At Hualalai, Golf Defines One Of Hawaii’s Finest Resort Communities

Aerial view of Hualalai, including the 18th hole of the resort course.

Erik Matuszewski

Spread across nearly 1,000 acres at the base of Mt. Hualalai on the Big Island, golf is the core of a spectacular oceanfront property that ties together a luxurious Four Seasons resort, a prestigious private club and one of the most coveted residential enclaves in the Hawaiian Islands.

Hualalai has a setting that’s simply unforgettable. After driving through a seemingly inhospitable lava landscape from the airport outside Kona, rugged rock gives way to one of the most dramatic settings on the Kohala Coast. Inspired by coastal villages from historic Hawaii, the low-rise architecture of the Four Seasons along the Pacific Ocean is surrounded by an intimate community of custom homes, villas and home sites where prices for oceanfront estates can climb into the eight figures.

The visuals are striking, a contrast of black lava, lush greenery, and deep blue ocean. It’s not hard to see why the top pros on the senior tour return to Hualalai every January, why the resort is often booked out by guests during peak season, why residents “buy up” in the area when they’re able, and why some aspiring homeowners will jump on a property sight unseen when the opportunity arises.

Hualalai has one of the most perfectly picturesque spots on what is perhaps the finest stretch of coastline in all of Hawaii.

With two 18-hole courses – one for resort play and the other for members – Hualalai’s golf can also rival any other property in the islands.

The Resort Course

The namesake Hualālai course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, has been the scenic stage for the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Championship since 1997.

The layout winds through ancient lava fields, with holes framed by rugged black rock, pockets of kiawe trees and coconut palms, and boasts sweeping ocean views. The course benefits from a salt-tolerant grass – Paspalum – that thrives in tropical conditions and allows golf balls to sit up cleanly – providing a constant “perfect lie” feel – rather than nestle down in Bermuda grass.

Playing corridors are pinched in places by lava outcroppings, forcing players to think strategically – playing more conservatively or taking more challenging (and potentially dangerous) lines. The design remains welcoming, as a great resort course should, with contours that can kick or funnel slightly errant shots back toward safety. And while the jagged lava rock surrounds are unforgiving to wayward golf balls, friendly bounces back into the fairway are more common than you might expect.

Variety and creativity are layered in throughout the routing. There are risk-reward, potentially drivable short par 4s and picturesque par 3s, including the twelfth, which has a bunker in the middle of the green along the lines of the famous sixth hole at Riviera Country Club. The finishing stretch at Hualalai is highlighted by the signature par-3 17th, the only one that sits directly on the water. The 17^th is one of Hawaii’s most photogenic holes, with a green perched against a wall of lava with the Pacific crashing just beyond.

Hualalai’s Golf Hale

Part of the resort’s recent renovation was the addition of the Hualalai Golf Hale, a 3,000-square-foot state-of-the-art teaching and fitting center that has a nine-acre driving range, short-game area and putting green.

Outfitted with Trackman technology and indoor-outdoor hitting bays, the facility supports private lessons, group clinics and family programming, allowing members and guests alike to seek improvement and deepen their relationship with the game, whether they’re serious players or newcomers.

The entire golf experience is unmistakably Four Seasons: pristine conditions, first-class service, and thoughtful touches such as inclusive food and beverages at the practice facility and on course.

Ke‘olu: The Private Side

The members-only Ke‘olu Course at Hualalai is a more secluded and maybe even more serene counterpart.

Designed by the late Tom Weiskopf, Ke‘olu occupies higher ground, rolling across undulating terrain with more than 200 feet of elevation change and long, panoramic views back toward the water.

Weiskopf fully embraced the volcanic landscape, routing holes through corridors of lava, native grasses and sandy waste areas, and incorporating natural features such as lava tubes, blisters, caves and arches. While it lacks the postcard oceanfront hole of its resort course counterpart, Ke‘olu is a gem in its own right, a course defined by movement of the land, the wind and the wide open ocean views.

Access to Ke‘olu, along with the resort, the Golf Hale, tennis, spa, Hualalai’s Canoe Club and other amenities, comes through membership in the Hualalai Club, which is available exclusively to property owners and also unlocks full privileges at the adjacent Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

Beyond the Fairways

Golf may be the cornerstone at Hualalai, but it’s the broader resort experience that makes for an unrivaled stay.

The Four Seasons Resort Hualālai consistently ranks among the world’s top luxury resorts, with recently refreshed rooms and suites, a plethora of oceanfront dining locations, and a constellation of eight pools, including a saltwater lagoon where guests can swim and snorkel alongside tropical fish and an eagle ray.

Restaurants such as ‘Ulu and Beach Tree showcase local seafood and island-inspired cuisine, while the newer NOIO sushi lounge adds more of a contemporary touch. For club members and residents, the Residents’ Beach House, set beside the eighteenth hole of the Nicklaus course, offers casual lānai dining, sunset views and a relaxed atmosphere that define the Kohala Coast.

Hualalai Living

An intimate residential community sets Hualalai apart from many luxury properties on the Big Island, with ownership yielding club privileges and a lifestyle centered on resort living, ocean activities and golf.

Inventory can be exceedingly scarce. When properties do sell, they do so at the very top of the Hawaiian luxury spectrum. Recent years have seen four-bedroom condominiums command prices north of $8 million, smaller two-bedroom townhomes around $3 million, and single-family residences frequently in the $8 million-plus range, with premier estates and ocean-view parcels stretching well beyond $20 million.

Custom homes of 6,000 square feet or more, particularly those overlooking scenic holes, have set records for sale prices, and new releases of lots — often with elevated sightlines to the ocean — have sold out in days, often well above asking. A notable portion of buyers are repeat owners, choosing to trade up within the community rather than look elsewhere – actor Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) among them – a powerful endorsement in the global luxury market.

Roughly a third of the homes participate in the Four Seasons rental program, giving Big Island travelers a different way to experience much of what Hualalai has to offer.

And with its contrasting but complementary courses – not to mention its barefoot luxury — golf is unquestionably a foundational piece of Hualalai’s ethos and a key component of what a modern lifestyle golf resort community can be.