Emerald Course at Wailea Golf Club in Maui epitomizes scenic, Hawaii resort golf

WAILEA, Maui, Hawaii -- The Emerald Course at Wailea Golf Club is one of three 18-hole courses at the south Maui golf course and resort development, and it's undeniably the most scenic of the trio. The Emerald plays beside the Gold Course, and they were both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in the early 1990s.

Both the Gold and the Emerald play along the base of Mount Haleakala, the 10,000-foot-high formation that makes up Maui's eastern half. Both courses play through dense, native vegetation and black rock walls that were used as property markers for old fishing villages generations ago. The most notable design feature on the Emerald is the large, double green shared by the 10th and 17th holes. The 18th hole is one of the island's great finishing holes, a downhill par 5 that plays toward Pu'u'olai, the volcanic cinder cone that is the signature landmark of south Maui.

While the Gold Course is often more highly rated by panelists and more difficult from the championship tees, the Emerald is the most popular of the three courses in Wailea, thanks to both its scenery and a very player-friendy design. The course can play more than 6,800 yards from the back tees, but the holes tend to play downhill more than uphill.