BIG IS BEAUTIFUL: HAWAII'S KOHALA COAST
Words and Photography: brendan james

At the northernmost end of the Kohala Coast is the pioneering
Mauna Kea Resort, which opened in 1964. The Mauna Kea
course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr, was closed throughout 2008 for a complete redesign by his youngest son and noted course architect, Rees Jones. Jones, whose redesign work on the Torrey Pines South course for last year’s US Open was applauded, says the job is a complete “tee to green restoration”.

Surf's Up. Waves rolli n on the 3rd hole of Mauna Kea's Beach course, which recently re-opened after a redesign by Rees Jones

Bunkers have been restored to his father’s original configurations, while greens and tees have been rebuilt and new hybrid grasses now cover the layout. At the time of writing, the course was due to re-open within weeks and is sure to recapture all its former glory.

Mauna Kea’s sister layout, Hapuna, covers the most undulating
terrain of any course on the Kohala Coast. Designed by Arnold
Palmer and Ed Seay, the rolling layout climbs nearly 210 metres
(700 feet) to its highest point in the foothills above the resort. The
panoramic views of the mountain and the ocean just add to the
enjoyment of playing this course.

It would be easy to assume Palmer and Seay moved heaven and earth to create this golfi ng rollercoaster ride but they moved very little dirt and were keen to follow the natural fl ow of the terrain.

Good strategy is key around the layout and the par-5s each have
two or three playing lines between tee and green. All four can
be reached in two shots by long hitters but the strategy must be
spot-on. The best of these is the 457-metre 14th where the tee shot is played slightly uphill and the closer you are to the right edge of the fairway, the more tempting it is to fi re over a ravine and a sea of whipsy golden kiawe grass at the green, which is dramatically perched on the side of a hill.

At the same time that the Trent Jones Snr course has been closed for resoration, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has also been closed for refurbishment but re-opened in just before Christmas. There is also the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, nestled into the bluffs above the highly-rated Hapuna Beach, on site.

Mauna Kea’s nearest neighbour, to the south, is the expansive
Mauna Lani Resort. Walking the grounds of the resort, it is easy to discover serene, hidden pools, historic petroglyph (lava carvings) sites and old Hawaiian fi shing ponds. A real treat is dinner at the Canoe House, where on most nights it is possible to dine just steps from the beach.

But it is the quality of Mauna Lani’s two courses – the Francis
H. I’i Brown North and South courses – that will really have you
salivating for more golf.

The courses are named after Mauna Lani’s founder, Francis
Hyde I’i Brown, who was known in Hawaii as Mr Golf. A descendent of Hawaiian royalty, he was a prodigious hitter using hickory shafted clubs and once held the course record on the Old Course at St Andrews. He never turned professional and in 1932 he purchased Kalahuipua’a (the current site for Mauna Lani) to become his retreat.

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