Designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, this course opened in 1992 and was rated one of Golf Magazine’s “Top 10 New Courses” in America and ranked 4th among Golf Digest’s “Best New Resort Courses in America” the year it opened. It features two very distinct experiences.

The front nine will challenge golfers with a Scottish Links style layout, while the back nine has a more tropical setting as it winds through verdant landscapes. The course forms a horseshoe around the Punaho’olapa marsh, an unspoiled 100-acre wetland and bird sanctuary. Water comes into play on 14 of the Palmer holes. The signature 17th hole offers panoramic ocean views from the green while the hole is dotted with nine bunkers, which makes it as challenging as it is scenic.

This par 72 course measures 6,225 yards from the resort tees. When played from the Palmer (black) tees, this 7,218-yard seaside course presents a stiff challenge to even the best players. Sand traps are plentiful, with more than 70 menacing the fairways and protecting the greens. However, there are five sets of tees on each hole that provide an enjoyable experience for golfers of any ability.

The George Fazio Course at Turtle Bay Resort opened in 1972. The 18-hole design meanders among traditional Hawaiian palms while skirting the North Shore coast on numerous occasions. It is known for generally being more forgiving than the Arnold Palmer Course and having breathtaking ocean views on both the back and front nine. It is a popular walking course because it can be played from a shorter distance and there are far fewer forced carries.

While the Fazio Course is the original course at Turtle Bay Resort, it is still a great test of golf, and in its day it hosted the best players of a generation, including Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Sam Snead, and Chi Chi Rodriguez in the first Champions Tour Skins Game. The Fazio Course has also hosted the LPGA Tour’s Hawaiian Open. The Fazio Course is an experience well worth having, and for those enjoying multiple days at the resort, a great complement to the Palmer experience.