Golf in Big Island

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For golfers, the Big Island is a big deal -- starting with Mauna Kea, which opened in 1964 and remains one of the state's top courses. Black lava and deep blue sea are the predominant themes on the island. In the roughly 40 mi from the Kona Country Club out to the Mauna Kea Resort, nine courses are sculpted into sunny seaside lava, with four more in the hills above. Indeed, most of the Big Island's best courses are concentrated along the Kona Coast, statistically the sunniest spot in the Hawaiian archipelago. Vertically speaking, although the majority of courses are seaside or at least at sea level, three are located above 2,000 feet, another at 4,200 feet. This is significant because in Hawai'i temperatures drop by three degrees for every 1,000 feet of elevation gained.

Green Fees: Green fees listed here are the highest course rates per round on weekdays for U.S. residents. Courses with varying weekend rates are noted in the individual listings. (Some courses charge non-U.S. residents higher prices.) Discounts are often available for resort guests and for those who book tee times on the Web. Twilight fees are usually offered, call individual courses for information.

Big Island Country Club. Set 2,000 feet above sea level on the slopes of Mauna Kea, the Big Island Country Club is rather out of the way but well worth the drive. Pete and Perry Dye (1997) created a gem that plays through an upland woodlands -- more than 2,500 trees line the fairways. On the par-5 15th, a giant tree in the middle of the fairway must be avoided with the second shot. Five lakes and a meandering natural mountain stream mean water comes into play on nine holes. The most dramatic is on the par-3 17th, where Dye creates a knockoff of his infamous 17th at the TPC at Sawgrass. 71-1420 Mamalahoa Hwy., Kailua-Kona. 808/325-5044. www.intrawest.com. 18 holes. 7034 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $109. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, pro shop, lessons

Hamakua Country Club. The typical modern 18-hole golf course requires at least 250 acres. The 9-hole, par-33 public Hamakua course requires just 19. Compact is the word, and with several holes crisscrossing, this is BYO Hard Hat. A product of Hawai'i's plantation era, holes run up and down a fairly steep slope overlooking the ocean. There is no clubhouse or other amenities, and the 9th green is square, but for $15 bucks, whaddaya want? Hwy. 19, 41 mi north of Hilo, Honoka'a. 808/775-7244. . 9 holes. 2520 yds. Par 33. Green Fee: $15. Facilities: Putting green, golf carts, pull carts

Hilo Municipal Golf Course. Hilo Muni is living proof that you don't need a single sand bunker to create a challenging course. Trees and several meandering creeks are the danger here. Despite the lack of bunkers, the course, which offers views of Hilo Bay from most holes, has produced many of Hawai'i's top players over the years. Taking a divot reminds you that you're playing on a dormant volcano -- the soil is dark black crushed lava. 340 Haihai St., Hilo. 808/959-7711. . 18 holes. 6325 yds. Par 71. Green Fee: $29 weekdays, $34 weekends. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, pull carts, rental clubs, pro-shop, lessons, restaurant, bar

Hualalai Resort. Named for the volcanic peak that is the target off the first tee, the Nicklaus Course at Hualalai is semiprivate, open only to guests of the adjacent Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. From the forward and resort tees, this is perhaps Jack Nicklaus's most friendly course in Hawai'i, but the back tees play a full mile longer. The par-3 17th plays across convoluted lava to a seaside green, and the view from the tee is so lovely, you may be tempted to just relax on the koa bench and enjoy the scenery. 100 Ka'upulehu Dr., Kohala Coast. 808/325-8480. www.fourseasons.com/hualalai. 18 holes. 7117 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $195. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, pull carts, rental clubs, pro shop, lessons, restaurant, bar

Kona Country Club. This venerable country club offers two very different tests with the aptly named Ocean and Ali'i Mountain courses. The Ocean Course (William F. Bell, 1967) is a bit like playing through a coconut plantation, with a few remarkable lava features -- such as the "blowhole" in front of the par-4 13th, where sea water propelled through a lava tube erupts like a geyser. The Ali'i Mountain Course (front nine, William F. Bell, 1983: back nine, Robin Nelson and Rodney Wright, 1992) plays a couple of strokes tougher than the Ocean and is the most delightful split personality you may ever encounter. Both nines share breathtaking views of Keauhou Bay, and elevation change is a factor in most shots. The most dramatic view on the front nine is from the tee of the par-3 5th hole, one of the best golf vistas in Hawai'i. The green seems perched on the edge of the earth, with what only seems to be a sheer 500-foot drop just beyond the fringe. The back nine is links-style, with less elevation change -- except for the par-3 14th, which drops 100 feet from tee to green, over a lake. The routing, the sight lines and framing of greens, and the risk-reward factors on each hole make this one of the single best nines in Hawai'i. 78-7000 Ali'i Dr., Kailua-Kona. 808/322-2595. www.konagolf.com. Ocean Course: 18 holes. 6806 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $160. Mountain Course: 18 holes. 6673 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $145. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, lessons, restaurant, bar

Makalei Country Club. Set on the slopes of Hualalai, at an elevation of 2,900 feet, Makalei is one of the rare Hawai'i courses with bent-grass putting greens, which means they're quick and without the grain associated with bermuda greens. Former PGA Tour official Dick Nugent (1994) designed holes that play through thick forest and open to provide wide ocean views. Elevation change is a factor on many holes, especially the par-3 15th, with the tee 80 feet above the green. 72-3890 Hawai'i Belt Rd., Kailua-Kona. 808/325-6625. 18 holes. 7041 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $99. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, pro shop, lessons, restaurant

