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Hawaii island: A big island with big opportunities for golfers

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii -- No Hawaiian island boasts a golf scene as diverse as the "Big Island."

Five of the six resort courses at Waikoloa, Hualalai, Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea feature views of the ocean along the dry Kohala Coast (only Waikoloa Beach Resort's Kings Course doesn't).

Mauna Kea Golf Course -- the famous Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that started the phenomenon known as "lava golf" -- celebrated its 50th anniversary in December 2014, five decades after Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player played together at a grand opening in 1964.

Nicklaus eventually returned to design the tournament course at the Four Seasons Hualalai that hosts the Champions Tour every winter. Further inland, Hapuna Golf Course by Palmer and the neighboring Big Island Country Club and Makalei Golf Club sit on higher ground away from the beach, although they still deliver panoramic views of the shore.

The remote Volcano Golf & Country Club -- located less than a mile from the Kilauea Volcano and Halemaumau Crater -- hides in higher elevations at 4,200 feet above sea level, where the thin air promotes shots that fly farther. A wetter, more tropical climate in Hilo promotes lush, green playing conditions at courses more popular with locals than tourists.

The swanky country clubs of the Big Island set a higher standard in Hawaii, too. Kohanaiki and The Club at Hokuli'a near Kona town hope to eventually develop two of the premier golf communities in the world.

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