Although his current home is in the northern
Virginia suburbs near
Washington, D.C., with his wife and children, forgotten in the
glare of the klieg lights is the biographical tidbit that Case was
born and raised in
Honolulu. "When I was a kid I'd come to Kauai
every year or so for a vacation," he says. "So for this island in
particular, there's always been a place in my heart."
At the opening ceremonies of the full 18-hole Puakea course last
August, Case, 45, pointed out the home where his father, Daniel,
was raised on Grove Farm property - now within a wedge shot of the
golf course. Daniel Case eventually served as attorney for the
company. "My grandfather was the treasurer of Grove Farm many years
ago," says Case, "so when I was approached about Grove Farm, it
made sense.
"I played a little
golf when I was a kid, but not in the last
decade or so, because I've kinda been busy. In the next decade, I'm
looking forward to more golf, and obviously Puakea will be a key
part of that. That I've redefined my role at
Time Warner gives me
time to spend on other things - such as trying to figure out how to
be helpful to Grove Farm as a company, and Kauai as an island."
And though the scale might be different, Case sees similarities in
revving up Puakea and launching
AOL. "We think Puakea is unique,
but not as well known as other Hawaiian courses largely because it
was 10 holes, which didn't fit into people's conception of a course
- they couldn't really focus on it." Now the word will get around,
Case suggests, just as it did about AOL, which was difficult to
focus on in its early days, too. "AOL was really sold because
people had the experience of getting online and being captivated by
it," Case says. "They told their friends and family about it and it
spread through word of mouth."