Favorite Resort Golf Courses in Hawaii
by Karen Misuraca
As each of the Hawaiian islands is entirely unique, so are the more than 90 golf courses in
the
island chain. Fairways are carved out of fearsome black lava fields on the "Big Island" of
Hawaii,
while tropical jungle is the backdrop on Kauai. Golf courses are laid like soft, green
blankets on
the steep slopes of Maui's dormant volcano,
and the roar of crashing surf fills the ears of
golfers on Oahu.
The top names in course design have made their mark out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,
from Arnold Palmer to Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and Jr. and Tom Fazio,
among others. Year round temperatures in the 80s make the chill of winter a distant memory when
the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and the LPGA play seven annual professional tournaments during
the "Aloha Season" of January and February.
 Prince Golf Course, Princeville at Hanalei, Kauai
The north shore of the Garden Isle of Kauai
is a misty mountain wilderness where rainbow-crowned
waterfalls drop from sheer cliffs into the sea. Floating on high plateaus between jagged peaks and
Hanalai Bay, the Prince Golf Course at
Princeville at Hanalei, Kauai is criss-crossed with streams and falls, deep ravines and
dense vegetation—7,309 yards of roller-coaster target-style golf. Five sets of tees, with up
to nine additional tee boxes on some holes, give every golfer a chance; although, players must
have
handicaps of five or less to play from the "black" or tournament tees. Dramatic elevation changes
and wildly undulating fairways are the order of the day. The Prince is not far from Mount
Waialeale, said to be the wettest spot on earth. When rain showers come and go, golfers hop in and
out of the shelters placed around the course.
Plantation Course, Kapalua Resort, Maui
The PGA Tour's season opener, the PGA Mercedes-BenzChampionship is played on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui, a
Coore/Crenshaw-designed layout that careens around canyons and gorges in the foothills of the West
Maui Mountains. Fairways are extra-wide to counteract the unpredictable, often gusty winds. The
203-yard 8th hole asks for a carry across a ravine to a forward-sloping green protected by a deep
bunker in front and a brace of sandy traps behind, with strong crosswinds from the right. Golfers,
save your energies for the longest hole on the PGA Tour, the 663-yard 18th, a downhill slide with
canyons to the left and a view of the island of Molokai beyond the green (assisted by a tailwind
at the 2004 Mercedes event, Davis Love, ΙΙΙ blasted a 471-yard drive). Rather less
intimidating to mere mortals is the Bay Course at Kapalua.
Ko'olau Golf Course, Kaneohe, Oahu
Of the thirty-nine courses on Oahu, Ko'olau
Golf Course at Kaneohe, Oahu is by far the scariest—Golf Digest calls it the third
toughest in America. 15 minutes from Honolulu International Airport, at foot of the Pali Lookout,
the course is a Shangri-La of luxuriant rainforest, jungly gorges and mountains gone green from
over a hundred inches of annual rainfall. Although a 162 slope rating from the back tees indicates
a daunting challenge, the other tees are positioned to offer a pleasant experience to the average
player. Nonetheless, the 18th hole is not for sissies—long carries must fly over two
bottomless canyons while avoiding 22 sandy traps. After their rounds, golfers stagger into the clubhouse to
enjoy ocean views and Don Ho's
Special Ramen Noodles at Honey's at Ko'olau, the restaurant named for Honey
Ho, a popular local who was the mother of HonoluluĠs most famous entertainer, the late Don Ho.
 Kiele Course, Kauai Lagoons Golf Club, Lihue, Kauai
On breezy promontories far above the cruise ships anchored in Nawiliwili Harbor, amid a labyrinth
of freshwater lagoons, Jack Nicklaus created the Kiele Course at Kauai Lagoons Golf
Club. Upping the
ante on the Kiele are more than 100 bunkers, winds off the ocean and plenty of water hazards and
forced carries—add to that clifftop-to-clifftop shots into the teeth of the trade winds and
an island green on the 18th—and it's no wonder golfers load up with extra balls. The blind tee
shot on the 16th hole jets over booming surf and a craggy ravine to a narrow fairway that slopes down
to the coastline to a mini-green near old Ninini Point Lighthouse, a beacon guarding the bay. Five
minutes from Lihue Airport, the golf resort lies along the white sands of Kalapaki Beach, a
popular spot for surfing, sunning and snorkeling.
Gold Course, Wailea Golf Club, Maui
Tumbling down the slopes of the 10,023-foot dormant volcano, Mt. Haleakala, the tournament-tough
Gold Course at Wailea Golf Club, Maui
requires accurate shot-making. Ascending steadily upward, the Trent Jones, Jr. track
is tilted and terraced between ancient lava rock walls and high, dense flora along the fairways.
