Here are the top golf courses in Hawai'i to enjoy while celebrating your dad this Father's Day.
One of Hawai‘i’s best places to tee off is Kapalua, the site of tourney wins for prominent PGA players Fred Couples and Davis Love III, as well as Greg Norman’s first win on U.S. soil. The 73-par Plantation Course, which hosts the opening tournament of golf’s PGA Tour, boasts wide fairways, generous greens and dramatic ocean views from every hole. The Bay course, designed by Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane, runs right alongside the Pacific. Plantation course, 2000 Plantation Club Drive,Lahaina, Maui; Bay course, 2000 Village Rd., Lahaina, golfatkapalua.com
Designed in 1964 by Robert Trent Jones Sr. on what was once a lava field, the championship Mauna Kea Golf Course and sister course Hapuna Golf Course offer sweeping views as well as top-notch holes. Of particular note is Hapuna’s signature hole 12, a par-4 hole at almost 700 feet elevation with panoramic views. 62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Drive, Kohala Coast, Hawai‘i Island, maunakearesort.com
Nestled along the vibrant blues of the Kohala Coast, the Francis H. I‘i Brown North and South golf courses stand atop vast fields of prehistoric black lava. One of the most photographed holes in Hawai‘i is the over-the-water 15th hole at this resort’s South course, which is both challenging and spectacularly beautiful. 68-1400 Mauna Lani Drive, Kamuela, Hawai‘i Island, maunalani.com
Situated on a rolling plateau eight stories above the Pacific, this 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed championship course is framed on either side by blue waters and emerald mountains. Phil Mickelson holds the course record on this ocean-links-style course, which features 85 bunkers, five water hazards, wildly capricious trade winds and no shortage of beauty. 2250 ‘Ainakoa St., Koloa, poipubaygolf.com
Ranked as Golf Digest’s No. 1 golf course in Hawai‘i and one of America’s Top 100 greatest courses, this golfers’ paradise is a newly renovated 1971 Robert Trent Jones Jr. design. The par-72 course winds around lakes, dense native woodlands and scenic sea cliffs with views of Bali Hai and Hanalei Bay. 5-3900 Kuhio Highway, Princeville, Kaua‘i, princeville.com
O‘ahu’s North Shore may derive its fame from its reputation as the birthplace of big-wave surfing, but Turtle Bay Resort’s 1970s original Tom Fazio and Arnold Palmer Signature golf courses offer another impressive reason to visit. Dense wetlands, contoured tree-lined fairways and magnificent ocean views make these greens bucket list-worthy. 57-091 Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku, turtlebayresort.com
Photography by: Robert Ruggiero/Unsplash
