PRINCEVILLE — Princeville Resort has named Derrick Watts as the golf course superintendent for the Prince Golf Course, which is scheduled to re-open on Dec. 14. “We are thrilled to have Derrick join the Prince team,” said Doug Long, vice president
PRINCEVILLE — Princeville Resort has named Derrick Watts as the golf course superintendent for the Prince Golf Course, which is scheduled to re-open on Dec. 14.
“We are thrilled to have Derrick join the Prince team,” said Doug Long, vice president of construction for Heritage Links, the management company for the course’s golf and club operations, as well as the renovation project, in a release. “His knowledge and expertise will be very valuable as we start the grow-in process of the renovation work and in maintaining consistent world-class playing conditions for guests in the future.”
Watts brings more than 14 years of golf course maintenance experience including past positions at Waikoloa Beach Resort and Hualalai Resort on the Big Island and four years as golf course superintendent at Kapalua Resort on Maui.
A member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association, Watts holds a bachelor of science degree in horticulture from Montana State University and is currently serving as board president for the Hawai‘i Golf Course Superintendent Association until 2013.
The Prince Golf Course, rated as one of the top 100 courses in the United States, has been closed since Jan. 29 for extensive renovation work. In anticipation of its Dec. 14 reopening, Tom Freestone, first assistant golf professional at the Prince course, has successfully obtained Class A membership into the Professional Golfers Association of America.
Freestone’s achievement required several years of study and internship under the PGA’s Professional Golf Management University Program. He started employment at the Princeville Golf Courses in 2003 and stepped into the position of assistant golf pro at the Prince course in 2009.
Prince Golf Course is known for its challenging play, breathtaking natural beauty and layout, which follows the natural contours of the land, encompassing 350 acres of rolling terrain, tropical jungle, gullies, streams and waterfalls.
Visit www.princeville.com or call 826-5001 for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
