Ko'olau Golf Club

The course needs a help for maintenance of the rough. Weeds are growing tall, fallen leaves are all over the place even right by the green.
Green, fairway, tee are good.

Koolau is getting a little rough maintenance wise but its really a great course that everyone should try. Beautiful layout and scenery in a perfect location; just be prepared for a challenge.

This was my third time play here.
I lost 12 balls lost first time and 10 balls second time.
This time three balls.
I believe nice weather and memories on this tough course helped me to play better.
This is tough course but very challenging and beautiful .
I recommend strongly to play here.
You will be knock down but enjoy, I am sure.

I'm a 16 handicap and play from the blue tees which adjusted my index to a 20 and that is accurate.

Before teeing off I ran into a group that plays their often. I asked if they had and pointers before I started, they said your handicap is how any balls you will lose. I laughed and teed off, first hole first shot about 5 yards into the rough/bushes and there's the first ball .... Haha.

My final score was a 7. That's how many balls I lost. Keep the driver in the bag! After 3 lost balls off the tee, I played my 3 hybrid off the tee, 205yds more ball control and would typically have 160/150 into the green. Greens are large and slow, but in good condition.

I played on a Tuesday at 11:45 and it was wide open finished in 3 1/2-4hrs. If I wouldn't of lost all the balls then I would finished 15 min sooner.

I will go back and play the course a little different.

I recently played this course and I will say that after hearing about it for years, I was more than impressed to finally grace the fairways.

Overall I got a pretty good wakeup call, due mostly to the numerous "ravines" that I was warned about prior to teeing off. Make sure to study the golf card and see just where they are, mostly around the bends! I would've played a lot safer had I noticed them!

The fairways were exquisite and you paid dearly for going in the rough (thick bladed grass). The greens were the best that I've played in a long time. The rolls were true, as they played a little slower.

The staff was overly friendly and we kept running into Mel, one of the "Ambassadors" and he was not only extremely knowledgeable about the course and the history, but he was quite the hoot as well.

The landscape and scenery were mind-blowing. I've driven H3 hundreds of times and had no clue that the course was at the base of the mountainside.

I would play here again without a doubt. I got an amazing "hot deal" and only paid $25.00, you can't beat that.

Go if you haven't, you'll regret not doing it!

Overall one of the most beautiful courses. Rough could have been a little more kept. Wish there was gps in the carts as there are a lot if holes where you need local knowledge. Will be back.

The views of the mountains above and the layout are spectacular. It's unfortunate about the course conditions. The front 9 was playable but you wouldn't call it good. The back 9 was nearly unplayable, so much of it hasn't been mowed due to rain and wet conditions, bunkers are flooded etc.

Despite this, I would play again if they have some better weather for long enough to do some standard maintenance.

Arrived for a 652am t time. Check-in was great staff was very helpful. Ambassador explained some of the nuances of the course and things to pay close attention to. Greens were impeccable,outstanding etc. the fairways were so long on the back mine that you could hit a perfect shot and lose the ball in the fairway. Was very disappointed in the conditions of the fairway and around the greens. Would not be worth the full price stated until the fairways were in better shape.

Avoid this course. Play Royal Hawaiian nearby for the same money. I agree with another comment about the poor condition and maintenance. There seems maintenance workers on the course but it is way behind. Holes 14-17 are almost like abandon holes. Can't find ball on fairway! I almost gave up playing. No longer the course I played many years ago.

Pros:
Extremely nice views. Nice practice area. New golf carts. Professional starter. Friendly local staff. Its located on the wet side of Oahu, so drizzles of rain from time to time is expected.

