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Descended from Hawaiian royalty, Francis Hyde I’i Brown began assembling the land that today is Mauna Lani Resort in the early 1930s. Mr. Brown was an avid sportsman, an accomplished sports fisherman and a golfer with extraordinary skills that found him at one time simultaneously the amateur champion of Hawaii, Japan and California. Francis Brown’s stewardship, which lasted until 1972 when he sold the land to Mauna Lani Resort, Inc., the royal Kalahuipua’a fishponds were restored, rudimentary roads were built and many of the palm |
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trees gracing the property today were planted. Mauna Lani Resort ‘s management and staff remain loyal to this trust, imparting a sense of the deep cultural and environmental values of the property’s founding principals.
Golf came to Mauna Lani in 1981 with the opening of an eighteen hole course designed by Homer Flint and Ray Cain. It was a spectacular golf course featuring both the signature par 3, oceanfront 15th hole on today’s South Course and the par 3, 17th hole on the North Course that is tucked into a natural lava amphitheater. The course was opened to rave reviews that continued during its history.
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Both courses are notable for actually being set atop the lava flows that define so much of the Big Island’s terrain. The South Course, home of the Senior Skins Game from 1990 – 2000, is carved from the lava beds deposited by the 16th century Kaniku volcano. The North Course, built upon a much older lava flow, skirts rugged kiawe brush forests, offering the signature par 3, 17th hole tucked inside a lava formed amphitheater.
The lava signature par 3, 17th hole tucked inside a lava formed amphitheater. The lava outcroppings on both of the courses |
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pose an interesting challenge on many holes. Legend has it that if Pele, the goddess of volcanos, favors a golfer, any of his or her stray balls will miraculously ricochet back onto the fairway. (The resort will offer no guarantees, however!) With almost indescribable mountainand ocean views, both courses are a joy and an even greater pleasure to play.
Above: The green on the par 3, 131 yard 14th hole on the North is protected to the front by a pristine lake. Left: Huts offer outdoor spa treatment rooms at Mauna Lani Spa. |
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