HARDEST Golf Course EVER? | Adventures in Golf Season 8
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 เม.ย. 2024
- Mother Nature is on the brink of reclaiming this notoriously difficult golf course in Hawaii. Erik Anders Lang returns to Oahu to play what remains of the hardest course on Earth on this Adventures in Golf, presented by United and @RandomGolfClubFilms.
Highlighting golf's fun, human, and humorous side. Golf is no longer just the stuffy world of middle-aged country club members. Skratch brings you golf content for a new generation.
From getting the most exotic tee times on Earth (see: Adventures in Golf) to digging into the game's interesting personalities (see: Skratching the Surface, Finding the Fairway), Skratch showcases a side of golf many would never get to see.
Subscribe to Skratch on TH-cam and don’t miss out on the most entertaining golf content online.
Hit us up on Instagram: / skratch
Check us out on TikTok: / skratch
Follow us on Twitter/X: / skratch
Say ‘hey’ on Facebook: / skratch - กีฬา
![[UNCUT] รัฐสั่งหยุดปล่อยคลื่น! แต่หยุดพลังปะทุ “น้องหญิง” ไม่ได้ I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RmQh47eIiV0/mqdefault.jpg)
Erik is the Anthony Bourdain of golf entertainment. And we love it.
Let’s pray his story doesn’t end the way Anthony’s did.
if anthony golfed more maybe it would be different
100%
@@danmyers9372 i hope it does
Just stumbled across this video and I was blown away, great comparison. Gonna check out more videos hopefully they are all like this one! Awesome video and story
Huge shoutout to Kevin Ralbovsky. I don't think there's very many people out there that, with no experience, would have taken over the costs and management of an entire golf course just so the course history could be kept alive and he could continue to help the kids and community that otherwise wouldn't have an option. It's people/teachers like him that have the greatest impact on those that need it the most.
Also, I just want to thank Erik and the entire team behind Adventures in Golf. Without you guys I'd probably never know about Ko'olau Golf Club and the people that make it possible like Kevin Ralbovsky, or any of the other stories, places, and people you've covered. You all do an incredible job and continue to create high level content that's different and tells a meaningful story. These stories deserve to be told and we truly appreciate the work that everyone does so that we get to hear them.
Kevin Ralbovsky seems like an amazing human!
Plus he's got an awesome swing 😉
😊
I lived on Oahu from 2001-2006. I LOVED THAT COURSE. At the time i was a 15 - 18 handicap. I did not care how many golf balls i lost there. The PURE beauty of this course is beyond words. You did the course justice in this piece. Yet it still fell short of its beauty; which i dont think any camera could actually capture it's true splendor. I was lucky enough to play it 8 times in those 6/7 years. I ALMOST CRIED as i watched this video. THANK YOU for that.
I worked in the proshop from 2002 to 2006. My name is Jesse Micko. Chances are you knew of me. I tried for the course record every freaking day out there
@@JT-di3bl i do remember hearing your name back in the day. LOVE THAT COURSE. THE BEST IN THE WORLD
True it has to be seen in person 🍻
I played this course with my brother on my 30y bday . As a Swede I will always cherish this memory!
The scenery is beautiful but was the golf course itself in a lot better shape back when it first opened?
I first played Ko'olau in 2012 on a work trip to Oahu. I was amazed at the scenic beauty of the course and instantly fell in love with it. I was able to play it 5 times over the years, the most memorable was with my Dad during a family trip in 2017. His only time to go there. My heart was broken when I read that it had closed during Covid, but this video gives me a ray of hope that maybe, someday, I can play it again. Thank you Erik for this video!
I used to play this course in the early and mid 2000's. It was a fun experience and while 81 is not my best score ever....I did shoot 81 from the tips in 2006 using only 1 ball. I got to the skybox 17th hole and didn't even realize until that moment that I hadn't lost my ball yet....I barely managed to play the last 2 holes without losing it, but it worked out. I call it the best 81 I've EVER shot.
It's sad to see it in the shape it's in now and I don't have a lot of hope on it having a bright future. As a business venture, the course really should never have been built. It's up too close to the mountains and it just gets too much rain. The fairways were almost always (especially on the back 9) so soft - balls would plug in the middle of the fairway all the time.
It was a well done video by "Skratch" to showcase where the course is now.
