I will quibble and say 4.5 cause pricey and slow greens. Place is top 100 courses in United States with greens that are about an 8.5/9 stimp. I'm a 15 and had a blast. Props to the very kind starter today, 6/19/25, who saw that front was crowded and got me off on the back. Like a 3.75 hour round. Great mix of holes, about 6 with awesome water views. Good variety of water, doglegs, straight, elevated greens, etc. As a first timer you will take your lumps. Hospitality quite good. Round was $220 but so be it. It's a fair course. read more

Here's what you need to know: absolutely loved this golf course. Just WOW! Yes, it's expensive at $300/round but the views and quality of course are so worth it. Check in was easy, the club house is well equipped, parking is an interesting experience with paper tickets, but once you get to the course, oh my god just heaven on earth. You don't even have to be a good golfer to enjoy this course, it's actually relatively playable and not designed just for course pros. But the pictures and video will be worth a lot more than my words. read more

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Awesome staff took care of us really well, it was the first time we golfed there. Great course however I could do without all the sand bunkers lol nah, it was great and the views are stunning read more

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This is an absolute gem of a golf course. With all the choices of places to play, this course is at the top of the list. Beautiful, challenging, playable, and great pace of play. Course staff are amazing and friendly. I'm definitely coming back. read more

Mauna Kea Golf - Golf Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

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Course was pretty, but not in great shape. The greens are in terrible shape and not maintained well at all. Random patches of grass throughout the greens. I would recommend playing elsewhere unless you get a special discount. read more

Definitely one of the more scenic courses on the Big Island. We aren't real golfers so we pretty much paid for the ocean view adventure on a golf cart. We took the kids along and they had a blast, since they've never been on a full golf course. They were just riders but they enjoyed watching us attempt to whack a small golf ball across the ocean, uphill into the wind lol. (Just FYI, I did make it across from my tee, but my hubby went clear into the water) Again, not real golfers here, so I spent more time in the sand on this course than I did on the beach the next day. We are kamaaina (live in Hawaii) so we played in the afternoon and got a better deal. You are lucky they did not put us near your tee time because we took a while to finish, and luckily they didn't not put anyone before or after us. They must have known we would spend more time in the sandbox than on the grass. We did get our Christmas card picture on this course. Totally worth it. read more

Mauna Kea Golf - Golf Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

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If you like great golf courses and not the usual boring resort garbage, then this is your place. Not for the faint of heart. Tough layout that really makes club selection a premium. Times two if the wind is blowing. You want easy? Stick to your local muni. You want a fun challenge with epic view? Here you go. I did hear the owners were going to soften it up to make it easier. Fingers crossed they don't ruin it. read more

Excellent golf course! I enjoyed playing here and would come back again. A really large amount of bunkers

Finally crossed this course off the "bucket-list." Mauna Kea more than lives up to its reputation as a world-class golf course. The views (an important feature for me) are outstanding from every tee box, fairway and green. The colors that you see on the course are breath-taking (blues, greens and myriad of tropical flowers.) A great golf experience. Favorite holes - #11. Long par 3 heading towards the ocean from an elevated tee and #18 - another elevated tee which leaves you with a down-hill shot towards the hole. It is a coincidence that these two holes stand out for me? Mauna Kea is a hard course that has you hitting most of your approach shots to elevated greens that are blind. You see the top of the flag - but that is about it. On many of the holes you don't have a good idea of what is happening on the green, or what surrounds it. Pay close attention to the GPS system in the cart and use it....it will help. I hope to play here again, possibly in October or January. Like this time, I'll search for a time on Tee-off dot com. The price that I paid more than made up for the lack of a kamaaina rate. You just have to be flexible on when you can play. read more

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Beautiful course and layout. Great condition. Booked on Golf Now for $118 so price was right. Scheduled for 12:48 but slow season as actually teed off 12:30. Took 4:30 hrs. to complete round. Pleased that wind was not a factor. I am high handicapper that enjoyed course versus Kapalua Plantation where wind made course extremely difficult. Non enthusiastic staff who appeared to go through motions. read more

This course is Tough. No 2 ways about it... it will kick your butt. Almost all the greens are elevated... meaning you have to chip up to it. Almost all the greens are super protected by sand traps. Enjoy playing in the beach if your wedge game isn't on-point. The #3 signature hole is BEAUTIFUL! ... and challenging. But I managed to knock it on the green... super excited about that. There are quite a few blind shots... in that you can't see where you're going, so get a course book if this is going to bother you. There is GPS on the cart which is helpful, so use it. :) The service is Fantastic! The folks here are on top of it! All of it! The course itself is in great condition as you would expect. If you play later in the day like we did (11:24 tee time), the drink cart is a little lacking in sandwiches and musubis around 1:30pm. But the drinks are cold and water is provided on the cart (2 coolers). read more

