LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI@STARADVERTISER.COM
Olomana Golf Links paid $115,275 to the state. Two-thirds of company employees returned to work Friday.
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Olomana Golf Links partially reopened Friday after paying $115,275 in delinquent rent to the state.
The driving range, pro shop and 11 of 18 holes were open to the public two weeks after abruptly closing after failing to make payroll and payments to the state and vendors. The restaurant’s opening is to be determined as the company is exploring options, including potentially outsourcing the business.
The Waimanalo golf course frequented by former President Barack Obama avoided losing its lease, which the state had planned to consider at a Department of Land and Natural Resources board meeting Friday. The item was withdrawn from the agenda following the rent payment.
“The lease (that runs through 2032) is still intact. We’ll have 16 holes opened by the middle of next week, then the full 18 will probably be a couple weeks after that,” said General Manager Ed Kageyama. “We’re anxious to get fully operational and have the people in the community come out and enjoy Olomana as they have in the past. We’re trying to keep ourselves an affordable golf course for the golfing public. We need all the support we can get.”
Two-thirds of the company’s 35 employees are back on the job at Olomana, which has been in business since the 1960s. The golf course owners, JNC USA, live in South Korea and didn’t want to comment on the financial situation, he said.
Olomana Golf has incurred financial problems over the past two years as a result of repeated flooding. The course lost significant revenue because it wasn’t playable for months following at least one major flood in July 2016.
“The biggest problem we had was the amount of mud that came down from the mountain, and it covered about six of the 18 holes. Up until even today we’re still trying to grow grass back,” said Kageyama, adding that the course has been flooded at least five times within two years. “Right now two holes are covered in mud. That’s the only issue.”