The PGA Tour canceled The Sentry because of drought conditions in Maui. Thus, the Sony Open in Hawaii will serve as the season opener in 2026. Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Oahu, has hosted the event since the tournament’s modern inception as the Hawaiian Open in 1965. The club does not announce itself with elevation, spectacle, or brute length, yet it has quietly shaped professional golf’s arrival in Hawaii for more than half a century. Let’s learn more about this course.

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History and overview of the Waialae Country Club

Seth Raynor, the club’s designer, established it in 1927 alongside the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It was the first-ever golf course to go public on the Oahu island. It has hosted the Hawaiian Open since 1965 and continues to host the event, which was renamed the Sony Open in Hawaii. While Raynor and his then-associate Charles Banks were the first architects, the course has undergone many subsequent modifications. Robert Trent Jones, Desmond Muirhead, and Tom Doak have made these modifications, while retaining the vision of Raynor.

With the Greenbrier’s Old White course gone, Waialae Country Club remains the only course designed by Raynor that remains on the PGA Tour schedule.

Waialae Country Club layout and design

Waialae plays as a par‑70 around 7,020–7,044 yards for the Sony Open in Hawaii. It features Bermuda greens, around 83 bunkers, and only a couple of water hazards in play. Unlike many other courses on the tour, this one is much flatter. It has only around 10 feet of elevation change. Therefore, experts consider it a precision‑over‑power design. The narrow corridors, sharp doglegs, firm Bermuda greens, and trade‑wind exposure add to the precision test.

Inspired by Europeans and Hamptons, the course incorporates template holes inspired by famous designs like the Road Hole at St Andrews and National Golf Links of America. Notably, Wind becomes the primary challenge on the course. In calm conditions, Waialae Country Club can yield low scores. However, gusty trade winds transform it into a demanding shot‑maker’s layout where controlling trajectory and distance is crucial.

Par-3 8th is the most significant hole of the event. There’s a 186-yard distance between the tee box and the hole, and the redan inspires its design. Par 3 17th hole also employs the redan-style green. Besides holes 8 and 17, the W formed by the four coconut trees on hole 16 is also an iconic feature at the Sony Open in Hawaii. This formation is intentional and comes from a Hollywood movie’s inspiration: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The movie’s plot revolves around finding a treasure hidden under a W-shaped tree. Ethan Abbott, who is a member at Waialae Country Club, started lobbying for the course’s own W.

The Sony Open in Hawaii flips Waialae Country Club’s nines to showcase Oahu at its most striking. This highlights the sunset views that frame the closing stretch and a par-5 dogleg, which serves as a natural stage for late drama. It also highlights both the course’s visual appeal and its design intent.

The switch makes the 546-yard 9th hole the last one for the event. It demands placement over power, with bunkers forcing precision off the tee. This setting has produced plenty of defining moments, from Isao Aoki’s historic hole-out in 1983 to Hideki Matsuyama’s stunning eagle in 2022.

Notably, Waialae Country Club is recognized as a Platinum Club of America. It ranks among the Top-150 Country Clubs across the nation. As a cherry on top, the club has earned an Honorable Mention as a Platinum Club of the World for 2025-2026.

The lowest score at the Waialae Country Club for the Sony Open in Hawaii

Justin Thomas holds the lowest score record on this Oahu course. At the age of 23, Johnson carded the first round of 59 at the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2017. He surpassed Davis Love III’s 60, set in 1994, with eagles on holes 9 and 10. Continuing on the momentum, he went on to achieve the lowest 36-hole, 54-hole, and tournament records at the time. He finished four rounds at 27-under 253.

The Waialae Country Club is ready to once again host the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2026. The field comprises of many elite golfers aiming to conquer Waialae.