Mauna Kea Beach Resort. Mauna Kea Golf Course isn't just a golf course, it's a landmark, an icon, a national treasure. Robert Trent Jones Sr., who designed more than 500 courses around the world, rated Mauna Kea among his three best. Built on a 5,000-year-old lava flow, an essential part of Mauna Kea's greatness is the way Jones insinuated holes into the landscape. Only two fairways, holes five and six, are parallel. Mauna Kea is a classic championship design, somewhat forgiving off the tee but quite stern about approach shots. Although No. 3, which plays across a blue bay from rocky promontory to promontory, gets all the photo ops, the toughest par-3 is the 11th. Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay created the resort's second course, Hapuna, in 1992. Unlike seaside Mauna Kea, Hapuna is a links-style course that rises to 600 feet elevation, providing views of the ocean and elevation-change challenges. Trees are a factor on most holes at Mauna Kea, but they seldom are at Hapuna. Palmer-Seay put a premium on accuracy off the tee, and are more forgiving with approaches. The two courses have separate clubhouses. Hapuna Golf Course: 62-100 Kauna'oa Dr., Kohala Coast. 808/880-3000. www.hapunabeachprincehotel.com. 18 holes. 6534 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $290. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, pro shop, lessons, restaurant, bar. Mauna Kea Golf Course: 62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Dr., Kohala Coast. 808/882-5400. www.maunakearesort.com. 18 holes. 6737 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $210. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, pro shop, lessons, restaurant, bar.

Mauna Lani Resort. Black lava flows, lush green turf, white sand, and the Pacific's multihues of blue define the 36 holes at Mauna Lani. The South Course includes the par-3 15th across a turquoise bay, one of the most photographed holes in Hawai'i. But it shares "signature hole" honors with the seventh. A long par-3, it plays downhill over convoluted patches of black lava, with the Pacific immediately to the left and a dune to the right. The North Course plays a couple of shots tougher. Its most distinctive hole is the 17th, a par-3 with the green set in a lava pit 50 feet deep. The shot from an elevated tee must carry a pillar of lava that rises from the pit and partially blocks your view of the green. 68-1310 Mauna Lani Dr., Kohala Coast. 808/885-6655. www.maunalani.com. North Course: 18 holes. 6601 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $205. South Course: 18 holes. 6436 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $205. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, pro shop, lessons, restaurant, bar

Naniloa Country Club. A flat 9-holer set on Hilo's scenic Banyan Drive, Naniloa plays through stands of, what else, banyan trees. The curving par-5 ninth is a terrific closing hole. 120 Banyan Dr., Hilo. 808/935-3000. . 9 holes. 2735 yds. Par 35. Green Fee: 9 holes $30, 18 holes $54. Facilities: driving range, putting green, golf carts, pull carts, rental clubs, lessons

Volcano Golf & Country Club. Located just outside Volcanoes National Park -- and barely a stout drive from Halema'uma'u Crater -- Volcano is by far Hawai'i's highest course. At 4,200 feet elevation, shots tend to fly a bit farther than at sea level, even in the often cool, misty air. Because of the elevation and climate, Volcano is one of the few Hawai'i courses with bent-grass putting greens. The course is mostly flat and holes play through stands of Norfolk pines, flowering lehua trees, and multitrunk hau trees. The uphill par-4 15th doglegs through a tangle of hau.. Pi'i Mauna Dr. off Hwy. 11, Volcanoes National Park. 808/967-7331. www.volcanogolfshop.com. 18 holes. 6106 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $63 mornings, $51 after noon. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, restaurant, bar

Waikoloa Beach Resort. Robert Trent Jones Jr. built the Beach Course at Waikoloa (1981) on an old flow of crinkly 'a'a lava, which he used to create holes that are as artful as they are challenging. The third tee, for instance, is set at the base of a towering mound of lava. The par-5 12th plays through a chute of black lava to an ocean-side green, the blue sea on the right coming into play on the second and third shots. At the King's Course at Waikoloa (1990), Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish built a very links-esque track. It turns out lava's natural humps and declivities remarkably replicate the contours of seaside Scotland. But there are a few island twists -- such as seven lakes. This is "option golf" as Weiskopf and Morrish provide different risk-reward tactics on each hole. Beach and King's have separate clubhouses. Beach Course: 1020 Keana Pl., Waikoloa. 808/886-6060. www.waikoloagolf.com. 18 holes. 6566 yds. Par 70. Green Fee: $195. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, lessons, restaurant, bar. Kings' Course: 600 Waikoloa Beach Dr., Waikoloa. 808/886-7888. www.waikoloagolf.com. 18 holes. 6594 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $195. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, lessons, restaurant, bar.

Waikoloa Village Golf Course. A 20-minute drive from Waikoloa Beach Resort, Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s Waikoloa Village (1972) is not affiliated with the resort. It is, however, the site of the annual Waikoloa Open, one of the most prestigious tournaments in Hawai'i. Holes run across rolling hills with sweeping mountain and ocean views. 68-1792 Melia St., Waikoloa. 808/883-9621. www.waikoloa.org. 18 holes. 6230 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $75. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, lessons, restaurant, bar