Nicely played! 👏👏
@@SkratchTVPlayed there in the 2000’s also! They were changing over the greens from bent to paspalum. Fungus killed them all. It rains too much that’s the problem! Every shot plugged; it was so wet! That area up there is one of the rainiest places on earth. The prince course @ princeville resort on Kuai basically met the same demise. Rainy & too hard to maintain! The scorecard I have says 162 slope.
I wish I still lived on Oahu. I'd volunteer 20 hours per week to help keep this course alive.
This is not a one off novelty course.
For a number of years it was my favorite course to play and frequently.
Played this course in 2019. Knew nothing about it, my cousin lived on the island at the time. He was a new golfer and wanted to show me a nice course. It was so difficult, but beautiful. Probably lost 6-7 balls. Some of the holes felt like the jungle was going to cave in and swallow you. I remember thinking I had a lot of fun, but I never wanted to play there again. Seems most people felt the same way. Can't imagine that course is ever dry. Whoever thought of building a golf course in the middle of a jungle must have been a mad man. Either way, it was an experience I'll never forget!
I lived in south jersey for my entire life, I’ll be 44 in June. To this day it still blows my mind that Pine Valley is the #1 course in the world and it’s about 25 mins from my house. Maybe one day I’ll get the invite😂. That man must come from serious money if his dad was a member
Protect this course and kevin at all costs. That dedication, love and care for the game is why I love the game so much. Fancy courses are great, but courses that have been kept open from pure effort, dedication and love are really the special ones we should all desire to play. Great Episode and Fab Production as always. Thanks 😊
Eric. Honestly man, I love the way you guys shoot your videos. The questions you ask, the way your camera guys shoot…. All so personal. Totally dig it. Keep up the good work brother! Cheers from Canada!
Thanks Kevin, for your hard work and dedication. My daughter took lessons from Kevin up until Covid . He's a great instructor and a wonderful and interesting person. I highly recommend taking lessons from him no matter what your level of playing might be. As far as the course, I started playing Koolau back in the late 90's when I first started playing golf. It didn't take long to figure out which spots on certain holes where you could climb down into a gully to "restock" your balls for the rest of the round. The course was simply majestic in it's beauty and serenity. It was not a course you ever expected to score well, but that was kind of the beauty of it. And if you could carry the fairway and bogey 18, or occasionally par it, you felt like a total winner no matter what happened the prior 17 holes. Maybe, just maybe, some rich investors will come forward and breathe life back into the course. (LIV, are you listening? It would make for a great Tour event!) In the meantime, kudos to Kevin for keeping it on life support.
Used to play that course a bunch in my high school days, over 20 years ago. Way ahead of its time. First course to experience GPS on the carts and such a quality experience with all the staff and the course itself. When the church took it over, I think that's when the course went down hill and they just concentrated on venue for events. Played there about 6 years ago and it definitely was not the experience that I remembered from high school days. The course was a blast and it would be amazing if someone can revive it to its glory days!
When I saw it closed down a few years ago i was gutted. Especially as golf in the last 5 years has boomed. This course was like toys r us on acid. Mindblowingly hard and mental but what an experience. I hope someone brings this place back to life as it is a worthy top 100 course.
Love the channel and what you do. Really happy to see that you're here in these islands. Consider checking out our club, Moanalua Golf Club on O'ahu. We're the oldest golf course in Hawai'i, established in 1898. A very local style, challenging 9 hole layout, playing to 3,062 yds off the back tees. We're a club, but also open to the public. Aloha!!
Ayyo @Skratch
Can find it on golf now for under $30 as well for non residents
I frequent moanalua with my son. I've never been able to book a tee time ahead of time. We just show up and are always welcome to play anytime. The staff is great over there.
Recommended the same course on his last Hawaii video
This one hits hard. The course has so many upsides to the challenges presented. Proper management with public play allowed would bring in funds to contiually restore the course back to its former glory. Unfortunately with someone running a golf school and only allowing play for the price of a yearly memebership the course is loosing 90%+ of its opportunity to exchange money daily. The is a true "Beauty and the Beast" golf course.
My thought is that the church has something to do with that decision, and since they're the owners he didn't want to say anything negative to sour the relationship.
Used to play there in the 90's as a kid with my dad. I was too naive to understand the difficulty at the time. Really hope they can preserve this coarse it holds a lot of good memories.
