Hawaii’s vast, last frontier has developed into a destination worthy of its formidable size.

Descending the stairway onto Kona International Airport’s tarmac after a seven-hour direct flight, I was astonished as I looked around. Unlike the coasts of other popular Hawaiian destinations, the Big Island’s was devoid of mega-resorts lined up like a strip of reception bars on a cell phone. There wasn’t even a Jetway, an airport terminal or other hint of civilization that I could see. Only the airport’s cluster of giant, thatched-roof huts and the gently rising slope of the Hualalai volcano in the distance were visible. The air was warm, crisp and dry, and I was surrounded by a desert moonscape specked with Arizona-like shrubs and native grass. Did we make a wrong turn over California?

My buddy Jimmy, a professional golfer, picked me up next to the open-air baggage claim, and our Hawaiian adventure was under way. With the windows rolled down, radio blasting and the Aloha Spirit seeping into our souls, we raced northeast up Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway.

In contrast to the barren lava-rock outcroppings that bordered the highway, palms and pristine lawns lined the road that steered us towards the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. We checked in, received leis and mango juice, hastily dumped our baggage in the room and let our curiosity take over.

As one of the island’s most inclusive and luxurious resorts, Mauna Lani is perfect for the discerning explorer. During our first evening we marveled at baby Hawaiian green sea turtles circling a saltwater pool and hula dancers swaying to the twangs of a Hawaiian band in the hotel’s grand atrium. We watched sharks feed in an outdoor habitat and made tracks along a stretch of the hotel’s three miles of secluded shoreline. And that was all in our first two hours.

The Four Seasons Hualalai is the Big Island’s only resort that outdoes Mauna Lani on the luxury scale. It offers 243 impeccably appointed bungalow-style rooms and suites with views of the resort’s white-sand beaches. Resort guests are treated to Hualalai Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus signature layout that circles around the back of the hotel. While only one hole tickles the shoreline, the rest of the course plays through diverse native vegetation and contrasting black-lava rock fields. Last January, Champions Tour star Hale Irwin won the MasterCard Championship there.

It didn’t take long for us to realize life on the Big Island moves at a different speed. Employee manuals don’t mandate the warm smiles and energetic “alohas” and “mahalos” that resort staff members dish out. They don’t have to; they flow as naturally as the tides. “It’s that calming Hawaiian spirit and slow pace of life that keeps you coming back,” says Walter Welton, a general contractor who has lived along the Kailua-Kona coast with his wife, Susan, for 28 years. “People visit thinking they’re going to change the attitude around here. Two things happen: They change or leave.”

But why would you want to move from a place that has near-perfect weather year-round—especially between December and January when the average temperature hovers around 75 degrees—and a 4,028-square-mile playground (twice the combined size of the other Hawaiian islands)? The plethora of activities bespeaks the Big Island’s tremendous size. Whale-watching (the best months are December through March), world-class snorkeling from a Fair Wind Big Ocean Guide catamaran, deep-sea fishing, ocean kayaking, stargazing atop the volcanic peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, exploring Kilauea, one of the world’s few active volcanoes, and of course, golf, are all potential itinerary line items.

Our first golf experiences were the Francis H. I’i Brown courses at Mauna Lani Resort. After we hit enough balls to become familiar with the wiry Bermuda grass and sea-level ball flight, Ross Birch, the resort’s director of golf sales, led us to the first tee of the 6,938-yard, par-72 North Course. With the exception of three holes—the par-five second, par-four ninth and par-five 10th—the entire course plays inland, carved into an ancient lava flow. Mounds of jagged black rock peppered with thick groves of kiawe (mesquite) trees line every hole, making for one of the most extreme lateral hazards you’ll ever encounter. The four par threes are the North Course’s best features–especially the 132-yard 17th, which has a green that sits in a deep volcanic-rock amphitheater.

Aside from the fact that it shares the same fairway-bordering lava fields, the 6,938-yard South Course has a completely different, more tropical feel. Far more picturesque than its sibling, the South Course hosted the Senior Skins Game from 1990 to 2000, challenging legends like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino. Play tends to slow down on the picturesque 15th so groups can snap shots and hit mulligans to their heart’s content. It was a pleasure to spend 20 minutes overlooking Iliilinaehehe Bay on the tee box of the 196-yard par three.

I later made the observation that the North Course felt like it could have been located in Arizona or Palm Springs, while the South Course was distinctly tropical. That’s when Ross revealed one of the Big Island’s secrets: It is Hawaii’s most ecologically diverse island, with natural environments ranging from desert plains to rain forests. In fact, the Big Island has examples of all but two of the earth’s 13 climatic regions–artic and Saharan–and rainfall can vary from less than 10 inches annually on the Kailua-Kona side to more than 250 inches on the western, Hilo side.

A ride on one of Sunshine Helicopters’ sleek black choppers confirmed the climate and topography variations. Heading toward the northern part of the island and the Kohala Coast, we could see light-brown desert terrain transform into emerald-green pastures and the populated resort areas turn to rural, uninhabited expanses. Off the starboard side, Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest peak from base to tip at almost 34,000 feet, stood shrouded in fog and swirling clouds.

