There aren’t too many golf courses in the United States where an ocean serves as a water hazard and an errant golf ball could just end up in the Pacific Ocean. But that’s a possibility for golfers playing coastal courses on the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. The mountain courses have their own special hazards, such as wild goats and turkeys roaming the greens, too.
Kona Country Club, located just six miles from Kailua-Kona, offers two 18-hole courses for golfers, who can choose between an ocean course and a mountain course. The ocean course, designed by William Bell in 1966, borders the Pacific Ocean. The club’s websites says golfers may want to bring cameras as well as clubs when playing the ocean course. A blow hole is visible from hole 13, and humpback whales can be seen November through March. This par 72, 6,613-yard course has hosted national golf tournaments.
William Bell also designed the front nine holes of the mountain course in 1985, with Rodney and Nelson Wright designing the back nine in 1991. The country club notes the mountain course served as a playground for Hawaiian royalty. It’s possible to see wild goats on this course, the club says. Hole 14 is the highest on the course and provides views of the ocean as well. This is a par 72, 6,494-yard course on the championship tee.
Kona Country Club
78-7000 Alii Drive
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-322-2595
konagolf.com
Makalei Golf Club is a more wooded course but also offers views of the Pacific. It’s a bit cooler than other local courses, sitting at elevations that range from 1,800 to 2,850 feet above sea level. Golfers compete for playing space with more than 100 peacocks as well as wild turkeys and pheasants, the club notes. The course was designed by Dick Nugent & Associates to show off the locale’s scenic beauty. And even though the beach is just yards away, the golf club says it imported high-grade sand from Idaho for the bunkers. The par 74 championship tee is spread over 7,091 yards.
Makalei Golf Club
72-3890 Hawaii Belt Road
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-325-6625
makalei.com/golf/proto/makalei
In a previous life, the Waimea County Club was a big pasture; its neighbors still include cattle ranches. The course is still wide open, though the club’s website notes, “there are many ironwood trees that can affect your golf shots.” The course follows a Scottish links design, the website further notes. This is another Kona course where golfers are expected to share the links with wild turkeys, ducks and pheasants. The Waimea course is a par 72, 18-hole course.
Waimea Country Club
P.O. Box 2155
Kamuela, HI 96743
808-885-8053
waimeagolf.com/
