Why this lava-covered course in Hawaii was my favorite in 2024
The beautiful 16th and 17th holes at Hualalai Golf Course - set up to host the Drive, Chip & Putt regional qualifier in October.
Connor Federico
Emerald fairways and white sand, framed by Pacific blue and black volcanic rock, paint a stunning portrait on Hualalai’s closing stretch.
Bathed in the golden light of a Hawaiian sunset, it’s an idyllic backdrop for golf. But is golf really what we came here for?
“Hawaii is not a golf destination,” says Brendan Moynihan, Hualalai’s director of golf. “The allure of the ocean, the outdoors, the hiking, the pools. There are so many things you can do — and so many things that are spectacular — but golf is not the most spectacular.
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My soon-to-be fiancée and I had just arrived at the Four Seasons Hualalai, just minutes from the Big Island’s historic community of Kailua-Kona. As a first-time traveler to Hawaii, chatting with a man who earns a living in the game, I was surprised by the sentiment.
But Moynihan was right. During our stay, we spent hours relaxing in the ocean and testing the waters of the resort’s four pools. We hiked through a vast volcanic crater, visited black sand beaches and — spoiler alert! — we got engaged. A caesar salad cart and bananas foster show blew us away at our celebration dinner.
And there was more. Encounters with marine life, for instance. On the resort’s members-only golf course, Ke’olu, a large pond sits alongside the 5th fairway. It’s home to thousands of oysters, cared for daily by the Four Seasons’ in-house team of marine biologists. Once the oysters are grown, they’re harvested and served in the resort’s restaurants. The same Natural Resources team also oversees King’s Pond, a saltwater-aquarium pool where we snorkeled among exotic fish.
On top of all that, Hualalai Golf Course is placed in a setting unlike any in the world.
Half of GOLF’s Best Courses in Hawaii, including Hualalai, are on the Big Island. The youngest major Hawaiian island, it remains a work in progress, with active volcanoes still rounding its shape. Black lava rock blankets the landscape, and its purpose isn’t just visual.
Several shots on the Nicklaus-designed track take you directly over these lava rocks, and every hole features views of the active volcano that gives the course its name. After shifting inland, the routing returns to the shimmering ocean for a rousing close.
A longtime host of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Hualalai has other memorable features you might recognize from TV. A long lava tube splits the par-5 7th fairway, creating a narrow opening. The 4th and 8th holes share a contoured double green. On the par-3 12th, the green has a bunker smack in its center, which I found with my tee shot. I got luckier on several other holes, when my ball knocked off black lava — and back into play.
With wide fairways and favorable contours around the greens, Hualalai presents vacationing golfers with a friendly test. Champions Tour winners here have gone as low as 25-under — in only three rounds. The conditioning of the course is immaculate, and each hole is distinctive.
“If you’re a golfer,” Moynihan says, elaborating on his initial assessment, “it is a golf destination.”
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