| Posted on: Thursday, November 15, 2001
Around the Greens
Rolfing right host for TV show on state's golf scene
By Bill Kwon
For Mark Rolfing, his "Golf Hawai'i" television show is a labor of love. And, not surprisingly, it came about seven years ago because of his love of golf and of Hawai'i.
Combine that with his background in television, and it has turned out to be a winning formula.
What else but television can show Hawai'i at its scenic best, especially during golf's offseason during the winter months.
"We find that people love seeing Hawai'i at that time of the year," said Rolfing about the series which will premiere Sunday on the Golf Channel.
It will be shown five times a week on the cable channel, making it truly a vehicle for golf in Hawai'i. Check your local listings for specific times.
This year Rolfing will be joined by NBC-TV golf colleague Johnny Miller.
"Johnny has always loved Hawai'i and thought he'd have fun being part of the show," Rolfing said.
Miller, the 1973 U.S. Open and 1976 British Open champion, will be featured in a new golf tip segment of the show.
Sunday's opening show will have an interview with PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem and how the events of Sept. 11 have affected the PGA Tour. And the featured resort — no surprise — the Kapalua Resort on Maui where Rolfing first started his local golf career.
Since then, Rolfing has become one of the most influential individuals in promoting the golf industry in the 50th state. Among his accomplishments is luring the Mercedes Championships — the PGA's Tournament of Champions — to Kapalua's Plantation Course.
In 1995, Rolfing wanted to do something for golf in Hawai'i, something more creative. Something that never had been done locally in television. He came up with the concept of a golf show with a tie-in with ESPN, which had been televising his Kapalua International golf tournament. Thanks to Ken Sandefur, AT&T became the first sponsor.
Now in its seventh season, there will be six new shows this season.
"No doubt, it gets easier from a production standpoint. But it also got better and more sophisticated," Rolfing said. "The PGA Tour is now involved with us."
Besides in-depth interviews with the game's top professionals who will be here in the next three months for the PGA Grand Slam, Senior Skins Game, Mercedes Championships and the Sony Open, Rolfing will be featured in a segment called "My View," which will involve specific issues with the game of golf.
Knowing Rolfing with his insider knowledge of local golf, it will be worth watching.
Tiger watch again
It's hard not to pick Tiger Woods again in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf Tuesday and Wednesday at the Po'ipu Bay Resort on Kaua'i. But you can't take his quest for a four-peat victory for granted, according to Michael Castillo, Po'ipu Bay's director of golf.
"Obviously, Tiger's the one. He's here for the fifth straight year and all three of the others never played here before," Castillo said.
Woods won the Masters to qualify for the event, while the other three — David Duval, Retief Goosen and David Toms — won their first major championships.
"All four players are playing well at the end of the year. Everybody'?s at the top of their game," Castillo said.
He sees British Open champion Duval, Woods' American partner in the World Cup this weekend in Shizuoka, Japan, as the leading threat to end Tiger's winning streak in the Grand Slam. But he doesn't count out Goosen.
"To win the U.S. Open, you've got to hit in straight and Retief really has good ball control, which is also important here," Castillo said.
Toms joined the elite foursome by winning the PGA Championship.
Royal Kunia delays opening
The Royal Kunia Golf Club has delayed its opening until April instead of next month as originally scheduled, according to a spokesman for Hideaki Okuhara, president and CEO of owner Jac Hawai'i Inc.
Alan Goda, attorney for the golf course's new owner, cited two main reasons — the events of Sept. 11 which led to an economic decline locally and the need to give the golf course more time to mature, especially during the rainy season.
"It's really unfortunate, but even without 9/11 happening we've already been talking about delaying the opening. Winter's not a good time," Goda said.
"This is just not a good time. We wanted to open on a happier note," added Leighton Wong, superintendent of the Robin Nelson-designed golf course since it was built in 1994.
Royal Kunia never opened for play because the original owners failed to pay the remaining $13 million impact fee. The city waived the payment in an agreement last July enabling the course to finally open.
Change for Senior Skins
All 18 holes of the 2002 Senior Skins Game at Wailea's Gold Course will be played on Jan. 26 — instead of nine holes each on Jan. 26-27 as originally scheduled. The change is a result of the Super Bowl being pushed back one week.
However, the broadcast dates of the event will remain the same — on Jan. 26-27 on ABC-TV.
Joining defending champion Hale Irwin in the foursome will be Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Fuzzy Zoeller, who will be making his first appearance in the Senior Skins Game.
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