TOP HAWAII GOLF COURSES

Volcano Golf and Country Club, Hilo, Big Island Par: 72 Yardage: 6,503 Price: $117* This course offers an exciting test of golfing skill you won't soon forget. Located some 45 minutes inland from Hilo, Volcano Golf and Country Club lies 4,000 feet above sea level, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, near the spewing Kilauea volcano. Obviously, this is one of the more unusual settings for a 6,503-yard, par-72 golf course. While playing, keep in mind that distance is everything here--at high altitudes your ball naturally travels farther.

Makalei Country Club, Kailua-Kona, Big Island Par: 72 Yardage: 7,091 Price: $151* Designed by Dick Nugent, this demanding par-72, 7,091-yard layout is accented by ranch land views. Often described as the "Jurassic Park" of Hawaii, peacocks and the sounds of the tropics abound in the cool clouds of Hawaii at 3,000 feet above sea level.

Kona Country Club, Big Island Par: 72 Yardage: 6,806 Price: $215* This amazing course is one of Hawaii's original golf resort destinations. The famed Ocean Course winds its way around Keauhou Bay, with beautiful oceanfront holes, generous fairways and big greens. Their oceanfront, par-three, third hole has been called "a signature hole before there were signature holes" by Golf Magazine. This golf course also hosts the LPGA’s Takefuji Classic, with past winners such as Karrie Webb and Lori Kane. This course is also a must play for any golf enthusiast.

Golf at Kauai Lagoons Resort, Nawiliwili, Kauai Par: 72 Yardage: 7,070 Price: $150* This grand resort features two championship 18-hole golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus: Mokihana Course and Kiele Course. Forty acres of freshwater lagoons wind among fairways, creating tiny inlets of luxuriant tropical flora. The championship Kiele Course is the more demanding and beautiful of the two, and was recently voted one of the top 100 golf courses in America by Golf Magazine. This 7,070-yard, par-72 course offers picturesque rolling hills and cliff-hanging greens, presenting a challenge to both the pro and duffer alike.

Kaanapali Golf Club and Resort, Lahaina, Maui Par: 71 Yardage: 6,067 Price: $170* Enjoy a beautiful ride along Maui on your way to this amazing course. The North Course, which hosts the Senior PGA tour event, The Kaanapali Classic, is one of only two golf courses in all of Hawaii designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. This legendary architect took full advantage of the region's scenic natural beauty to create a course that is distinctive, demanding and appealing. It was also designed with large, contoured greens that place the emphasis on putting skill; rolling fairways, and scenic ocean and mountain views. This course is a must play for the visiting golfer.

Sandalwood Golf Course, Lahaina, Maui Par: 72 Yardage: 6,469 Price: $126* Designed by Robin Nelson and Rodney Wright, this course is adjacent to the Grand Waikapu Country Club. Built into the foothills of the West Maui mountains, this 18-hole, 6,469-yard, par-72 course features panoramic views from the highest holes.

Waikele Golf Club, Honolulu, Oahu Par: 72 Yardage: 5,983 Price: $108* Designed by internationally renowned golf course architect Ted Robinson, Waikele Golf Club offers breathtaking views of the blue Pacific overlooking Pearl Harbor. Challenges abound with strategically located bunkers, rolling fairways, and contoured Bermuda greens adding to this par-72 gem. At 5,983 yards, you'll enjoy the subtle intricacies that make each hole distinctive.