Wailea Golf Club soft reopening scores $4,000 for Maui Food Bank
4th May, 2020
A soft reopening of the Wailea Golf Club on Sunday netted more than $4,000 for the Maui Food Bank, and gave over 125 golfers a chance to experience what swinging through Wailea's fairways is like under new safety measures implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (scroll down for a charity update from July 15th)
Sunday's charitable fundraiser at the Wailea Gold and Blue was organized on relatively short notice, following Mayor Michael Victorino's announcement on April 29 that golf courses could reopen with appropriate safety measures in place. Even so, the positive response was tremendous.
"We're very grateful to our public officials, our customers and community, and thrilled to be able to welcome back our customers and employees," said Anne Takabuki, president, Wailea Golf. "Per our new safety protocols, we had limited the number of tee times for our soft reopening fundraiser, and they sold out quickly. We thank everyone for their support of the Maui Food Bank."
The Wailea Golf Club will reopen for regular play starting Tuesday, May 5. For the time being, Wailea's courses will be available on a rotational basis, with typically two of its three courses open on a given day.
In accordance with County of Maui and State of Hawaii rules, a number of safety protocols have been put in place to protect customers and staff, including face covering requirements, social distancing measures, and modifications to operations, services and on-course play.
Sunday's event also allowed customers and staff to experience the golf club's new safety measures. "There was a bit of adjustment, but overall, everything went very well," said Head Golf Professional Marcus Judge, PGA. "It feels really good seeing our customers have a great time getting some exercise and fresh air and enjoying their favorite sport."
In addition to Wailea's golf courses, the Wailea Golf Academy, driving range and practice facilities will also reopen on May 5, with social distancing requirements in place.
For customers planning to play, the Wailea Golf Club offers these tips:
- Remember to bring your face covering, which must be worn around the clubhouse and other designated areas, as well as when interacting with others.
- Plan to arrive no sooner than 30 minutes prior to your tee time.
- Travel light, as you'll need to manage your own clubs and possessions. Golf club employees are prohibited from handling customers' bags.
- Come prepared to keep yourself hydrated while on the course; beverage cart services are currently not allowed.
- On the course, golfers should not remove flagsticks from the holes, sand bottles have been removed, and inserts have been placed in cups to minimize contact during ball retrieval.
For more information, including upcoming course schedule, visit waileagolf.com. Tee times may be made by calling 875-7450 or emailing [email protected].
UPDATE: July 15, 2020
The Maui Food Bank received an additional donation of nearly $1,500 and more than 100 pounds of food items from the Wailea Golf Club.
The contributions were collected on six consecutive Fridays in May and June. On those days, the Wailea Golf Club had pledged to make a cash donation for every paid round and gave merchandise discounts to customers who donated nonperishable food donations.
Earlier in May, the Wailea Golf Club had also donated more than $4,000 to the Maui Food Bank,
“The Maui Food Bank is so grateful to all the golfers who have generously participated in Wailea Golf Club’s ‘Food Bank Fridays,’ ” said Marlene Rice, development director, Maui Food Bank. “You are making it possible to provide food to 32,000 people a month who are in need of hunger relief.”
“We are so grateful to our loyal and generous customers who supported our Food Bank Fridays program by playing a round and bringing in nonperishable food donations,” said Anne Takabuki, president, Wailea Golf. “In these awful times, helping each other out as a community is more important than ever.”
