Hawaii 5 Oh, Yeah: Big Love

by Victor Williams

Mauna Kea, the course that brought the Big Island fame (Kirk Lee Aeder)

Hawaii’s Big Island has become Golf Central for inveterate club-carrying visitors. Desert golf? Just hit the resort-rich Kohala Coast, where black-and-red lava beds define many a Trent Jones, Palmer and Nicklaus fairway.

Something more tropical? Turn toward Kona, where palms sway along classic courses with Pacific views, the coffee grows by the bushel and the parties never end.

Old fashioned Upcountry golf? Waimea is the ticket.

Let’s hit the road will a full tank, a healthy wallet and an open mind, starting with the Kohala Coast. Its courses get the most notice and play because that’s where the resorts are — Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach Marriott, Mauna Lani, Four Seasons Hualalai, Kona Village, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and Hapuna Beach Prince Resort.

Every visit should begin at Mauna Kea, which has weathered well its 40 years at the northern tip of resort row. Visually, Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s course reaches its zenith at No. 3, 210 yards of surf-spanning glory. At No. 18, Jones beautifully sums Mauna Kea’s charms. First, he gives you a 360-degree view of ocean, land and sky, then asks for a relaxed downhill tee shot and bunker-belted approach.

Just up the hill is Hapuna, a fascinating Arnold Palmer-Ed Seay design. Rolling through terrain that’s more African savanna than classic Hawaii, Hapuna never brushes the ocean itself; instead it boasts an ocean view on every hole.

Five miles south, Mauna Lani Resort serves up 36 holes of modern lava golf in a lush, carefully presented package that began as 18 holes in the hinterlands. It’s like a set from South Pacific, but it’s also real — and what people think of when they think of Hawaiian golf resorts. Architect Robin Nelson expanded the original Francis H. I’i Brown course into two — the North and South, with the South getting more play. Its No. 15 signature hole is little more than an 8-iron over crashing surf from the regular tees to what may be the biggest green on the island.

While Mauna Lani is the most laid-back of the Kohala destinations, Waikoloa Beach Resort is the busiest and most popular. Anchored by the amazing Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel and the Waikoloa Beach Marriott, it also offers two 18-hole tracks: Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s Beach Course, which opened in 1981, and the Kings Course, an early Tom Weiskopf-Jay Morrish design that followed in 1990.

Waikola Village is a Trent Jones Jr. sleeper about six miles up from the coast. And still farther up the hill, in the shadow of Mauna Kea, is the Big Island’s version of cowboy country. Here you’ll find America’s second-largest cattle operation, the Parker Ranch, plus ample opportunity for horseback riding. It’s also where you’ll find Waimea Country Club, a links-flavored wonder whose broad fairways are lined with giant ironwood and eucalyptus trees. Heading back south on Mamalahoa Highway toward Kona, you’ll discover two more jewels — Big Island Country Club and Makalei Country Club. The first, a rolling Perry Dye design that will someday turn fully private, is best known for its final two holes — a par 3 to an island green, and a long par 4 with water everywhere. As for Makalei, get ready for a truly “wild” experience, with a gallery of peacocks, turkeys, pheasant and any other critters that decide to show up on its hilly, forested, carts-only expanse.

The must-plays in Kona are Kona Country Club’s Mountain Course and Ocean Course. The former might have the best five-hole stretch in the Islands, 13 through 17, which begins with an epic par 5, with two excellent watery 3-pars to follow. The Ocean Course has a more “old Hawaii” feel, with wide, flat fairways, lots of palm trees and not much lava encroachment.

There you have it, a breakneck tour of Big Island golf. And we didn’t even touch on the hole-in-the wall local spots, including a couple near Hilo, on the east side, where up to 300 inches of rain falls annually. But you’ve got the idea: This is a brand of golf that’s you can’t find on the mainland — or anywhere else in Hawaii. FG