Big Island Golf Courses
Kona Country Club is a 36-hole layout featuring
the Ocean Course and Ali'i Course.
The Ocean Course
has a 6,155-yd men's tee and a slope of 129. This course is
difficult because it is so close to the shoreline and has a
strong crosswind. Being so close, golfers may even get sprayed
by ocean mist.
The Alii Course was built on
an inland hillside with a 5,841-yd men's tee and a slope of
138. The signature hole is #14, a 171-yd, par 3, requiring a
tee shot from an elevated tee over a lake to the green. There
are lava areas on both courses, which are played as lateral
hazards, and both have water hazards in play. The fairways are
fairly wide, and the greens are large and fast. The courses
were awarded a three-star rating in 1994 by Golf Digest.
Hilo Municipal Golf Course is an 18-hole,
par 71 municipal course designed by Willard G. Wilkinson.
Built in 1959, this Zoysia Grass course has water in play,
with tree-lined fairways and a total yardage of 6,325.
Hualalai Golf Club was designed by Jack
Nicklaus, and play is limited to guests of Four Seasons Resort
Hualalai. This 18-hole par 72 course has been crafted with
extreme sensitivity to the land, and stretches out over 7,117
yds. This carefully groomed course begins in a lush kipuka
(oasis), and then flows across brilliant green fairways contoured
against black lava, with generous landing areas that keep
golfers out of the volcanic rough. This beautiful and challenging
course is home to the annual Senior PGA Tours MasterCard Championship.
Waikoloa Resort offers two championship
courses. Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, The
Kings Course is a Scottish-links style layout featuring
numerous pot bunkers, undulating fairways, multiple tee placements
and lava outcroppings throughout. Upon opening in 1990, the
Kings' Course was ranked as one of the top new courses by
Golf Digest. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the resort-style
Beach Course is carved through lava flows
along Anaeho'omalu Bay. The Beach course features numerous
sand bunkers, brilliant water features and the most spectacular
oceanfront par-five in Hawaii on the 502-yd, twelfth hole.
This challenging yet scenic hole has lava throughout and runs
along the Pacific where views of breaching whales and vistas
of the other Hawaiian Islands are not uncommon.
Mauna Lani Golf Club has two outstanding
18-hole championship courses. The North Course
is excellent for tournament play. Built on an ancient lava
flow, it is characterized by rolling terrain and mesquite
forests. Trees often come into play on this course. The
South Course is built on the Kaniku lava flow, and
features Mauna Lani's signature 15th hole. The course snakes
through stark, rugged lava, where volcano goddess Pele reigns
supreme. Besides great golf, this course offers a spectacular
range of mountain and ocean views.
The Hapuna Golf Course is an 18 hole par
72 course of 6,069 yds. This course features a Links-Style
Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay design, and was a Four Star Award
Winner by Golf Digest. The course utilizes the natural terrain
formed by the extinct Mauna Loa volcano, with clover shaped
bunkers and Bermuda greens and fairways. Look for the 545-yds,
Par 5, 3rd hole - consistently rated one of Hawaii's best.
Mauna Kea Beach Golf Club offers golfers
the perfect challenge to match their level of play. Created
by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the 18-hole championship course
presents dramatic changes in elevation, large undulating greens,
and 120 well-placed bunkers. There are incredible panoramic
sweeps of sea and land, featuring snow-capped Mauna Kea, rugged
lava beds, and the sparkling blue Pacific. One of the most
spectacular features is the famous Third Hole -- where surging
inlet water races to meet the rocky shoreline, affording one
of the most breathtaking views in golf today.