This is an amazing golf course. Unfortunately they could care less about customers. I have been planning a trip back to the big island for ten years. Had a tee time for my sons and I today, only to have the pro shop cancel our time. They said the course was wet. Every other course in the area stayed open for play but this course decided to cancel everyone because the pro am takes place there staring the 12/8/21. We played Hapuna again at 1 pm without any issues. People like my family saved for months to make this trip. These pros play course likes this all the time. Cancelling all the tee times was a slap in the face to all the golfers and families. This is absolutely unfair and straight BS. This course should be ashamed. Thanks for ruining a family memory!! Update. Spoke with the grounds crew. Just thought maybe the course was flooded or something. They said nope, the course drained well. They just didn't want to show any play on it before the pro am. So yeah, screw the regular folk. These pros could care less about this course. Way to go course management. read more

Luckily I got a good rate for the course in June so that helped my review, however I do think three stars is generous and mainly because of the spectacular views. Overall, the course didn't live up to my high expectations as being one of the top public golf courses in the world. To start, the fairways were incredibly hard and not lush grass like I had seen and hoped to experience. The grounds crew were everywhere and even as I am taking my shots they continued driving around. It was really annoying. One great thing is they do keep their signature hole (#3) in great condition. So I guess I was really paying a steep price simply to play this hole. read more

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Not what it is cracked up to be! If you drive to the course then good luck parking your car! You would think that they would provide parking NEAR the course. If you DEMAND they will accommodate you but that is if you find someone who cares about where they work. The right hand has no idea what the left is doing. The course is warn and the traps are gravel due to the lack of sand. Most of the greens need major repair. There are plenty of other good courses around to play so don't waste your time. I must have asked for the poor service since I played here twice in the same week we were here. Bad decision! Save your time and money and play at any of the other places on the island. read more

The course is a cool design. It was in disrepair because of rain, which surprised me as it does rain in Hawaii. I have golfed it 4 times now. The last 2 were not a good experience. This time there were several people walking the course for exercise. So you have to hit around them. I'm sure the course will get cleaned up eventually. But that is my last time there. read more

Golf Digest ranked Mauna Kea Golf Course #27 in the Top 100 Public Golf Courses in the United States! This is a must play on your visit to the Big Island. www.maunakeagolf.com read more

They sell intelligent balls here. On the #3 (par 3, dogleg left), I played a full 4-iron into the middle of the bend and the ball figured out how to roll all the way to the green. I wish I could train golf balls to do that. Overall, the course is as smooth as the Mai Tai served at the Mauna Kea Beach hotel. The fairways are wide, the greens are well maintained and the scenery is unbelievable. You'll remember the holes #3 and 11 for a long time. I will also remember two luxurious service stations along the course. It's just a pleasure to play here. Expect all this for $300 a round. read more

Mauna Kea Golf - Hole # 11 - Golf Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

Nationally ranked course, I am glad I got to play here just to say I have tried. But my skill level is not up to par to return anytime soon. Tough challenging course! Many elevated greens and the greens are surrounded by bunkers. Most courses have the greenside bunkers on the side. Not here--there are front facing. Bunkers galore! Oh my! And these bunkers have a steep face. On a disastrous hole, I took 4 or 5 swings in the sand. Needless to say, I had a dreadful score. Target golf off the tee. Actually, not only off the tee, everywhere! Course management at its finest. Layup or have a blow up hole! Being near the ocean, Mauna Kea has its share of picturesque holes. Bring your camera as there will be many photo taking opportunities. Nothing finer than a nice day golfing while also appreciating the beauty of nature. Hawaii is beautiful indeed! Carts have coolers on both sides of the cart. You will need them. It was blazing hot on this January day. Gosh, Kona side is hotter than Oahu during the summer! Customer Service from everyone here was great. They are definitely here to serve. Custom, engraved bag tags? np! Custom embroidered towel with they brand? np! Want soda, juice or water? free! Valet my car? Sure! Of course, we paid the price. Kamaaina rate to play here is $285 - 10% = $256.50. My wallet got thin! Before I return will have to improve my game. Mauna Kea, the next time I will be ready! read more

