There was a waiting list to enter the Prince Resorts Hawai'i State Open next weekend at the Mauna Kea Beach Golf Course but the standbys didn't mind being put on hold.

The event is not only the biggest and final major championship of the year in local golf, it also coincides with the 40th anniversary celebration of the Big Island resort. So it figures to be a special week indeed.

Especially considering the ground-breaking role Mauna Kea played in the development of resort golf courses in Hawai'i.

"Not many places have the kind of history we have. Four generations of employees working here," said Charles Park, Mauna Kea Resort's general manager of hotel operations.

The golf course opened in July 1965, three years after its architect, Robert Trent Jones Sr., stood on a barren lava field envisioning what would become its signature hole — the par-3 third.

At the time, Jones told Mauna Kea Resort developer Laurance Rockefeller, "If you allow me to build a golf course here, it'll be the most beautiful hole in the world."

When Jones returned as an honored guest for the resort's 25th anniversary, he still hadn't changed his mind. In fact, he called Mauna Kea one of the five best golf courses he had ever designed. Quite a tribute considering Jones built or redesigned more than 450 courses throughout the world.

He also regarded the third and 11th holes as "two of the best par 3s I've ever designed."

Mark Rolfing, an NBC-TV golf analyst, goes even one better, saying that, "It's got the best set of par 3s in Hawai'i, maybe in the world."

The par-3 third is Hawai'i's most photographed hole and remains a memorable challenge to every golfer taking aim at the green across the wave-crashing inlet. And Japan's Isao Aoki, winner of the 1983 Hawaiian Open, claims that the downhill 11th hole is the toughest par-3 that doesn't require a carry over water.

"No. 11's a hell of a hole. Very demanding, especially with the prevailing wind," said Maui pro Brian Sasada, who won the Hawai'i State Open when it was last played at Mauna Kea in 1997.

"You don't want to be a hero at that hole. You try to put it in front of the green, chip up for par and get out of there."

Mauna Kea has stood the test of time.

"I think Mauna Kea is still the best course in Hawai'i," Rolfing said. "It needs some work done to restore it to its original look a little more. But I like the diversity of the holes. They require some outstanding shot-making. The golf course requires a lot of thinking and strategy. You've got to use every club in the bag."

Playing well at Mauna Kea depends on the wind, according to Sasada, who said he won that year because of calm conditions, an afternoon rarity on the Kohala Coast.

"It can be very bad if it's windy because there are so many undulating greens," said Sasada, a Makena Resort golf assistant.

Still, Mauna Kea's best defense — as at any golf course in the Islands — is the wind.

Said Robert Trent Jones Jr., who made some of his late father's difficult holes at Mauna Kea more user-friendly in 1975, "Wind is an invisible hazard."

Jones will be at Mauna Kea for some of the activities, starting with the Oakley Pro-Am next Thursday.

The 54-hole championship starts next Friday with Chad Saladin, who won last year at the Hawai'i Prince Golf Course, defending his title.

Besides Saladin and Sasada, other former state open winners in the championship field are Kevin Hayashi, who won it three straight years (1999 to 2001), four-time champion Lance Suzuki (1976, 1986, 1988 and 1992), Tom Eubank (2002) and Casey Nakama (1987).

Larry Stubblefield, who won last year's senior division, will be competing in the 85-player championship flight along with other leading pros Regan Lee, Kirk Nelson, Norman-Ganin Asao, Andrew Feldmann, Jerry Mullen and Shane Hoshino. Top amateurs include Jarett Hamamoto, Jacob Low, Sean Maekawa and Kevin Shimomura.

Dan Nishimoto and Allan Yamamoto, winners of the first two Hawai'i State Open titles at the Ala Wai Golf Course in 1974 and 1975, respectively, are entered in the senior flight along with Dick McClean, who won back-to-back championships in 1990 and 1991.

Eight players are in the women's field, including 11-year-old Cyd Okino, Britney Choy, Ayaka Kaneko and 2005 state girls champion Christine Kim of Waiakea High School.

Like the Mauna Kea Golf Course, the Hawai'i State Open also has a great tradition. They combine next week to make it a special time for local golf.