The chopper banked hard right, revealing dense jungles along the Hamakua Coast. We banked right again, swooping into a lush valley flanked by vertical cliffs covered in thick vegetation and waterfalls that plunged thousands of feet to the floor below. The pilot flipped a U-turn and headed back along the coast, pointing out seaside rock faces that had been shorn of their rich green foliage by a 6.6-magnitude earthquake that rocked the Big Island in late 2006.

That earthquake was also powerful enough to shut down Mauna Kea Beach Hotel until late 2008. We were lucky, however, to get in a round on the resort’s renowned golf course just a couple of months before it, too, closed for a major renovation. Also scheduled for completion toward the end of 2008, the course restoration—a Rees Jones project—will renew the course’s initial design, replace the turf and restore the bunkers.

Originally designed by Rees’ father, Robert Trent Jones Sr., in 1964, Mauna Kea is considered one of the best golf courses in Hawaii. Its most famous hole—the beastly par-three third—straddles a coastal inlet and requires a 260-yard carry from the tips. Jimmy and I still joke about the three-wood I ripped from the back tee that got caught by the wind and nosedived onto the rocks about 40 yards short of the green. Now let’s never speak of it again, OK? Mauna Kea has a rating of 75.3 and a slope of 142, so you can guess that the rest of the 7,124-yard course doesn’t get much easier.

Mauna Kea’s less heralded sister course, Hapuna, is equally impressive. Located up the hill from the Pacific, the 6,875-yard Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay design offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Kohala Coast and Mauna Kea. Hapuna has an Arizona feel, with desert-like native areas that surround its contoured fairways, multi-level greens and bunkers. In my opinion, Hapuna was the most creatively designed golf course we played on the Big Island.

The same way the golf course was situated to set up the best views, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel was built to take advantage of the famous Hapuna Beach, one of the finest strips of oceanfront space in the world. The entire hotel is angled toward the spectacular beach, including the tremendous open-air main lobby and, fortunately, our spacious guest suite.

Spacious is also the best way to describe Makalei Golf Course, located about 10 miles inland from Kona International Airport. The 7,091-yard layout features larger trees and a less-tropical setting. Roaming pheasants, turkeys and peacocks highlight Makalei’s rural feel.

In contrast, the island’s two largest cities, Hilo and Kailua-Kona, offer Big Island visitors a sense of civilization—big-box stores and mega-resorts—that the rest of the island doesn’t.

We stayed in one of those huge resorts, the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa, located 10 minutes south of the town of Kailua-Kona. Although it didn’t have the same feel of luxury and seclusion as the other resorts we visited, the Sheraton is easily the best choice for family trips. The resort offers a 14,000-square-foot pool complex and an energetic luau. At night the hotel shines intense spotlights into an ocean cove, attracting flocks of manta ray. The graceful and acrobatic creatures glide around the bay, providing spectacular theater.

Jimmy and I also discovered something that had been missing at our other locations–a killer nightlife. We dined at the Kona Brewing Co., and topped it off with drinks at Huggo’s on the Rocks and Hard Rock Café.

The fun wreaked havoc on our rounds the next day at Kona Country Club’s Ocean Course. Former host of the LPGA Tour’s Takefuji Classic from 2000-2001, the 6,748-yard William Bell design borders Keauhou Bay and factors in lush greenery, towering palms and coastal lava rock, especially on the par-four 13th, where you’re forced to hit over a blow hole known as a “puka.” Kona Country Club’s 6,634-yard Mountain Course sits at a higher elevation, setting up dramatic views of the bay.

Even after seven days of nonstop activity, my astonishment and thirst for adventure remained unquenched. Boarding the plane back to Denver, I decided there’s only one solution–another visit.

Jake Kubié is CAG’s assistant editor.

Where to Play
Hapuna Golf Course
62-100 Kaunaoa Dr., Kohala Coast
808-882-5400
hapunabeachprincehotel.com

Hualalai Golf Course
72-100 Ka’upulehu Dr., Ka’upulehu-Kona
808-325-8000
fourseasons.com/hualalai

Kona Country Club (Ocean and Mountain Courses)
78-7000 Alii Dr., Kailua-Kona
888-707-4522
konagolf.com

Makalei Golf Club
72-3890 Hawaii Belt Rd., Kailua-Kona
808-325-6625
makalei.com

Mauna Kea Golf Course (reopens in late 2008)
62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Dr., Kohala Coast
808-882-5400
maunakeabeachhotel.com

Mauna Lani Resort (Francis H. I'i Brown North and South Courses)
68-1310 Mauna Lani Dr.,
Kohala Coast
808-885-6655
maunalani.com

Where to Stay
Four Seasons Hualalai
72-100 Ka`upulehu Dr., Kailua-Kona
800-819-5053/808-325-8000
fourseasons.com/hualalai

Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel
62-100 Kauna'oa Dr., Kohala Coast
888-9-PRINCE/808-880-1111
princeresortshawaii.com

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (reopens in fall 2008)
62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Dr., Kohala Coast
888-9-PRINCE/808-882-7222
maunakeabeachhotel.com

Mauna Lani Resort
68-1400 Mauna Lani Dr., Kohala Coast
800-367-2323/808-885-6622
maunalani.com

Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa
78-128 Ehukai St., Kailua-Kona
866-716-8109/808-930-4900
sheratonkeauhou.com

Things to Do
Fair Wind Big Island Ocean Guides
800-677-9461/808-322-2788
fair-wind.com

Sunshine Helicopters
866-501-7738/808-270-3999
sunshinehelicopters.com