HAPUNA GOLF COURSE
This Arnold Palmen/Ed Seay-designed 18-hole championship course is nestled into the dramatic natural contours of the land from the shoreline to about 700 feet above sea level. This beautiful course features specÂtacular vistas of the Kohala Coast and the Pacific, with snow-capped Mauna Kea volcano as a backdrop. Hapuna’s challenging play and environmental sensitivity make it one of Hawai’i’s most unique golf courses. Tee times: (808) 880-3000.
HUALALAI RESORT
The Hualalai Golf Course, the first Jack Nicklaus Signature Course on the Big Island is home of the PGA Champions Tour Mitsubishi Electric Championship every January. This carefully groomed course was designed with a sense of place. Special care was taken to preserve the historic King’s Trail located on the course, and other significant cultural sites at the resort. ResÂidents and residential guests of Hualalai along with guests of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai Way enjoy this great facility, which includes a hike-acre driving range with 27,000 square foot short gene practice area. For information, please call (808) 325-8480.
MAUNA KEA GOLF COURSE
For over 40 years, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has been the most celebrated resort in Hawai’i. And Mauna Kea Golf Course, carved out of ancient lava flaws by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the world. This course which emulates the legend of Hawai`i as a golfer’s paradise, boasts the famed 3rd hole, where surging blue inlet waves thunder against a rocky black shoreline for ah experience you’ll rememÂber forever. Without changing the essential character of his father’s design, Rees Jones completed a tee-to-green renovation in the fall of 2008. (808) 882-5400.
MAUNA LANI RESORT NORTH COURSE
The North Course, becoming known as the tournament course, is a bit more difficult than the South Course, displays a much different face of Hawaii Golf. Built on a lava bed, it is characterized by rolling terrain punctuÂated by kiawe forests. Trees often come into play on this course. Number 17, a pat-3 tucked into a natural lava amphitheater, is another one of the resort’s signature holes and a favorite “I was here” photo spot. Public. 18 holes. 68-1310 Mauna Lani Dr. (808) 885-6655.
MAUNA LANI RESORT SOUTH COURSE
The South Course shakes through the stark, tugged a’a lava of the prehistoric Kaniku lava flaw. Besides great golf, the challenging course offers the player a panorama of mountain and ocean views. The South Course is home to No. 15, one of the most photographed over-the-water golf holes in the world. Public. 18 holes. 68Â1310 Mauna Lani Dr. (808) 885-6655.
WAIKOLOA RESORT BEACH COURSE
Weaving its way through rolling lava beds, down to the surf, the Waikoloa Beach Course is simply breathtakÂing. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., this pat-70, 6,566 yard course offers strategically placed water feaÂtures and immaculate greens that are well guarded by the course’s 74 white sand bunkers. The crowning glory of the Beach Course is the intimidating, pat 5, 502 yard 12th hole. Playing along the Pacific Ocean, the 12th hole hot only offers challenging golf, it is a great place to watch humpback whales and catch splendid views of the other Hawaiian Islands. Public. 18 holes. 600 Waikoloa Beach Dr. (808)886-7888.
WAIKOLOA RESORT KINGS’ COURSE
Waikoloa Kings’ Course is one of the most challenging and picturesque golf courses in Hawai’i. This Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish design was named one of the top 100 oh Golfweek’s 2005 “America’s Best Resort Courses” list. The Kings’ Course uniquely provides golfers the best of two worlds; golf on an island paradise offering uninterrupted views of show-capped Mauna Kea, oh a course that more closely resembles a layout along the coast of Scotland. The 7,064 yard links-style golf course is highlighted by six lakes, 83 sand traps, and wide undulating fairways. Kings’ offers a solid, strateÂgic layout that requires a golfer to think his way around the course. Public. 18 holes. 600 Waikoloa Beach Dr. (808)886-7888.
