Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Golfing in Paradise | March/April 2003

Golfing in Paradise
By Marcus Ocean

The Kings' Course, Waikoloa Beach Resort

When you play The Kings' Course on the Big Island, be ready for large, undulating greens, wide fairways and a picturesque setting

The Kings' Course at the Waikoloa Golf Club at Waikoloa Beach Resort is an extraordinary test of golf. The Tom Weiskof and Jay Morrish layout is a links-style course that is carved over and around an ancient lava flow. It definitely deserves your attention when you're selecting a golf course to play on the North Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i.

The Kings' has a sister course at Waikoloa, The Beach, that gets a lot of attention, because it is near and on the water. But I would suggest that the real challenge at Waikoloa is the Kings' tract.

The Kings' Course has large, firm, undulating greens, and most have wide, resort-type fairways. However, well-placed bunkers guard the greens and there are six water hazards. Four tee placements on each hole offer up challenges for all types of players.
There is one feature that appears on almost every hole that truly appeals to the aesthetic side of golf-each green makes you feel as if you are hitting into an oasis.

Standing tall behind each green are palm trees arranged in a semi-circle, and they are very inviting. Most of the greens are just below the level of the fairways or only slightly elevated, and the palms assist in defining the surface of the green. They present a true visual delight as you ready yourself for the shot into the green.

You get to see the real flavor of The Kings' Course on the second hole, a 534-yard par 5, as picturesque a golf hole as you'd ever want to play. The lake that runs down the left side doesn't appear to come into play, but any little hook to your drive will have you standing next to the water.

Two well-placed shots should bring you to a small opening fronting the long and narrow green. Anything short here will find a pot bunker. This is a signature hole for sure.

An interesting feature is the Hawaiian name given to each hole. The Hawaiian name for the second hole means "Patience." The mirror image of this par 5 is No. 4, where the water runs down the right side with the green tucked away just behind the hazard. Its name means "Be Wise." Both have been named well.

The further you get into the front nine, the more important the placement of your tee shot becomes. For example, on the par-4 fifth hole, a mere 236 yards long, you are challenged with deciding if you should try to reach the elevated green, which is fronted on the left side with a huge waste bunker that has two very commanding lava rocks in the middle. Going right is no cakewalk, either, as two large bunkers guard the fairway on the other side.

If the wind is at your back on this hole, you may want to give it a ride, but I suggest you take a middle iron up the middle.

The front-side par-3 holes are difficult, not because of distance, but because of the swirling winds that surround them.

The finishing hole on the front side, whose name means Dancing Wind, is less than 400 yards long, but again a great second shot is required to hold the well-rolled and very fast green.

The back side starts off with two difficult holes that can upset your rhythm very quickly, as it did for my playing partners and me. We had been rolling along with very good scores, then we arrived at No. 10. The par-4 10th looks innocent, but in this case looks are very deceiving. You must get off the tee with a well-placed shot to the right side of a very undulating fairway. Your second shot needs to be somewhat of a low liner toward the elevated green, as the ball will most definitely roll up.

The par-3 11th is only 174 yards, but the tee box area doesn't set up to be directed toward the green. Regardless of the pin position, I suggest you hit for the front-center of the green. Anything off line here is trouble.

A challenge to your golf ego comes into play at the par-4 13th. Again, a relatively short hole, but it sets up with a temptation. You can go for the green, but the water hazard runs from the tee area right up to the front of the green. Plus, the large green is protected by bunkers on three sides. An iron or 5-metal is the best play here. Check your ego at the tee box.

Dubbed the "Big Hole," the 14th is a 558-yard par 5, which has trouble everywhere. Bunkers short off the tee. Bunkers further along toward the center of the very narrow fairway. And bunkers surrounding the green. I think there were at least eight of them. This is an attractive hole that can cause much damage to your scorecard.

The finishing hole has the look of a very traditional links course. You'll see many bunkers here as well, but one comes into play more than any other, and that one is tucked under the front side of the elevated green.

Don't get distracted by the magnificent-looking clubhouse that sits just off the back of the green or the folks in the clubhouse watching you finish. To beat this par 5, you need two well-positioned shots leaving you about 125 yards into the narrow putting surface. If you're short on your approach, you have little chance to recover.

The Kings' Course is truly a challenge, but it's most enjoyable in the visual sense. The course is set up to make you feel as if it's just you and the golf course, head-to-head, with few distractions.

Great Golf on THE BIG ISLAND

Hamakua Country Club
Honoka'a • 775-7244

Hapuna Golf Course
Kohala Coast • 880-3000

Hilo Municipal Golf Course
Hilo • 959-9601

Kona Country Club
Kailua-Kona • 322-2595

Makalei Hawai'i Country Club
Kailua-Kona • 325-6625

Mauna Kea Golf Course
Kohala Coast • 882-5405

Mauna Lani Resort-
North Course
Mauna Lani Resort-
South Course
Kohala Coast • 885-6655

Naniloa Country Club
Hilo • 935-3000

Seamountain Golf Course
Pahala • 928-6222

Volcano Golf & Country Club
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park • 967-7331

Waikoloa Beach Golf Club-
Beach Course
Waikoloa • 886-6060

Waikoloa Beach Golf Club-
Kings' Course
Waikoloa • 886-7888

Waikoloa Village Golf Club
Waikoloa • 883-9621

Waimea Country Club
Kamuela • 885-8053

Golfing In Paradise Archive