Ala Wai Municipal Golf Course

Description:

• The Guinness Book of World Records lists this as the busiest golf course in the world; some 500 rounds a day are played on this 18-hole municipal course within walking distance of Waikiki's hotels. For years, we've held off recommending this par 70, 6,020-yard course because it was so busy (tee times taken by local retirees), but a recent scandal, involving telephone company employees tapping into the tee-time reservation system to get tee times for themselves and their friends, has shaken up the old system, and visitors now have a better chance of playing here. It still is a challenge to get a tee time, and the computerized tee reservations system for all of Oahu's municipal courses will allow you to book only 3 days in advance, but keep trying. Ala Wai basically is a flat layout, bordered by the Ala Wai Canal on one side and the Manoa-Palolo Stream on the other. It's less windy than most Oahu courses, but pay attention to the 372-yard, par-4 1st hole, which demands a straight and long shot to the very tiny green. If you miss, you can make it up on the 478-yard, par-5 10th hole -- the green is reachable in two, so with a two-putt, a birdie is within reach.

• © Frommer's 2013