I’ll be upfront — I’m not out here threatening anyone’s PGA Tour card. My golf game is best described as “enthusiastic” and “consistently humbling.” But the more time I log out at Ewa 360 and Hawai’i Prince Golf Club, the more I see it: the game of golf and the game of real estate have an almost embarrassing amount in common. Both punish impulsive decisions. Both reward preparation. And both have a way of humbling you on a Tuesday morning when you least expect it.

What I’ve come to understand is that the skills that make someone better on the course — patience, course management, mental composure, and the discipline to play the smart shot instead of the hero shot — are the exact same skills that help me show up for my clients. Not just buyers navigating O’ahu’s competitive market, but sellers too, who need a strategist in their corner just as much as a salesperson.

This is Part 1 of a three-part series called Beyond the Closing Table — where I explore how the things I do off the clock make me better at what I do on it. Here’s what the fairway taught me.

Every Round Starts with a Game Plan — So Does Every Transaction

A good golfer doesn’t just step to the first tee and swing. They read the hole, check the yardage, account for the wind coming off the ‘Ewa plain, and make a deliberate decision before the club ever leaves the bag. The goal isn’t to swing hard — it’s to put the ball in the best position for the next shot.

For buyers, this means doing the homework before you ever step foot in a showing — understanding your financing options, your commute tolerance, your non-negotiables versus your nice-to-haves, and what the data actually says about the neighborhoods you’re targeting. Military families PCS’ing to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam often have 60 days to land somewhere. That timeline demands a game plan, not a gut feeling.

For sellers, the game plan looks different but matters just as much. What’s the right list price given current comps? What condition does the home need to be in before it hits the market? Are we going broad with marketing, or targeting a specific buyer pool — military families who’ll use VA financing, local move-up buyers, investors? Walking into the market without a strategy is like teeing off without reading the hole. You might get lucky. More often, you’re punching out of the rough.

The Course Changes — So Does the Market

Even if you’ve played a course a dozen times, conditions shift. The wind off the ‘Ewa plain hits Hawai’i Prince completely differently depending on the season. A pin placement that was friendly last week is now tucked behind a bunker. Golfers who assume the course plays the same every time get caught off guard — every single round.

O’ahu’s real estate market runs the same way. Inventory levels, interest rates, VA loan limits, buyer demand, seller expectations — these move. What worked eighteen months ago doesn’t necessarily apply today. For sellers, this means pricing strategy isn’t something you set once and forget. It’s something you monitor, reassess, and adjust. A home that would have had five offers in a weekend during peak demand might sit for three weeks in a shifted market — not because the home isn’t good, but because the conditions changed and the strategy didn’t adapt with them.

This is exactly why I track the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® monthly data and bring that real-time intelligence into every client conversation. Playing the course as it is today — not how you remember it from last year — is the only way to play smart.

Grip It and Rip It Rarely Works

We’ve all seen it on the tee box — someone ignores every condition, grips the driver, and just swings for the fences. Sometimes it works. More often, they’re punching out from the rough two shots later. I speak from considerable personal experience on this one.

For buyers, the “grip it and rip it” approach can be costly. Military families excited about their VA benefit and zero-down purchasing power sometimes move too fast — locking into a home right before a short island tour ends, without enough equity runway to cover closing costs and commissions when orders come back around. The VA loan is one of the most powerful financial tools available to service members. But it has to be paired with strategy, not just enthusiasm.

For sellers, this shows up differently — it’s the temptation to overprice out of the gate, assume the market will catch up, and then sit through price reductions that signal weakness to buyers. A disciplined list price, backed by solid comps and a clear positioning strategy, almost always outperforms the hero shot. The homes that sell well aren’t always priced highest — they’re priced right.

Managing the Mental Game

Golf is at least 50% mental. One bad hole can snowball into a ruined scorecard if you let it bleed into the next tee box. The best golfers reset after every shot — good or bad — and play what’s in front of them, not what just happened behind them.

For buyers, losing a multiple-offer situation stings. Watching a home you loved go under contract can feel deflating — especially in a market like O’ahu where inventory is tight and comparable properties don’t resurface quickly. But letting that frustration drive the next decision is where costly mistakes happen. Overbidding emotionally, waiving inspections that shouldn’t be waived, or giving up on the search entirely — these are all reactions, not strategies.

For sellers, the mental game shows up when offers come in below expectations, or when the first weekend on market doesn’t produce the activity that was hoped for. Staying composed, trusting the data, and making methodical adjustments — rather than reactive ones — is what separates a smooth transaction from a stressful one.

Twenty years in the Coast Guard trained me to stay composed under pressure. That’s not something I leave at the dock. It’s something I bring to every negotiation, every difficult conversation, and every market condition — on behalf of whoever I’m representing at the table.

You Don’t Have to Play the Round Alone

Golf is a better game with the right playing partner — someone who knows the course, keeps you honest, celebrates the good shots, and helps you think through the tough ones without just telling you what you want to hear.

West O’ahu’s real estate market has its own set of nuances that you won’t pick up from browsing Zillow. The difference between how Ewa Gentry, Ocean Pointe, and Ho’opili play for buyers and sellers isn’t obvious from the outside. HOA structures, new construction timelines, VA appraisal dynamics in planned communities, seller motivation patterns — this is course knowledge that only comes from being out here, in it, every week.

Whether you’re relocating on PCS orders, transitioning out of the military and putting down roots, a local family ready to make your move, or a homeowner thinking about what your equity position looks like in today’s market — I’m here. Not just to open doors or hold a sign. To help you play a smarter round from the first tee to the final green.

The Fairway and the Closing Table

People ask me sometimes what golf has to do with selling homes. Honestly — more than I expected when I first picked up a club. Both require you to read conditions that are always changing, manage your emotions under pressure, think multiple moves ahead, and resist the urge to make the flashy play when the smart play is right there in front of you. Whether I’m standing on the tee at Ewa 360 or sitting across a negotiating table, the same principles keep showing up.

If you’re a military family navigating a PCS move to O’ahu, a homeowner thinking about what your next chapter looks like, a local family ready to stop renting and start building equity, or anyone trying to make sense of one of the most unique real estate markets in the country — let’s build a game plan. The course is right here. Let’s play a smart round.

Continue the series: Part 2 — What Motocross & Mountain Biking Taught Me About Real Estate