The course is literally located in paradise, with has a design thats truly interesting and very challenging (especially for relative beginners like us :). These attributes deserve two stars. However, the maintenance work and staff at the course appears to be sorely lacking, especially in terms of the quality of greens and signage for tee off points (confusing at several holes). The greens are poorly maintained and not at all worthy of a high end/expensive course like this. Also, and perhaps as a result of understaffing in maintenance, the GPS system seems to have been designed to get the guests to do maintenance work, to the point it is over the top, obtrusive and bothersome! We tried providing this adverse feedback to the golf cart/bag return person and he reacted, as expected, in a highly defensive and hostile manner, finally telling us it was ok if we never returned for another round of golf here. This is exactly how a customer oriented establishment is NOT supposed to respond to customer feedback, an experience which suggests the management leadership has failed to setup and reward the right attitude, or penalise the wrong ones, among their team members. It's unclear what inspired him to take this non customer friendly attitude, and hopefully it wasn't because of the fact that we were one of few guests of colour on the course. Thankfully, we agree with the cart return person - ie there will be no more rounds of golf ever, for us or our friends at Mauna Kea, especially given the fantastic, customer oriented courses that paradise has to offer players like us! read more

Great experience on a five star championship golf course! Turf conditions were excellent. Mauna Kea could host a tour event tomorrow. Greens had a good pace given the undulation. Fast enough, but you didn't have to worry about the ball running away... The golf boards added a uniqueness to the experience. My son (17) took a board and found it simple to use (must be a licensed driver to operate). Enjoyed the boards. Dwayne and his staff were professional and over the top friendly. The course is very playable for any caliber of player. Great views, too. What a treat to play Mauna Kea!!! read more

Beware of the pro shop. Last Saturday I purchased a brand new score card holder. When I opened it today it was literally falling apart. I went back to them and was treated rather rudely. They did it exchange it but when all the remaining card holders were peeling. I told them that was not what one would expect from a high class resort. The sales lady said they were " very old". Thus they are selling dated merchandise that will fall apart at 5 star resort prices read more

Beautiful location, tough course. But for $250 you'd think they'd put sand in the traps and water the greens. Way overrated. So many better options. read more

An absolute dream golf course. From the time I arrived until I left every bit of the service was first class. Top notch practice facility which led to a well maintained 18 hole course. Hole #3 is a dream hole. Absolutely beautiful course. read more

Mauna Kea Golf - Golf Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

Very beautiful golf course very expensive but hey your in the big island of Hawaii. You have to play the sister course as well.

I think this is the only way to describe this course in order to truly give it the respect it deserves is summed up this way "mauna kea is recognized as the grand dame of all Hawaii golf courses' title she will likely never surrender." Every word of this stays true today. For our trip to hawaii I had one job that was delegated to me...find food for the family to eat at and golf for me and my dad. The food I knew was easy, but the golf would be a bit tougher since there are a bunch of courses that are on the big island and some of them get good ratings by others just by the fact you are in hawaii and they tend to ignore if the course isnt that well maintained. The first one we played at yesterday was Mauna Kea, and after reading the reviews on yelp and researching it a bit online I knew we where in for a fun round. A friend of my dads and his son joined us too. The course started out with a normal par 4 hole that had a dog leg to the right (but my dads friend didn't look at the lay of the hole and assumed it went left...he hit it into the street :) ). The one not of warning is that the ruff in hawaii is made of the super fluffy grass that if you swing to far underneath the ball you are going to sky it up in the air or whiff...like me who swung way to far under it and the ball popped up in the air and fell right into the divot. when we got to the 3rd hole, i realized that the price was fully justified, this hole maybe one of the most gorgeous holes in all of golf (it rivals that of number 7 at pebble). Its a long carry par 3 over the ocean to a green that jets out into the ocean...one suggestion is that even if you cant hit it that far go back to the "pro" tees and swing away from there for fun. There really are no better words to put the layout of this course that perfect, the course is phenomenal and the holes along the water are breath taking, what really stands out is that each and every hole is different and has its own different beauties and challenges. But before you go, like Tony T said, make sure you check the wind...I forgot to do this and on some of the holes it was amazing having 40 mph gusts behind you, but when it was in your face it sucks hitting a ball in the air and fearing for your life it may come back and smack you in your face!!! Oh ya they have free drinks and snacks every 4 or 5 holes!!!! read more

