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hawaii five-0
Sun, surf, sand, palm trees, idyllic resorts… and golf. That’s what a visit to Hawaii is all about. If you want to explore beyond the most popular tourist attractions on Oahu and Maui and play some great golf, take a short flight from Honolulu to Kauai or the Big Island of Hawaii itself.
It’s 50 years this year since Hawaii became the 50th state of the Union. Golf resorts began to blossom not long after and today there is a selection of wonderful golf destinations on five of the archipelago’s 19 islands. With its dry west coast climate, golf on the Big Island of Hawaii is hard to beat. Here, where Captain James Cook’s life came to an inglorious end, the geography, geological history and topography of the island have combined perfectly to create a sublime golfing environment.
Hawaii’s landscape is dominated by the 4200-metre Mauna Kea (‘White Mountain’) dormant volcano, which is snow-covered for much of the year and even offers skiing and snowboarding for the more adventurous. Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa, just 35 metres lower than its big sister, are almost twice the height of Mt Kosciuszko and 450 metres higher than New Zealand’s Mt Cook.
Golf architects including some of the greats – Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Robert Trent Jones Snr – have used to great advantage the black lava and volcanic rock that spilled down mountainsides from Hawaii’s volcanoes tens of thousands of years ago and today dominates the landscape along and near the coast.
Following in the footsteps of hotelier and philanthropist Laurance Rockefeller, who first capitalised on the Big Island’s golf resort potential, they have worked brilliantly with nature to create golfing gems that stand tall more than 40 years later.
Rockefeller, one of five sons of John D. Rockefeller Jnr, engaged Robert Trent Jones Snr to create a golf course alongside his Mauna Kea Beach Hotel – now the Mauna Kea Resort – that opened in 1965.
It began a pattern of careful, considered and conservation-minded development that has continued ever since. The Big Island’s 20 golf courses, including five beautifully crafted integrated resorts, now stand testimony to Rockefeller’s vision, conservation values and commitment to detail.
Hualalai Resort
The Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Hualalai, a short drive north of Kona International Airport, sits majestically beside the Pacific Ocean and is open to guests at the Four Seasons Resort.
Opened in 1996, the 6500-metre layout is carved through dark black lava. Home to the Champions Tour season opener, it makes for a challenging round of golf with several exciting holes, especially the finishing par-4. With Pacific winds always billowing across, it takes a brave golfer to attempt a shortcut drive into the dogleg-left hole location.
As well as golf, the Four Seasons Resort offers a unique snorkelling facility called King’s Pond. Carved out of natural lava rock, fresh mountain water and ocean water come together via subterranean channels. Stocked with more than 3500 fish, including spotted eagle rays, King’s Pond is a must-experience activity.
A second course at Hualalai – Ke‘olu – designed by Tom Weiskopf, is reserved exclusively for members.
www.hualalai.com
www.fourseasons.com/hualalai
Kona Country Club
Less than 20km south of Kona airport is the Kona Country Club, home to the Alii Mountain Course and Ocean Course. Easily accessed by guests of the Sheraton Keauhou Bay and Spa and Keauhou Beach Resort, the shortish 6000-metre mountain course was completed in 1991 and features several holes with stunning mountain and ocean vistas – none better than the downhill 14th with lakeside green, described by back-nine designer Robin Bell as “one of the prettiest par-3s in Hawaii”.
Kona’s William Bell-designed 6170-metre ocean course opened in 1967 and features a front nine that skirts the Pacific Ocean. Its signature hole, the par-3, 202-metre third, challenges golfers to take on the elements, but more often than not the crosswind is the victor.
www.konagolf.com
Waikoloa Beach Resort
Situated on Hawaii’s famous north-west Kohala coast, and with two championship courses, two beachfront hotels and abundant quality shopping, Waikoloa Beach Resort is favoured by guests of the Waikaloa Village Hilton and Waikaloa Beach Marriott.
The Hilton is a huge 62-acre resort that appeals to families with its own tram system and boats that ferry guests along a man-made canal from one point of the resort to another. The giant swimming pool offers a fun experience with “waterfalls”, jacuzzis and waterslides.
For many, the highlight of the resort is the dolphin enclosure where dolphins are close enough to touch and, for a fee, a special dolphin experience can be arranged where guests can wade into the lagoon and interact with the dolphins up close. Regular dolphin shows are performed daily in front of an enthusiastic audience.
Near the Hilton are the Robert Trent Jones Jnr. Beach Course or the more demanding Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish-designed Kings’ Course.
The Beach Course, which opened in 1981, spans the landscape of Waikoloa from the crashing surf to the dark lava fields that make up the base of the terrain. On this delightful course, golfers play over, around and occasionally into the lava. The front side of the layout weaves through valleys of jagged rock, with holes 6, 7 and 8 bordered by a sacred Hawaiian petroglyph field with ancient rock carvings.
The back nine of the Beach Course plays down to the edge of the Pacific where, during winter, breaching whales are often seen from this gorgeous par-5. The hole doglegs sharply left in the fairway landing zone, then kicks back right to a putting surface fringed with swaying palm trees and the ocean lapping upon the lava.
