Golf in Kauai, Hawaii

Although golfers will invariably feel lucky while playing nearly every hole of the fantastic courses that dapple the gorgeous Hawaiian isle of Kauai, luck has nothing to do with getting to play the stellar courses or luxuriate in the world-class resorts listed below. Golfers simply need to pick up the phone, then hop on a plane. They will likely never feel better about turning "someday" into "now."

Kauai Lagoons & Marriott at Kalapaki Beach, Kauai

Reverence for the game and its artistry resonates on nearly every hole of Jack Nicklaus' Signature Kauai Lagoons (kauailagoonsgolf.com) A renovation of the Kiele 9, which includes three entirely new holes, one of which skirts the ocean, was completed in May of 2011. While the renovation was underway, I played a composite course, which could not have been better. The inviting fairways, colorful tropical foliage, vicious bunkers and amazingly true greens rank this course among my favorites anywhere (admittedly, the fact that I played as though Jack himself were guiding my clubs during my second round at Kauai Lagoons is likely coloring my assessment). Even Tour players are unlikely to find a more stellar, more stunning closing three holes: The 16th is a drivable par-4 but less-than-perfect drives will find the Pacific on the left; the blue of the ocean and green of the course are punctuated on the 16th by a white lighthouse that stands sentinel over the green and the surrounding bay. The 17th is a scenic, shortish par-3 over water-the first time I played the course, I added three clubs to cut through the wind and rain. And the 18th demands a second shot so precise to a water-enshrouded peninsula green that as I lined up my 5-iron, it seemed as though I was trying to land my ball on a giant cucumber.

Marriott at Kalapaki Beach

Only an easy stroll or a blink of a shuttle ride from the clubhouse at Kauai Lagoons sits a resort so picturesquely placed that to call the views sublime is to engage in understatement. The views are, in fact, transcendent, unbelievable ... and Kalapaki Bay could stand in for most anyone's vision of paradise. The lighthouse perched on the black-lava outcropping beside the 16th green may not shine its light all the way to the resort's enormous circular pool, but it may remind guests who stay at this fantastic establishment that their ship has come in.

Prince Golf Club, Makai Golf Club & St. Regis Princeville

Hollywood producers searching for a real-world setting that could stand in for the mythical Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific knew their search was over once they found Hanalei Bay, overlooked by the stunning, jagged Mount Makana . Yet the St. Regis Princeville improves upon nature. With 51 oceanfront suites among its 252 recently redesigned guest rooms, all within a couple miles of the extremely challenging Prince Course and within a well-struck driver of the breathtaking Makai Golf Club, the St. Regis Princeville caters to golfers who demand the best. The Prince course is the highest-rated course in Hawaii, and its forced carries over foliage-laden chasms are not for the feeble. Makai Golf Club, in addition to being far more forgiving than the Prince, is at least as beautiful and features one of the best, most stunning and knee-knocking par-3s any golfer will ever play, the 7th hole.

Poipu Bay Golf Course and Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa

Long before golfers direct their Titleists to the right of the seawall along the left side of the breathtaking 16th hole, they will have fully comprehended why Poipu Bay Golf Course has garnered a list of awards as long as a John Daly drive. As one astute writer describes the course: "It's candy, pure candy." Even dieters, however, will find this golfing confection well worth indulging in.

And speaking of indulging, the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa combines elegance, amenities, service and location so spectacularly that vacations elsewhere will likely seem disappointing. The water features alone render this resort among the world's finest, so when all the other amenities are included, the Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa becomes sublime.