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"You will always remember hole #3" - I shot par :) Pros: + Beautiful course + Extremely well maintained + Very challenging track + Hole #3 and #11 are amazing experiences + Service - Pro shop gave us lockers. Had showers, special soaps. Very country club feeling. Free balls at the range even though we were playing the next day. Let my girlfriend use clubs for free so I could teach her. Cons: - Cart Girl / Food - Cart girl only showed up at 1 and 12 for us. Used to be a phone on #9 tee box that was removed. Snack shop at the turn has expensive sandwiches you would expect on a coach flight. They appeared to be bothered that we asked them to make us sandwiches. - Holes 12-17 aren't very memorable. I'm not sure if the 1-11 was so amazing that I forgot the rest or the bar was set too high. Holes 12-17 head away from the water up the hill. - Very expensive - Hotel Staff / Security - Rude. Treat you like a convict if you think about using their beach. Mandatory valet without bag help. Rude hotel front desk. Don't wash your clubs at the end. This is on top of bad food and a lack of a cart girl. That sounds snooty, but for $200 a round, I expect more service. Overall: I'm giving the golf itself a 5. Its a memory I will have forever, but I probably wont play it again. Think of it as an experience course. The pro shop staff get a 5. The staff/food (non-pro shop) get a 2. I'm happy to say I've done it, but will look around the island for a better top tier golf option in the future. read more

This and the Mauna Lani South course set the standard for big island courses. The Mauna Kea, when we played there, felt much more relaxed and less busy than other Kohala courses. My wife and I had a 7.48 teetime and got through the course in 3.5 hours and we felt like we were taking our time. No waiting on a group in front and no getting pushed from behind. It's golf the way it should be in a wonderful setting like this. Take photos on hole #3 and remember to aim right. Greens are challenging here and everything really moves towards the ocean. Play more break. The rolling terrain, dazzling scenery, and challenging but fair layout make this a Robert Trent Jones masterpiece. read more

Mauna Kea Golf - Hole #3 - Golf Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

This is THE public place to play on the Big Island. Got a great deal on GolfNow. The greens unfortunately were being aerated when I played it, but they still rolled surprisingly well. At the same time, my 1 pm time was the last on the books for the day, so I pretty much had the course to my wife and myself. I was able to take all the time I wanted to warm up--I'd never felt so relaxed on the first tee. Like the others said #'s 3 and 11 are especially memorable, but so many of the holes have unforgettable views. My wife and I WERE able to enjoy the beach afterward. And with some rental gear we brought, enjoyed the best snorkeling of our entire trip! There is dedicated parking for the public section of the beach, but we were able to stay in the golf parking. A great ending to our Hawaii trip. Can't wait to come here again! read more

Service is great but the course is from the era of make it hard to score well. Elevated greens and sand traps in the landing zones and around the greens. Throw in some wind and grainy greens and it's tough to score well. The course is nice but not unique. 1 true ocean hole. For lava lined fairways, 3 ocean holes and a more playable course, go with Mauna Lani. read more

5/4 Before you play, check wind!!!! There was nice breeze for first two holes, and then it became so windy that we were barely able to stand still. The nice drive became lost ball, and ball on green did not stay still. We were wind exhausted. So, check wind condition before u play. read more

LOVED it! But man o man! What a golf test! Golf course kicked my ass! More please! read more

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Great Hawaiian course! If you are on the big island of Hawaii and plan on golfing, your trip should include this resort. Hole #3 alone is worth your price and time. Their signature hole, flies your tee shot over a huge bay. Very picturesque, a classic pacific costal hole. The course is well manicured and has lush vegetation throughout. There are giant sand bunkers, and hawaiian lava flow hazards. It is a challenging course, with good elevation and a good variety of short and long holes. Bring your camera. This is hands down one of the best courses I have ever played. Lunch at the clubhouse is a must, go for brunch and tee off soon after before the wind gets going. read more

Easily the nicest golf course I have ever played on. Every single hole is beautiful, challenging, and very well-maintained. Some of the views are simply stunning and the course has a great array of different types of holes (as everyone else says, the third hole is truly one in a million). My only real complaint is that the sand traps are hell. But if you are a better golfer than I, you should be able to avoid that challenge. Service and amenities are also excellent. The driving range you'll hit on before you tee off is awesome and there are lots of nice little touches - ball markers and divot fixers, water bottles in ice coolers on the carts, tees, and the cold, scented towels when you finish your round. Pretty nice. That said, I would certainly not pay 250+ or whatever the peak rate is, but anything under 100 seems like you should go for it. Incredibly beautiful and tough course! read more

