Turtle Bay Resort (Oahu)

Turtle Bay's Arnold Palmer course hasn't hosted the PGA Tour like Kapalua's Plantation course on Maui, but it is one of the most celebrated tournament courses in the Hawaiian islands. It has hosted:
• The inaugural Champions Tour Skins Game (1988#
• The Champions Tour’s Turtle Bay Championship #2001-2008#
• The LPGA Tour’s SBS Open at Turtle Bay #2005-2009#
• The Turtle Bay Resort Hawaii State Open #2009-2011)
• The Golf Channel’s “Big Break”
Water takes center stage on the Palmer. Too bad that doesn't include the ocean often enough.The layout flirts with the fabled North Shore, but never ends up kissing it intimately. The excellent 17th hole, a sand-splashed par-4, ends at an elevated green overlooking the water. The green of the par-5 18th hole provides a glimpse of crashing waves between the trees. It's a good finish to a solid test of golf.

I can't believe I almost missed out on playing this course because I didn't have a way to get there! Luckily I was able to find HiGolfGuide just in time, and they were able to give my wife and I a free ride. It does take a long time to get out there, but on the way you get a nice little tour of the island. We started early and actually played the Fazio Course in the morning and the Palmer Course right after lunch. The Fazio course was nice but the Palmer course was awesome. The greens were flawless and approach shots didn't even make a mark! The fairways were like carpet, but the rough was penalizing. The layout was great too, requiring a wide array of shots. This course fulfilled all of my expectations, and I look forward to playing here again. One of the nicest courses on the island.