks at takeoffs and landings on nearby runways.

Hickam’s par-3 Kealohi Course has lights and and a soccer-golf setup. Nearby Walter J. Nagorski is also nine holes, with much of its 2,800 yards facing the mountains. “Taps” is played there every night at sunset.

Heading west, Barber’s Point is 18 holes, but only 6,400 yards from the tips. It has a 36-stall driving range.

In the middle of the island, Leilehua is one of Hawaii’s lushest layouts. When it lost some 200 palms and eucalyptus trees during a hurricane, it was hard to tell they were gone. Like Mamala Bay, it can play nearly 7,000 yards.

Years ago, when Kalakaua was open nearby, the Army Golf Association had more than 2,500 members — more than any private club in Hawaii. The membership was not all military, retirees and dependents.

Civilians who helped maintain Leilehua, Kalakaua and what was then known as Fort Shafter during the Korean War were allowed in because of their work during a time of need. The number also included those in the National Guard and Reserves, and Dept. of Defense employees.

“I can’t remember the exact amount they paid to play, but it was dirt cheap,” says Hal Okita, who worked at Schofield after a 27-year military career. “We had 45 holes of golf we could spread out. We had some tee time problems, but it worked out well.”

Okita, 84, went to Washington D.C. to convince officials to change the Shafter course’s name to Walter J. Nagorski, who was its golf professional. Long before there was a Hawaii junior golf association, he started the Ice Cream and Soda Pop tournaments for kids.

He is in the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame, along with John Kalinka, another veteran. Orville “Old Sarge” Moody, Walter Morgan and Amie Amizich were based here before they played on the PGA and LPGA tours.

Okita also worked as director of the Hawaii State Golf Association and Aloha Section PGA, and he golfs — a lot. He knows a good course when he plays one.

“The military in Hawaii, in my humble opinion,” Okita says, “is very blessed by our courses. There is a great assortment and a very fair rate.”

Those courses serve a vital need.

“The beauty of the game of golf is you have to concentrate and when you are out there concentrating you forget about all the other things,” says Ko Olina Director of Golf Greg Nichols, a “military brat” on the Aloha Section committee. “If anybody needs to forget about their stress for a while it’s someone that’s putting their life on the line.”

The “comfort” aspect of Patriot Golf Month is a major reason Hawaii’s Chamber of Commerce got involved. It has a committee for military “quality of life” and its Military Affairs Council was started to “protect, preserve and promote” the military, Hawaii’s second-largest source of revenue after tourism.

“We help promote the game of golf to everyone,” says Sherry Menor-McNamara, the Chamber’s CEO. “Our military does so much for all of us. We want them to take time for ourselves, and get together with family … have a good quality of life.”