Played the course on 5/1/13 Haupuna had a top notch customer service at reception and then followed up with a terrific experience in the pro shop. The course is fun to play and still provides a challenge. The views were terrific at the top of the hill. Not many places that you can find wild goats roaming the course either. Pace of play was fine and plenty of parking. The only knock was the lack of the availability of food on the course, so be sure to stop and pick up your own. Low green fees are a bonus! read more

What a shocker! Kamaaina's NOT Welcome here! Green fee for a local is $267 (tax included) and including 10% discount for kamaainas!! Also we had to tip the valet for the parking and tip for the bag boy. My mainland friends paid $260 each for golf at Hapuna and Mauna Kea! Definitely this course is only for the well-heeled and the millionaires that reside in the homes in the area. A beautiful, world class golf course but never again!! George Y. read more

Recently had the pleasure of playing this course while out in Hawaii for my honeymoon. It was on a short list of 4 courses I had earmarked, along with Ko'olau, Princeville (Prince), and Kapalua (Plantation). Thanks to GolfNow, I got to play this course for $125, including cart. Still not as good as the rates the locals get, but not bad. It was more crowded than any of the other courses I played, but that's probably because it was a Sunday afternoon. I played all the others on weekdays. The experience with this course starts as soon as you arrive in the parking lot. Someone pulls up in a golf cart to meet you as you're getting out of your car. Overall, this course is not as flashy as Princeville or Kapalua, but it's wonderful nonetheless. I'd say out of the 4 courses I played in Hawaii, this was definitely the most playable one, and probably the most fun to play. Unlike the other 3 courses, a medium-high handicapper can come out here and have a good time. Free drinks on the first tee too so you can load up your cart. 3rd hole is as pretty as it gets. One word of advice - the first hole is a dogleg right. Looking from the tee, it's tough to tell where the hole goes. read more

The view and the golf course is beautiful. Very expensive and you do not get what you pay for. Not worth $275 for non members. No gps in the carts, sprinkler heads were not marked so yardages were extremely hard to get. Pro shop apparel was very overpriced and dress code is very strict. We played on a Sunday and the drink and snack bar is closed on Sundays. We saw the drink and snack cart once through 13 holes. Not very welcoming and staff was not as friendly as we thought they would be. We didn't feel welcomed or satisfied with any customer service. Compared to other courses similarly priced, this falls extremely short. Understaffed, unwelcoming, but amazing scenery. The best part was the company, the view and the gentlemen at the cart barn who provided us with cold towels after our round. Dissatisfied but overall happy to experience another golf round in beautiful Hawaii. read more

This is one of the nicest public golf course on the Island of Kona/Hawaii. Some features include : the spectacular # 3 and #11, the beautiful scenic holes, the great fairways and fairway bunkers.. The greens are a bit slow and the pace of play can be a little slow, but the experience is priceless. read more

Been playing here since the early 80's. The one star rating is purely for the excessive rate, particularly since their sister course, Hapuna, is far less expensive, and a lot of fun. Yes the condition of the course is superb, but so is Hapuna. Course is virtually empty, pro shop staff and starter would be better off playing cards. I guess they want to retain a degree of exclusivity, well they certainly have that, but MK is not the second coming of Pebble Bch. If you do choose to play, anticipate heavy bunkering and mostly elevated greens. The signature hole #3 is far too early, maybe management should consider reversing the 9's so you're rewarded with this awesome hole as #12 after plenty of time to warm up. Bucket list course? Well Mauna Lani South #15 is nearly as beautiful, maybe not as 'craggy', but comparable. And it's at the end of the course and a far better value. read more

Beautiful and brutal. Perfectly maintained with wonderful mauka and makai views. Very difficult if you can't play target golf and your sand game isn't on point. Every green is guarded by multiple deep bunkers. Today the course was beautiful and in tremendous shape (minus the 17th green). We got a deal on an 8 am tee-time ($165) on one of the golf discount websites, which apparently is pretty rare, so playing here at that price/time was a real score. Better yet, we had a 3:15 round and saw NO ONE ELSE playing. We talked to the friendly marshal (who we saw once), and he said there were only a couple of other twosomes out on the course. Every employee we interacted with (the lady in the pro shop, the bag guy, the starter) was very friendly and helpful. This would probably be four stars at the $270 regular price (I just can't help but always want to roll in a value/experience calculation), but if you can get on under $200, you've got a 5-star experience awaiting you. read more