Turtle Bay Resort- Palmer course- hole 17 approach
Located on the north coast of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, Turtle Bay Resort has two 18 hole golf courses integrated into the development- The Fazio course and The Palmer course.
The Fazio Course was the original course at Turtle Bay, opening for play in 1972. It was designed by George Fazio. It has some lovely sea views, and is considered less demanding than it's sister course. It is also more walkable
The Palmer course was designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, and opened in 1992, and is definitely a more demanding course. It is regarded as one of the better courses on Oahu.
Turtle Bay Resort- Palmer Course
The front nine is flat and open with water hazards and palm trees- like so many other tropical resort courses
Lack of elevation change makes it hard to see where the water and bunkers encroach into fairways, and this can be disconcerting for the first time visitor.
The back nine cuts through dense tropical jungle until it touches the beach at the famous 17th hole.
Framed by heavy vegetation including a forest of ironwoods, these holes have more definition and are more visual, and the hazards are not only seen- but look good!
I much prefer the back nine
Notable holes include:
- the par 5 third hole with lake running the left side of the fairway and cutting into the line of play a couple of times
Turtle Bay Resort- Palmer Course- hole 3
- the par 4 seventh hole with a virtual island green
Turtle Bay Resort- Palmer Course- hole 7
- the par 4 eleventh hole with water ever present for the length of the hole and on both sides for the approach
- the long par 4 sixteenth hole with water protecting the green
Turtle Bay Resort- Palmer Course- hole 16
- the famous par 4 seventeenth hole which heads directly to the sea. The fairway is heavily bunkered, and the approach is a minefield of bunkers, and has the beach as a background (see pic top of page)
- the par 5 closing hole with water dominating the second and approach shots
Turtle Bay offers a different type of golfing experience than others on Oahu, and complements the rugged and dramatic layouts like Royal Hawaiian, and Ko'olau- it's a resort type course and features some very nice holes on the back nine.
Golf Tours
The Travelling Golfer can tailor a golf trip to Hawaii to suit your group. For itinerary suggestions see Destinations: Hawaii- Golf on Oahu
Enquiries
For further information please enquire here:
.
