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Hawaiian Punch

February 09, 2009
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Golf clubs in Hawaii are feeling the heat, just like everywhere else. Today's Honolulu Star Bulletin has a roundup article on how a few of the big-name clubs are handling the economic pressure.

The Oahu Country Club (right) has cut its initiation fee in half, to $15,000, and hired a marketing director to help counteract a steadily declining membership. Over at the Mid-Pacific Country Club, they've trimmed their initiation fee by about a third, to $16,500, and now offer three-month trial memberships.

Not everyone is taking such drastic steps yet. Waialae Country Club, site of the Sony Open, has kept its joining fee at $67,300, according to the Star Bulletin. The Honolulu Country Club  is holding steady at $35,000.

The new Hoakalei Country Club, with an Ernie Els-designed course that opened in January, hoped to have 150 members by now. It has signed up only 50, though its sales manager is quoted as saying there continues to be demand from prospective members. Its initiation fee is staying where it is, for now: $30,000.

-- P.F.