I played Ko'olau in 2007. It was incredible. Stunningly beautiful and insanely difficult. One of my proudest moments in golf was hitting Driver - 4 iron to 12 ft behind the hole on 18 and draining the putt for birdie. Birdie on the most difficult hole on the most difficult course is pretty cool. So sad to see what it has become....
Great documentary, Erik - touching and a great reminiscence for a beautiful Golf Course fighting with the transition back to pure nature.
Played Royal Hawaiian few month ago and absolutely loved the tranquility, juicy green plants and challenging Layout, it was so special and different from any other Courses, but haven’t known there is another jewel just a few miles away….
Thanks for giving us that inside about Ko‘olau, gave a big smile to my face and brought back happy memories about the indescribably beauty of Hawaii.
Keep on doing what you do, it’s a grandiose tribute to the amazing game of Golf, giving so much to so many of us.
Cheers, Andreas
Stationed here and I have played Royal Hawaiian a bunch. Did not know about this course. I reached out to become a member hopefully he can help get my swing back after shoulder surgery. Love his mindset and vibe. Love your content. Mahalo 🤙🏾
Played Ko’olau in 2008 when I was there on holiday, the Sony Open was on and Ko’olau was the only place I could get a tee time.
Four of us met that day on #1, the sun was out, beautiful day… little did we know what we were in for. I was the high handicapper at 16 the others were single digit.
I lost 18 balls that day, ran out of balls on 16, Ko’olau eats balls for breakfast!
I hit a beautiful drive straight down the fairway and could t find it. The ground was so soft it sunk into the fairway, we all felt the wrath of Ko’olau that day. Definitely the hardest course I’ve ever played!
The one thing I never heard was that anybody loved the course... Ever since the first time I saw it I absolutely fell in love with it. 2020 was devastating to hear that it closed. I'll be in Hawaii this month 5/2024... I'll definitely swing by
There was a course in southern Spain called Monte Mayor (an hour south of Malaga) - you drove 45 minutes up a rough track (including ‘road’side flowers where people went off and down the mountain side), to the most outrageously wonderful mountain course. Each hole was an experience and the greens the fastest I’ve ever putted on. Someone bought the course, loaded it with debt and built a road from the motorway that took 15 minutes straight to the club at a cost of $1m. Eventually, despite selling land to build amazing houses it went bankrupt. Crying shame…
Monte Mayor was the first place i thought of watching, what course.
I played there around 18 + years ago.. I was even paired with a fella who had bought a villa near it, I didnt even know it had closed until now. Very sad to hear, it was a great course.
Played Ko'olau in 2009 with my dad. Such a special place. So tight and penalizing. It was basically fairway and then jungle. I lost 8 balls and shot a 96. Hole 18 was risk/reward with a forced carry from the tee box and fairway to the green. Awesome.
I’ve watched every season of Adventures in Golf, and this episode is my new favorite. So many positive and inspiring things in this episode. Thank you, Erik!
I know exactly what course this was from the thumbnail. I was lucky enough to play it twice and will never forget it. It's the most memorable course I've ever played.
Having played here a few times, didn't realize it closed. This course was no joke, I brought one of those refurbished 50 ball buckets and the starter said to me "only brought one bucket brah?" Ended up losing about 25 balls that round. Beautiful, fun and difficult course otherwise. Some of the best views of the mountain ranges.
This video was hard to watch. I don't know how it got missed, but Koolau GC was originally named Minami and was intended to be exclusively for Japanese businessmen. No public access. When I played it as Minami, I had never seen a course as meticulously maintained as it was (until I played Hokulei'a, but that's another story). The layout, cuts and lines of the holes were designed to be totally reliant upon a manic level of daily maintenance. That's why the course has NEVER played to it's intended potential since. And Hawaii's ridiculous over-reaction to covid destroyed more businesses than Koolau. At one time, from the tips, the course had a slope rating of 187. Harder than PGA West. And the sign along the entrance proudly proclaimed it to be, "The Hardest Course in America" - most local golfers older than 50, will remember this. Again - tough to watch ... an astonishing golf vision laid waste by government and mismanagement.
I truly wish someone would save this and restore it to former glory. It's truly incredible. As a Canadian I'll never walk on their fields. But as a long time golfer. This is truly special...
Outstanding!! As someone who has aged through golf and has seen several golf courses that I grew up playing close and turn into other resources, this hits home. Great to see what is going on here, and hopefully this course can grow back to a full 18 in the years to come with the help from people who have a similar soft spot in their hearts for the game.
