Teeing Off in Pāʻina: Golf in Hawaiʻi

Golf in Paradise: Where Every Round Tells a Story

The first thing you notice isn't the flagstick. It's the air. It's thick with the scent of salt and plumeria, carried on a trade wind that has traveled 3,000 miles just to nudge your ball. The ground beneath your feet isn't just turf. It's a thin green blanket over a mountain of black rock, born from the planet's fiery heart.

Here, a golf swing feels less like a sport and more like a prayer, an offering to the immense power of the ʻāina—the land. This is golf in Hawaiʻi, where every round is a conversation with volcanic landscapes, Pacific winds, and the ancient spirit of these islands.

Reading the Land and Sky: The Elements of Hawaiian Golf

In Hawaiʻi, the course itself is only one part of the challenge. Your true playing partners are the ancient volcanic land and the ever-present Pacific winds. Understanding them is the key to enjoying—and scoring well on—our island courses.

More than half of the Big Island is covered in barren lava flows with no soil at all. To build a course here is an act of incredible vision and engineering, beginning with the iconic Mauna Kea Golf Course in 1964, where designers pioneered techniques to create golf on solid lava rock.