Golf has more than its share of craziness, but at the end of the day, or round or 19th hole, or … well, you know it when you feel it, most golfers agree that what goes around comes around.

Same with Hawaii golf in general and its Hall of Fame in particular. The Aloha Section PGA held its eighth annual Ho‘olaulea Awards Banquet on Saturday. It celebrated award winners from the state’s six major associations and the remarkable career of Henry Yogi, who became the 71st member of the Hall of Fame.

The Maui pro, Hawaii’s longest serving PGA member, was nearly brought to tears. He was sincerely grateful and gracious, but as touching as his induction was, he was not the most grateful guy involved.

That would be the thousand or so Maui kids he introduced to the game, and basically babysat, all those summers at Waiehu Municipal. Yogi made an indelible impact on Maui golf, and a few generations of Maui kids in general.

Golfers who grew up in his “Kiddie Korps” program spoke warmly of his pressed-shirt professionalism, quiet charisma and obvious gifts for teaching golf and life. Yogi, who became the PGA of America’s first Asian-American member in 1965, took up to 75 kids in from sunrise to sunset every summer. They brought their lunch to Waiehu each day and never, ever thought of leaving.

“In my long stay at Waiehu I must have taught pretty near a thousand youngsters the game of golf,” Yogi said. “Many received scholarships and went on to college, which made me very happy.

“If a youngster continues to play, goes to college and comes back, I feel like I’ve contributed something to the individual and it makes me feel good. Especially on Maui. It’s a small community and we all know each other.”

All the junior golfers on Maui knew Yogi and most ended up working for him. They became the foundation of a junior golf program that gave us guys like Mark Seki, Brian and Craig Sasada and Keith Kodani.

A group of Yogi proteges, via video Saturday, told warm and funny stories about back in the day. They concluded with a couple of thoughts:

“He taught for a living,” Tony Takitani recalled, “but do you ever recall paying for it?”

And, ultimately, all thanked Yogi “on behalf of all junior golfers on Maui for the last 50 years,” for “teaching others to enjoy golf.”

For Yogi, what went around, came around. He was born in 1933 in Kailua and started caddying at Mid-Pacific Country Club at 13. “I got $2 a round,” he recalled, “and on a good day I could do a double round.”

He learned the game from then-MPCC pro Alex Beckley and Jimmy Ukauka, inducted with the inaugural Hall of Fame class. The Hall was established in 1988 “to commemorate the history of golf in Hawaii and honor individuals who have contributed to the game through their accomplishments as players or through their service to the game of golf.”

Yogi’s first words Saturday were, “I find this very amazing.” He stopped to compose himself, then offered a speech as short and sweet as he is.

He went to Maui in 1961 to become head pro at Maui Country Club and never left the island. He still works — very hard, according to his boss — at the Dunes at Maui Lani’s teaching academy.

Yogi qualified for two Champions Tour events at Ka‘anapali. He unofficially retired as a player after acing the Dunes’ 17th hole at the 2010 Maui Open — at the age of 77.

Like Yogi, Mark Sousa started his career as a caddie at Mid-Pacific Country Club, where he has spent his entire professional life. After 40 years as head pro, he was honored as the Aloha Section’s Professional of the Year on Saturday.

Sousa recalled one more good “what goes around comes around” golf story. Not long after he was hired as head pro, a 9-year-old asked for a job. Sousa put him to work on the range and soon noticed “there were a lot more balls out there and they were all a lot cleaner.”

That boy was Wes Wailehua, now the executive director of the Aloha Section PGA.

The night began with a remembrance of former executive director Paul Sugimoto, who died in December. The Aloha Section Foundation now will award a scholarship in his name. Donations can be made by contacting the office at 593-2232.