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Aloha Golf Tour was founded in 2006 by Sean
Lunasco, Norman Asao and Norman-Ganin Asao as it has become apparent
to these three gentlemen who are all well connected with Hawaii Golf
that there is a great demand for a developmental golf mini-tour in
Hawaii. A developmental golf tour is truly is a necessity if you
consider that most of our young Hawaii talent never gets the
opportunity to fully cultivate their skills. We see such a
tremendous pool of talent at all the events we are involved with;
however, we rarely see golfers making it onto major professional
tours.
This is an important observation when you
consider that the success of our professional athletes is a great
asset to the promotion of Hawaii. Professional athletes that
continue to call Hawaii home help promote Hawaii on an annual
basis. They schedule events that bring in tourists and they
support our charities. They help spread the word of how
special Hawaii’s Aloha Spirit is, and they are role models for our
youth. The fact is, we do not have enough of these role models
going out into the world. Instead, their talents and potential
are wasted, because they never get the opportunity to show their
talents outside our state.
Most other states have developmental
mini-tours in place. And while it is obvious that these tours
bring visitors to each state, their main role is to provide a venue
for local players to develop their skills. Becoming a
professional athlete is a progressive process and to reach the
highest level of their sport, the vast majority has to take small
steps. Of course there are exceptions to the rule as we are aware
of. But for the rest, you start in the junior ranks, move up through
high school and college while testing yourself in the major amateur
events in between, then you find a professional mini-tour to play
on, followed by setting your sights on qualifying for a major
international tour. Hawaii is presently missing a couple of
these venues. Hawaii’s junior golf programs are becoming
stronger and stronger and amateur golf thrives. Many golfers stop
playing competitively after college because they could not afford to
travel and play golf, and there was no local alternative available
to them.
Many years ago, all the military services
held Open Golf Tournaments that had both an amateur and a
professional division, and there were many other individually
sponsored events for both amateurs and professionals to play
in. During that period in time many of the local golfers were
able to showcase their skills, and because of this they were able to
secure sponsors to play elsewhere. Players like David Ishii,
Lance Suzuki, Stan Souza, Keith Kohlmeyer, Kalua Makalena, Chuck
Davis, Clyde Rego, and many others who grew up during this
period. All were able to test their talents at a higher level,
and all of them made it onto a major international tour.
We believe, if there was an established
Hawaii Golf Tour for local players to graduate too that we would
once again see golf programs returning to local colleges, and we
would once again see local golfers excelling to the major golf
arena. The sheer numbers of junior golfers would support the
need for local colleges to receive graduating juniors. We’ve
seen a resurgence of the local colleges wanting to offer both boys
and girls golf programs once again, and we’ve talked to many parents
of juniors and college players who want their children to have the
opportunity to pursue their professional dreams. However, the
costs of traveling and playing abroad make it impossible in the
beginning stages of their professional careers. However, if
the players can prove themselves locally, they feel there would be a
greater opportunity of securing sponsorship dollars.
Additionally, if a Hawaii Golf Tour grows strong enough, the better
players could actual make enough money through playing in local
events to pay for their own travel expenses abroad. Therefore,
both parents and players are excited about the prospect of a
developmental Hawaii Golf Tour.
Also, having a Hawaii Golf Tour would promote
mainland students to Hawaii Colleges. This is because, it
gives them the option to stay in Hawaii and play golf after they
graduate from school. Additionally, we plan to offer an
amateur division. When the college players are not playing in
school tournaments they can maintain their competitive edge by
playing on a local mini-tour.
Once again, to make it to the professional
ranks, amateurs need to stay in regular contact with the competitive
arena. They need to progress through the stages of junior
golf, college golf, and top amateur golf, followed by the mini-tours
before making it on a major tour. All of Hawaii’s successful
professionals have followed this path. However, they have also
done so despite the geographic difficulties of playing outside of
Hawaii. Even though they all found financial support, it was
more a struggle for these players than it was for their mainland
counterparts. Because of limited venues many talented golfers
from Hawaii have never had the chance to fulfill their golfing
potential. When we look at the development process more
closely, we find that golfers typically develop and mature in
stages. Some golfers realize their potential in the early
stages and develop the confidence that carries them to the worldwide
professional tours. However, some golfers mature much later,
not developing the confidence until they spend a few years on the
mini-tours. And in this day and age the late bloomer is just
as common as the early star.