The more demanding Kings’ Course is a solid test of skills. On this shotmakers’ layout there are many risk and reward holes, none better than the par-5 18th that features deep pot bunkers and a vast field of lava on the left.
www.waikoloabeachresort.com
www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com
www.marriott.com.au
Mauna Kea Resort
The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel and its sister Mauna Kea Resort, on the far northern Kohala coast, were the brainchild of Laurance Rockefeller. The two hotels share 1839 acres of oceanfront. Perfectly nestled into the bluffs above Hapuna Beach, the hotel is designed in a flowing, contemporary Hawaiian style.
Its accompanying golf course, also called the Hapuna, was designed by another golfing legend, Arnold Palmer, and has long been highly rated by America’s leading golf magazines. The 18-hole, par-72 layout is 6285 metres long and plays into the dramatic natural contours of the land from the shoreline to about 230 metres above sea level. This beautiful course features spectacular views of the Kohala Coast and the Pacific Ocean, with the snow-capped Mauna Kea volcano as a backdrop.
The Mauna Kea Resort is widely known in the area for having the best stretch of beach on the Kohala Coast. Unfortunately, the Mauna Kea Resort suffered structural damage in a 2006 earthquake and has recently reopened after extensive repairs and renovations. Guests of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel can gain access to this beach through a shuttle service.
The Mauna Kea golf course that was created out of bare lava in the 1960s by Robert Trent Jones Sr. has been revitalised by his son, Rees Jones, who has modernised the layout, again making it one of the top courses in America.
A predominant feature of the Hapuna area is the presence of a series of underground springs. In ancient times, during seasons of heavy rainfall the springs would bubble to the surface, creating natural artesian fountains. The resultant streams provided a source of respite and renewal for travellers along the otherwise dry and barren Kohala Coast. Thus the area was named Hapuna or “Spring of Life” in the Hawaiian language.
www.maunakearesort.com
www.princeresorts.hawaii.com
Mauna Lani Resort
South of the Mauna Kea Resort, also on the Kohala Coast, Mauna Lani Resort, with two deluxe hotels, has become recognised as a leader in historic preservation and stewardship of the land, a legacy of its founder, Francis Hyde I’i Brown. Walking trails meander throughout a fishpond preserve, historic park and ancient shelter caves.
Also recognised for its innovative solar projects, which harness the year-round sunshine, Mauna Lani is a champion of environmental citizenship. The resort’s foundations were carefully laid to protect the integrity of its beachfront environment and to ensure the preservation of its host culture well into the next century.
Francis Hyde I’i Brown, who died aged 83 in 1976, was a descendant of Hawaiian royalty who bought the land in 1932 and named it Kalahuipua’a after its fishponds.
An extraordinary golfer, as well as being a highly respected citizen and philanthropist, he held the Old Course record at St Andrews (62) and Pebble Beach and at one time was concurrently the amateur champion of California, Hawaii and Japan.
Mauna Lani’s north and south courses are both named after him and, true to his conservation commitment, the North Course was built on a lava bed layered with rolling terrain and Kiawe, or mesquite, forests.
The north’s short par-3 17th, tucked into a natural lava amphitheatre, is a signature hole worth replaying over and over again.
The South Course, which hosted the Senior Skins tournament from 1990 to 2000, snakes through stark, rugged lava rocks from the prehistoric Kaniku lava flow. A panorama of mountain and ocean views, as well as one of the most photographed holes in the world, the par-3, 15th that requires a nerve-wrecking tee shot over crashing waves, make it memorable.
In the winter, whale activity off the coast provides an interesting surprise, but may also slow down play.
www.maunalani.com
NCL’s Golf Hawaii
NCL America’s Golf Hawaii program has access to some of the world’s best courses on four different islands. Play like the pros at Poipu Bay Golf Course in Kauai, where Tiger Woods played in the PGA Grand Slam. Or hit the links at Wailea’s Emerald course in Maui.
Playing golf with NCL couldn’t be easier with reserved tee times in advance for individuals and groups. For passengers looking for a spur-of-the-moment round NCL offers rental of Callaway golf equipment and shoes. With NCLA’s Club Rental Program, your clubs will be waiting for you pier-side every day you play.
NCL also has a storage service for guests who bring their own clubs. NCL’s Club Storage program includes secure storage of your clubs, daily club cleaning, and daily delivery to the gangway and re-storage every day that you play.
Golfers can also take advantage of the on-board Pro Shop that carries a range of tees, clubs, makers, hats and a huge supply of balls. The Pro Shop can also organise group or individual lessons for those passengers who want to sharpen their game before tackling Hawaii’s magnificent courses.
With the youngest fleet on the planet, NCL offers the coolest, hippest, most innovative vacation on water. There are activities galore both on board if you are looking for a break from the bunkers. NCL has a wide array of accommodations and dining rooms to suit every passenger and with NCL’s Freestyle Cruising passengers are free to come and go as they please.
Hawaiian golf cruise information: www.ncl.com
at a glance
Getting there: Hawaiian Airlines flies three times a week from Sydney to Honolulu (Wed, Fri, Sun) and arrives in Honolulu late morning, allowing same day connection to Hilo or Kona (Big Island) or Lihue (Kauai).
Return flights to Sydney depart Honolulu early afternoon Tue, Thur and Sat, allowing same morning departure from Hilo, Kona or Lihue. www.hawaiianairlines.com.au
Contact: Golfer Escapes, phone 1300 361 949 www.golferescapes.com
Go Golfing, phone 1300 552 855 www.gogolfing.net.au
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