I played Ko'Olau in 1995. The course was pristine. It was as hard as advertised and equally as beautiful. Each hole was a horticultural beauty. My partner and I, good golfers, were totally worn out by the 16th and just slogged our way home. The course is just too hard and no fun. Any ball off the fairway is lost, and we were warned not to go look because of snakes.
Kevin! I don’t know if you remember playing a round with Mike, Andrew, and Jon at Schenectady Muni a couple of summers ago, but it’s SO cool to see the incredible details of what you’re doing with your school!
Covering real stories and making a positive impact on real people’s lives. Love this episode
Thanks for always bringing light to golf in Hawaii and for sharing the stories behind some of the courses we have out here on our islands!
Played here in 1999, what an amazing course. SO hard, but gorgeous. Plantain trees and insane sight lines. What an incredible value for that facility. Fun video, Eric.
These guys don’t miss!! Another great episode!
Played it in 2019 with my dad and brother. Was a truely wonderful experience. Hitting golf shoots with the forest and mountain framing the holes was amazing. Im lucky to be a decent golfer, but something would need to change to make it more playable for all
Travelled from Australia to play this course three times over the years and was deeply saddened to see its demise. Playing there felt like you were on a different planet, and then there was the degree of difficulty to contend with as well. If you never got the chance to play there in its prime, you definitely missed out an a very unique golfing experience.
I was one of the first members at Ko’olau. We had special times at that course but we were all aware of what a maintenance nightmare it was. Always wet, and you could see the foliage growing as you played. Never qualified as the slope and rating it started with because so many of the back tees were abandoned and many of the bunkers grown over with grass. Always a challenge to not lose a ball and to birdie the eighteenth, was worth a prize.
I hope this is the video this course needs to be saved!
I'm glad I got to play the full course back in 2004-2005 when I was on the golf team. It truly is a difficult golf course and it kept many of my golf balls😂
This was a sensational piece, well done! I played this remarkable course in 2000, and to this day, this is the only course I've ever played where the "drink cart" was followed by a "ball cart"!! I distinctly remember snickering at th ball cart on the front nine, and finding myself asking, "Where is that damn ball cart??" on the back nine,
Can’t wait for Eric to visit Spud Run one day.
I was lucky enough to visit this course (unfortunately not play it) in 2019 when on Oahu for work. I bought a ball marker in the pro shop that I use to this day. I wanted to come back and play it, and I hope that dream might still become reality. Amazing video, well done RGC crew.
Great to see my home course and Kevin getting the recognition he deserves. He puts in a ton of work to run this place and KMR. I was part of his golf school when I started playing in 2022. It was a brutal home course but there isn’t a golf course I’ve come across that has intimidated me after playing here so often post closedown.
Island courses are the best. My dream round. Incredible story!!! EAL is the 🐐 at this
I was very fortunate to play Ko’olau on its last and final day of operation. As COVID hit, courses and businesses were closing down in Hawaii. Ko’olau stayed open a day or two after the others closed, so it was the last course to close before the complete and total shutdown, and I played on the last day it was open (it was April 1, 2020). It never fully reopened after that.
Wow. That closing scene was insane. What a golf course. Go KMR I love what he is doing.
Played this course well over 100 times. One of the hardest in Hawaii. One of my favorites.
Thank you for making this video. You did a great job. For me golf has always had my attention for some reason, but didn't start playing until 2009. back 2007 my mother in law had her wedding reception at that course. I always thought it would be fun to play koolau golf course after the wedding. I was lucky enough to move to the islands in 2017, and I finally played the course in 2019. Such an amazing course, but sadly my one and only time I got to play it. Praying someone is able to figure a way to bring it back to its full and original glory. Big thanks to Kevin for doing what he is to keep the front 9 open.
I love watching these episodes; haven't gotten out to play in a while but I always feel so connected when I sit down knowing I have a Skratch video to watch. Thanks for the amazing content
Crazy how such a beautiful course doesn't have anyone to fund fully opening it. Thanks for sharing!
I just played Royal Hawaiian a month ago. It was really cool. As a 15 handicap I lost a lot of balls. There is no looking of it goes into the jungle. It was fun though.
I hope Ko Olau makes it. Another problem is there are no big hotels on that side of the island and it is a rain forest too. Although, There is less rain at Royal Hawaiian, it’s still dumped on us at time throughout the whole round. The club house doesn’t seemed to used. It looked like it was a luxurious place at one time. I was told that it was built post ww2. Anyways.