Players like Tom Lehman, Fred Frank, Bill
Glasson, Jeff Maggert, and many others all realized their potential
in the later stages of their career. Locally born Dean Wilson
struggled out of college, traveled to Asia to play on the Asian and
Omega Tours for a few years, then he found his confidence and
started winning. Two years later, he found himself rookie of
the year on the Japan Golf Tour, followed by two seasons in the top
three on the money list, and a world ranking inside the top
75. Now that he has found his confidence and is a dominant
player on the Japan Golf Tour, he can set his sights on obtaining a
PGA Tour card. He can do this because he has shown his
fortitude to make it thru the PGA Tour ‘s Qualifying School, one of the most difficult tournaments
in the world to get through. Even this did not come
easy. It took six tries for Dean to get through the PGA Tour
Qualifying School. Sometimes it just takes a little time,
patience, and persistence to figure it all out.
Golfers usually mature over a three to four
year period. In junior golf they play with the same golfers
match after match, year after year, until they find their comfort
zone. Once in high school they start off unsure of the new
environments, the longer courses, and the chemistry of the golf team
with the coach. They mature little by little, and then by
their junior season they have found the game and confidence they
knew they had inside. When they get to college they are once
again low player on the totem pole. By their junior season in
college they have again found their confidence and a more
competitive game. When they leave college the cycle starts all
over again, first in the major amateur tournaments then on the
mini-tours. Even amateurs who have played well in open
tournaments, playing against professionals, find it different when
they are actually playing as a professional.
However, by their junior year on the mini-tours, these players have
once again found their place among their peers. At that
point they are ready to take their game abroad and find their place
on an international tour.
Getting through this whole
process takes time, support, and confidence building. It also
requires the needed venues to get the job done. And for most
golfers the best place to do this is near home. The financial
costs of traveling are less of a burden, the moral support is
stronger and the environment is more familiar. Remember, there
is no telling when one of our young talented golfers will sprout
wings and soar into the spot light. We believe each talented
golfer should be given the chance. Michael Jordon’s high
school coach said he’d never make it in the NBA. Imagine what
a waste it would have been if his venues and options were
eliminated. That’s what we see here in Hawaii, talent being
wasted because our golfers have no venue for developing their
character and competitiveness.
We need to change this state of affairs in
the Hawaii golf community. We need to support the cause of our
talented golfers. We need to give them a place to find out
what they are made of. And even if they don’t make it all the
way, they can have the peace of mind to go on with their lives
knowing they gave it their best effort. They can commit to a
chosen career and be satisfied that they’re doing the right
thing. The worst thing for an athlete is never having the
chance to pursue their potential. Nobody should be left with
the feeling of what could have been if they only had the
chance.
Another concern with regard to developing a
Hawaii Golf Tour is the benefit of our athletes maintaining the
image they are from Hawaii. Professional athletes usually are
associated where they went to college and where they began their
professional careers. Hawaii athletes usually take the first
chance they get to leave Hawaii because they cannot pursue their
professional goals in Hawaii. When they attend college in the
mainland, they are less likely to return to Hawaii, and they become
associated with being a product of the college they attended instead
of Hawaii. This does not help promote Hawaii.
Anyone involved in tourism of
the golf industry should be concerned with what promotes
Hawaii. Like California, Florida, and Arizona, Hawaii provides
the year round climate for playing golf. Therefore, Hawaii
should be one of the top golfing destinations in the world. It
also means, Hawaii should be able to produce more professional
golfers than states like Ohio, Washington, and Alabama. But we
don’t. The reason is, these states support the cause and we do
not. Hawaii has the climate and the demand for supporting a
developmental golf
tour. |
