Rolfing believes half an Ala Wai is better than none

A helicopter ride is always a good place to start a story. It’s even true in this case when it was nearly 20 years ago that Mark Rolfing and city and state officials hovered over the 145 acres of what was then known as the busiest golf course in the world. They surveyed and analyzed. They contemplated. What — if anything — should be done with the Ala Wai Golf Course?

Gov. Ben Cayetano wanted to turn it into a park and build a course elsewhere. The retirees who loved Ala Wai for its convenience marshalled their considerable clout, said no way, and Mayor Jeremy Harris backed their play.

Rolfing, in his role as one of the original members of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, had a different idea. That too was forced to the back burner.

Now, back to work after surgery for salivary gland cancer last summer, Rolfing isn’t content to just return to his job as an on-course reporter and tower announcer for Golf Channel on NBC.

He wants to finish what was barely started. He wants what some would still consider sacrilege, or at the very least, political suicide. But he doesn’t care, he’s not running for office.

Rolfing wants the city and state to seriously consider turning the 18 holes at Ala Wai into nine, making room for a stadium or a multi-sport arena.

What? On the surface, this is akin to the NRA calling for fewer guns, or a pitcher suggesting the umpire tighten up the strike zone.

It’s man-bites-dog stuff, right? One of the people most associated with the game in Hawaii — hey, change just one letter in his name and you get “golfing” — wants to fix what a lot of local players don’t think is broken. They like Ala Wai just the way it is.

But when Rolfing replaces his golf visor with his cap as head of Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui’s sports advisory committee, he sees nine holes as a fair and logical compromise and part of a large renovation of the entire area on both sides of the canal.

“It’s being underutilized now,” he said. “I believe it’s still a sensitive political issue, but we’ve got to get around the politics and make sure all the stakeholders are represented. We know changes need to be made to the back side of Waikiki, and this could be the impetus. This should be part of a big picture.”

It includes cleaning the canal and addressing flooding, parking and access issues. He envisions something similar to San Antonio’s Riverwalk.

The lobby of Ala Wai regulars isn’t as numerous or powerful as it was when it blocked Cayetano, but it still exists. While rank-and-file golfers might consider him a traitor, Rolfing says he wants what benefits more of the community.

“My thoughts have not wavered a bit,” he said Tuesday, before boarding a plane on Maui for Oahu after working the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and now gearing up for the Sony Open in Hawaii. “I do know it’s a special place and always hope there will be some golf component there.”

Mark Rolfing knows it’s time for that discussion about maximizing the benefit of Ala Wai’s proximity to Waikiki’s hotel rooms to resume. What he’s really saying is nine holes are much better than zero.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/ quick-reads