I feel for Kevin. He truly loves teaching golf.
Great story Erik!
Thank you for bring us the humanity of golf.
My day is always better with a new adventures in golf! Some of the Best Golf content on youtube! Thank you for the hard work! Respect from Canada
I have played Ko'olau 6 times from 2006 through 2014, every time I was in Hawaii. It is hands down my favorite course I ever played. It is magical, but it definitely is not for the average golfer. If you have a game though you will play some of the hardest holes in the most beautiful of backdrops. Awesome episode and brings back some great memories. Hope Kevin can hang on and prosper. If I lived nearby, I would be all over that membership.
Always love seeing my home state on the channel. Erik and his team really do capture the quirkiness and specialness of the 808.
Fascinating piece, but I can’t get past how much Kevin sounds like Steve Carrell’s character in Anchorman. Seriously, I played Ko’olau in the late 90s as a single digit handicap, and it was quite the experience. I remember starting the round par-birdie-bogey-TEN! After I hit a perfect drive down the fairway, I proceeded to fire the next 3 balls into a deep ravine that bordered the green. My lasting memory was always the couple playing with me who routinely couldn’t hit a tee shot far enough to reach safety. They were going to run out of golf balls, so they just started hitting their second shots from wherever my partner and I drove. Wow, what a course!
I played Royal Hawaiian a few weeks ago... Remarkable course. So insane. Spiritual experience.
It’s like watching someone you love slowly deteriorate. Losing any golf course is heartbreaking.
Awe, this was where we had one of our high school reunions (being from Kailua) and where I reconnected with my now husband. Who is also a golfer, of course. He may now have to “join” so he can play every time we come home. So sad. Hope you can save it.
First time I've ever seen your channel & WOW this is amazingly well done!!
Great episode, didnt know it featured Kevin Ralbovsky whose channel I have followed since covid.
Kudos to shining the spotlight on the course and the people keeping it alive.
Hats off to Kevin for putting his life and endeavors out there on display, wishing him and his whole team the very best. Would love to take lessons from him, missed the chance to when I visited Hawaii in 2018 but back then I didnt know about KMR not had I returned to playing golf then.
That last scene of Erik walking down the fairway is gorgeous
Kevin is the best 🎉 I’m so bad and he made me less bad and my back no longer hurts. 🤙 legend
This guy gives the same lessons my buddies do when they're drunk on the course
Stairway to heaven hike! beautiful views above the course.
Doing handstands on a golf course in paradise is now a life goal.
How about... Get some volunteer greens keepers that want to learn the trade... get some companies to donate equipment... and have a class (or courses) on how to take care of the course. It's a win win, you get cheap labour, plus, you are educating the next generation of greens keepers. People from around the world would want to sign up for such a course. I know I would want to do that. I was born and raised on Oahu, that is where I fell in love with the game. Perpetuating the Hawaiian culture and golf is very important to me.
Was blessed to play this course in 2019. Would drive from the Kolina and head to this place because I was absolutely in love with this place. Ended up playing maybe 3-4 times didn’t get my goal of breaking par shit stay in the 81-85 range. Easily a favorite of mines, most challenging course I’ve ever played.
Played Royal Hawaiian, lovely course as well.
Man these are the courses we want to watch the best in the world play. Would be so cool to watch a pga tour event here in its prime
It breaks my heart to see this course going down. I used to play Koolau every weekend. It is by far my favorite golf course I've ever played. So many beautiful holes, and the best #18 you'll ever play.
Adventures In Golf is absolute viewing gold. EAL and the crew do such a good job, it would be so fun to take part in one of these trips. Nice to know I can hit the like button 100% of the time on these. Keep it up 👍
This might be my favorite AIG video yet. Awesome story. I really hope someone comes along with vision and puts the time and money into this place to make it what everyone dreams of.
Beautiful Video. Such dedication of the local souls to keep that space open to the public.
What an awesome production. Great story told by Erik and his team, I really enjoyed this video from minute one. Kevin and his team are playing an important role in keeping Oahu going. Really hopeful to one day be able to visit and play the front nine.
Thank you for this! Fully captivated by this episode
I snuck on and played a long closed course in similar condition to what Eric did on the back nine here , it was the weirdest thing …. Only way I can describe it was magical . Every golfer should do this at some point or another .