Like bits of torn white paper, herons fly above the ponds and lakes, and you can hear the pounding
surf on the back nine. Cameras click on the 8th hole, which aims out toward the ocean directly at
Molokini, the tiny, crescent-shaped islet offshore. The new David Leadbetter
Golf Academy Wailea opened here last summer, headed up by the playing coach of such notables as Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and
Hawaii's own teen phenomenon, Michelle Wie. Completing a triumvirate of golf at Wailea are the
tropically landscaped Emerald and Blue courses.
The Challenge at Manele, Four Seasons Resort Lana'i at Manele Bay, Lanai
Just 13 miles wide and 18 miles long, Lanai is a quiet hideaway with just two resorts and two golf
courses. The Nicklaus-designed
Challenge at Manele at Four Seasons Resort Lana'i rides tilting volcanic hillsides and rocky
plateaus above HulopoĠe Bay, where whales and spinner dolphins are often sighted. Every hole
enjoys wide ocean views and ocean breezes—the reason why the flags are wind socks. Zillionaire
Bill Gates was married on the twelfth hole, a notorious 202-yard gut-wrencher requiring a 200-yard
carry across a yawning gap that drops 150 feet to the roiling water below—pray for wind at your
back. At 1,600 feet in elevation in the misty highlands, Greg Norman laid out The Experience at
Koele, a cool course meandering beneath towering pines and banyan trees. From the 17th tee, drives
drop nearly 250 feet to a patch of turf at the bottom of an emerald gorge.
 King's Course, Waikoloa Beach Resort, Hawaii
One of the most challenging of the Tom Weiskopf/Jay Morrish designs, the King's Course at Waikoloa Beach
Resort is Scottish links-inspired, watered by six lakes and dotted with pot bunkers as deep as five feet. Inland from
Anaeho'omalu Bay on the Kohala Coast of
the Big Island, the track runs through massive lava outcroppings that make for high-bouncing errant shots. Rare double greens occur on the third and
sixth holes. At the adjacent Hilton
Waikoloa Village koi glide in a lily pond on the elaborate 30,000-square-foot seaside putting course, a good place to warm up the putter.
Ko Olina Golf Club, Ko Olina Resort and Marina, Oahu
Roy Yamaguchi's famous fusion cuisine and an Ali'i beer are the golfer's reward at the Bridge Bar
overlooking a waterfall-decorated lake on the showstopping, multi-tiered 18th green. Just 17 miles
from Honolulu International Airport, Ko Olina Golf
Club at Ko Olina Resort and Marina, Oahu hosts the LPGA Fields Open in February, and scores
of vacationing golfers all year long. Generous fairways are kind to resort players, while
elevated, undulating greens and acres of translucent lagoons, ponds, lakes and cascades, plus a
scattering of pot bunkers, raise excitement level. The 18th fairway is guarded by three pools, a
large lake and a waterfall at the green. GPS in the golf carts makes it easy to navigate between
the waving coconut palms and the overhanging banyan, plumeria and monkeypod trees.
Royal Ka'anapali Course, Ka'anapali Beach Resort, Maui
In the heart of the sprawling Ka'anapali
Beach Resort, Maui, one of only two golf courses in Hawaii designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the famed North Course was recently closed for months for a
multi-million dollar face-lift, and renamed the Royal Ka'anapali Course. Starting alongside sugar-white Ka'anapali Beach with a dogleg par 5 bordered by water, tee to green, the updated
layout rambles up into the West Maui Mountain foothills before dropping back to the ocean for
three stunning finishing holes. Brushed by prevailing northeast trade winds, the 18th plays along
a lagoon the entire length of the fairway and green. Nicklaus and Watson will defend their title
at the Wendy's Champions Skins Game in February.
Arnold Palmer Course, Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu
In love with Turtle Bay and with his fiancé, Arnie got married and competed in the PGA Champions
Tour Turtle Bay Championship on the same weekend, playing for the first time on the course he
designed here on the North Shore of Oahu. The resort's beachfront cottages provided a romantic
setting for the couple, who wed at sunset overlooking five miles of sandy shore. A Scottish
links-style layout, the Arnold Palmer
Course at Turtle Bay Resort surrounds Punaho'olapa Marsh, where waterfowl and endangered
Hawaiian birds take refuge. Giant waste bunkers and water on fourteen holes, constant sea breezes
and legions of ironwood trees keep golfers on their toes. The surf rolls beside the 17th fairway,
where nine ball-eating bunkers lead to a green perched just 100 feet from the shore.
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