Top Golf design may change - KHON2

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Top Golf is heading to Honolulu, but it may look different from how it was originally envisioned. The City and County of Honolulu said Top Golf is making adjustments based on community input.

Right now the plan is to build a four story building with bars, restaurants and a multi-level driving range. Surrounding the driving range are lights and large netting to keep the golf balls in.

However, some community members have concerns with the proposed Top Golf design. These include the height of the netting poles, the brightness of the lights and the noise.

“The concerns are mostly among residents on Date Street, who feel like the 165-170 foot netting that surrounds the driving range that Top Golf is proposing is going to be obstructing their their view,” said Richard Figliuzzi, Diamond Head, St. Louis Heights and Kapuhulu neighborhood board chair.

For people living nearby, another big concern is whether they’ll have to deal with bright lights shining into the homes.

The City said Top Golf has made some adjustments to their design.

“The lighting is shielded and cast down toward the ground not up in the air,” said Guy Kaulukukui, Director of the Department of Enterprise Services. “Lights will not be placed on any of the safety nettings, it will be much lower. The safety netting, which was proposed to be somewhere upwards of maybe even 170 feet, will be significantly lowered.”

Guy Kaulukukui has been working with Top Golf to address the community concerns. He said the company plans to reveal more about how they’ll deal with the sound issues Thursday night when it meets with the neighborhood board.

The partnership with Top Golf will be a big one for the city, with the company slated to pay more than a million dollars to lease the land. Kaulukukui said the money will go back into improving other golf courses and city golf programs. He said they would be able to do more with this money compared to the half a million they’re currently getting with the current driving range.

“What we intend to do is use the additional revenue to enhance the golf experience here at the Ala Wai as well as other golf courses,” said Kaulukukui.

“We are going down a road where in a few years, we’d probably have to look at seriously closing down courses or significantly increasing rates for our residents,” said Kaulukukui. “By doing something like creating an opportunity for Top Golf to be here, we are able to maintain municipal golf at its current level.”

Top Golf executives will be at the Diamond Head Neighborhood Board meeting to present their new modifications to the Top Golf venue at the Ala Wai Golf Course. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Ala Wai Golf Course Clubhouse. For more information on the meeting, you can visit this website.

2020-02-13 08:01:00Z
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/top-golf-design-may-change/