Golf courses no matter their condition are special places. Put a golf course in Hawaii and it is magic. Thank you for sharing. This is a unique series. Pls keep doing it.
I played this course early 2000’s and it was like an out of body experience. Very sad to see this but happy to see there is still gold being played in that wonderland.
So glad to see this channel pouring out more videos. He’s the best in this industry when it comes to filming content. Phenomenal work !!
Would love to the see Random Golf Club invest into these properties and get them back to glory!
Golf is a luxurious pursuit (luxury in terms of, you have to have a certain amount of money, and a certain amount of time to even play it), and with the world experiencing such a widespread shift where many people have less of one of those commodities - this golf course, and many like them, are the result.
Played this course years ago... loved it. was absolute beast but enjoyed every second on the grounds!
What a beautiful course. Hope it comes back one day.
I played this course back in 2013 and it felt like I was playing golf on the set of Jurassic Park. The mountains in the backdrop of so many shots. I saw a ton of wildlife out on the course. It was an absolutely memorable experience. I can still remember driving around the course and feeling like I was lost in a completely different time and place, in a jungle all by myself.
If anyone can do it, Kevin can. That guy is incredibly smart and has the vision. Good luck Kevin. 🤙🏽
beautiful course, would love to see this thing come back to life.
This is the hardest course I ever played and it was beautiful. I shot a 88 and I was scratch on the Marine Corps golf team in Hawaii. I went back for seconds and shot 82. It’s just long, tight and unforgiving.
Bruddah! I was JUST here last week looking down on the course from Pali Lookout with my dad. Knowing the place was on life support and feeling really sad looking at the layout from above knowing the forest could reclaim it anytime. I was completely wondering what was going on with it then Skratch posts this. I still have my plastic bag tag that says "World's Toughest Course". Got to play it twice in its heyday in the 2000's. Mahalo nui loa for this video Erik.
put in a lot of disc golf baskets!!!
Absolutely stunning. Thank you for playing the back nine. Beautiful and I hope the course will grow back into something magnificent.
Great freaking video man wasn’t expecting this type of quality documentary
I used to play Ko'olau all the time when I lived in Oahu. It was one of the best deals on the island. It was difficult but not unplayable (though I was a low single digit player at that time). The trick was to just take the shots the course gave you, and really never go for anything risky. What makes the course tough is not that the shots are unhittable, but that every mistake costs you two strokes. you usually lose a ball and your drop is often in a very bad place and you can't hit a good shot from there. So you have to hit high percentage shots all the time. 18 was just a par 4.5 and you got to be happy with a 5. Play it as a 4 and it you were asking for a very difficult second shot and you make a 6 or 7. Really sad the course is no more!
Omg! I player this course in 1998 or 1999!! Was an amazing course! I remember it being very difficult with crazy carries over chasms etc. was a beautiful course back then!
The visuals of that course are so ridiculously pretty. Oh my ❤
Great video. I have many awesome memories playing this beautiful course back in the 90’s and early 2000’s with my brothers. A memory that really sticks with us was having our lunches stolen off the golf cart one afternoon by a bunch of mongooses on the back 9 😂. I hope this place can hang on and make a comeback.
Walked on this place in 2013 as a single. Unbelievable course to play but I swear I was the only one playing. I’ll never forget the experience
Golfed that course on my wedding day morning May 2009. Rental clubs, tennis shoes. Shot 95. was HAPPY. Did not lose many balls. Parred the "hardest" hole. Sad to see it go.
I was so sad to hear about the fall of this course. Been wanting to play it for a bit such an amazing course. Hopefully it can come back sooner then later
played it twice when it was probably at its best. Really enjoyed, tough as any I've played but worth it. Amazing location. Great to see such passion to get it back to what it once was.
Most of the locals didn't play there as it was too difficult even though they tried to make it easier. My friend, who shot in the low 80's and played it the first time it opened, lost 20 balls including 12 on the first 9. He actually had to go into the gullies to retrieve balls as his partners lost most of their balls too. The 18th was so hard (small landing for your drive) that you could bet $20 with the pro shop so that if you got par, they would give you a golf bag. My other friend was the long-time heads groundkeeper and he said it was like maintaining a rain forest as it rained most mornings as it's on the foot of the mountains.
I always stared at this course when I would hike 3 peaks! Amazing!