At the north end of “golf course row,” I’ll call it, on Route 19, is the Mauna Kea Resort with the Mauna Kea Golf Course. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the course is set in lava on the Kohala Coast. It is often named among the top 100 courses in America.

The famous par-3 third hole plays across a surging Pacific inlet to a cliff-side green surrounded by bunkers. At hole number three, a bench and plaque located at the back tee mark the spot used by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player when they played one of the first “Challenge Three,” made-for-television golf matches which were very popular in the 1960’s.

The Golf Channel, (created by Palmer and Joe Gibbs), periodically reruns this classic show, created by golf marketing visionary, Mark McCormack. Mauna Kea Resort’s Hapuna Golf Course, designed by Palmer and Ed Seay, was named “course of the future” by the USGA. It represents the current trend for “environmentally sensitive” golf courses in Hawaii and elsewhere and is one of my personal favorites.

South of Mauna Kea, along the Kohala Coast, is the Mauna Lani Resort with the Francis H. I’i Brown North and South course. Both courses are recipients of many awards from various golf and travel magazines. The North Course is built on an ancient lava flow with rolling terrain and Kiawe trees. A sight I find most enjoyable the feral goats that are often seen along the lush fairways of the par- 5, fifteenth hole.

The Mauna Lani South Course is built on the pre-historic Kaniku lava flow. Home to the Mauna Lani Senior Skins game for many years in the 1990’s, the course has provided wonderful memories for golf enthusiasts who had opportunities to get photos taken with some of their favorite players like Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriquez, Raymond Floyd and Tom Watson. The signature par-3, 15th hole could be one of the most-photographed holes in Hawaii.