|
HOME
Big Island
Home
Fast Facts
Activities
Restaurants
Lodging
Health & Wellness
Shopping
Real Estate
Arts and Entertainment
About Us
Maps
Contact Us
|
No where else on earth can
you tee off to whale spouts, putt under rainbows and play around
a live volcano.
The Big Island has some of the world's top rated golf courses, certainly
some of the most scenic and definitely an adventure every time you tee
off.
Golf came to the Big Island in the 1920's, with the Volcano Golf and Country Club (at 4,000 feet, still the highest course in Hawaii), which was built in 1922 and the sugar plantation course at Hamakua Country Club. After World War II, golf courses were actually designed and built by professionals. But the biggest change to golf occurred in 1964, when Laurance Rockefeller came up with the avant garde idea to build a resort in the middle of a lava field and surround it with a golf course. The architect Rockefeller selected to design the Mauna Kea course was Robert Trent Jones, Sr., who said he had never seen a less hospitable environment for a golf course - rocky lava, miles and miles of it.
Jones came up with the revolutionary idea of crushing the lava rock,
bring in soil and then plant fairway grass between the black lava flows.
This changed golf forever in Hawaii.
Playing golf in Hawaii not only offers natural beauty, but also some natural hazards you many not have encountered before, like razor sharp lava, gusty tradewinds, an occasional wild pig on the course and sultry, tropical heat. There are a few manmade hazards as well, like the cost of green fees at resort courses. Take a few tips from local golfers: ask about twilight rates, generally in the afternoon, with plenty of time to play 18 holes at a fraction of the early morning green fees.
Or forgo the beach and resort courses and head for the cooler courses on the slopes of the mountain: The Big Island Country Club (71-1420 Mamalahoa Hwy., 325-5044) Waikoloa Village Golf Club (68-1792 Melia, Waikoloa, 883-9621) and Makalei Hawaii Country Club (72-3890 Mamalahoa Hwy., 325-6625) all offer challenge golf in spectacular settings at affordable rates.
Waikoloa Village Golf Club, a semi-private, open to the public course, is located in the middle of Waikoloa Village, just six miles up the hill from the ocean. With spectacular ocean and coastline views, this 18-hole, par-72 course features Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed, with the usual challenges he loves to give to golfers: a good combination of par and handicap on his well-protected greens, a scattering of sand to make the game interesting and some well-placed lakes that if you don't judge the winds correctly, you'll ball will go for a swim.
Further up the mountain, off the Mamalahoa Highway, is the semi-private, Dick Nugent designed Makalei Hawaii Country Club. This 10-year old course ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level and challenges golfers with its demanding layout, especially the 447-yard, par-4 7th hole, which is long and tight and requires an accurate tee shot or the chance of par is just a dream.
|
|
The most reachable hole, where the most birdies are recorded, is the 519-yard par-5 4th hole, where you can get close to the pin in two.
Just 10 minutes further up the highway from Makalei, is the Big Island's newest semi-private golf course (open to the public), the Big Island Country Club. Open in December 1997, this Pete Dye designed course has some unique challenges, especially the last two holes. The 17th hole is an island, surrounded by water.
This par-3, 190-yard hole requires you hit the green on the first try and just two-putt for par (sounds so simple). After that experience, the 18th hole, par 4, 472 yard, features a lake, a lake which extends the length of the fairway (hint: hit your drive to the left and over the lake to make it on the green). The course doesn't come without its rewards: 360-degree panoramic views from this 2,000 foot course. Don't forget your camera.
No matter which course you choose, here are a few tips from the pros
on how to get the most out of your golf game on the Big Island:
Watch out for the wind - brisk breezes from 10 to 30 mph are not unusual,
especially between 10 am and 2 pm. Pay attention when putting - on the
greens, your putt will always break towards the ocean. Sand traps -
hit deeper and more aggressive in the sand because the sand used in
Hawaii is firmer than sand on the mainland (remember, light sand would
just blow away).
Bring a camera - half of the game is stopping to admire the view.
|