Cons:
If you consider yourself a player and apply the rules of golf, this is not a course to be on. It is not a course you can scramble on. If you hit left or right, you will lose your ball. If you hit straight or high, and if the grounds are damp, you may lose your ball. I lost many balls while hitting it into the fairway. I could not find it because the ground swallowed it up being damp or wet. Being a player, I count my strokes but it got too ridicules. The fairways aren't cut so that didn't help too. Its sad that the conditions are like that. If you have a 4 some, they may let out a single or two some behind you. If they do, the marshals will follow you at every hole. A dozen balls isn't enough to carry. Use range balls or old balls. Its not worth wasting your new balls their.

Course looks like has big financial problems or is close to bankruptcy. Nothing has been maintained. Felt like playing abondoned golf course.

Course was tough as usual. The mud was out of control, greens very inconsistent. Pro shop attendant must be having a bad day, everyone else was cool.

They're not joking when they advertised it being the most difficult in the Nation!!
We lost 10 balls in our first nine.
Be prepared to challenge yourselves. It won't be very soon for me to try this course again.

Beautiful course, tight and challenging. Course is in good condition and all personnel are friendly.
Great Time

Amazing, beautiful course. Would have given 5 stars but due to their "policy" that carts have to be in by 6:00 PM the staff would not allow us to finish the 18th hole.

This course was obviously a gem once upon a time. No longer that. The views are spectacular and definitely some of the best i have ever seen... but that is hawaii so if you want to pay a fortune for a nice view that includes a free round of golf go for it but id say pass. I showed up because of the rumor that it is one of the hardest courses in the world and wanted to push my game. I had to rent clubs which were garbage, offset and uniflex shafts which were so used and worn im sure value village wouldnt even sell them. btw they cost appx. 70$ to rent (generic callways). The grass is being maintained by goats and cows as it is patchy and far from pretty. The greens rolled nice and were quality but had many rough spots... not the quality you would expect for 110$ or more per round.. more like a "50$" course quality. They also were super slow... i couldnt give you a stimp reading but would compare it to putting on standard pile carpet. I am from canada and see public courses in better condition at the beginning of spring.

It said it was top 100 from 2009-2011 and it is quite obvious why it isnt now. I showed up and nobody was there... i paid for a mid-pm tee time and was able to get out early and they even offered to have myself and another single play individually one after the other. Beautiful clubhouse but the fountain is off... again no money? There are shacks on the course that may have once been snack shacks but are now empty buildings.

If you are a bad golfer 10+ handicap dont even bother playing cause you will lose all your balls in the bush... the fairways are tight and if you miss your ball is GONE forever in the jungles or cliffs. If you are a good golfer you might like the challenge like i did but you will be disapointed with the cost vs. quality.

Hate to be critical but it is what it is. Again amazing views similar style to a banff springs or jasper park lodge but half the condition of those courses. Find another course in hawaii and you will get better value... or play this before it becomes extinct cause i dont think it is going to be around for many more years at the rates/quality/difficulty level they have going on.

Course was everything other reviewers stated. Views were really cool, the staff was friendly but the course conditions were almost unplayable dispite perfect weather. Fairways were VERY wet, thus cart path only. Balls plugged in the fairway and sometimes could not be found. Not a hole went by where someone in the group could not find their ball, fairway or rough. This made for 1 slow round. And the fairway grass was very weedy and inconsistent. The rough was not grass at all only a vine-like ground cover which made finding balls almost impossible. Since there was no GPS, yard ages were a guess except for the 150 yard markers. The greens there nice but very slow. Given the location (rainforest) and lack of an adequate drainage system I don't see how this course can ever be in good playing condition.

I finally got around to playing this over-rated course.

Sure the mountain scenery is nice. It's on windward Oahu, no-brainer, its all nice scenery on that side. The holes all 'look' great from the tee, they lose their allure as you play through.

Unless you are a scratch golfer, you will be losing balls to the jungle here. I am fine with that, no big deal. However losing balls in the "first cut" only a few feet off the fairway is UNACCEPTABLE. I only lost a few balls to the jungle/ravines but 6+ to the "first cut".

The fairways were passable although soft, wet and had weeds. Greens had some weeds, many small bare spots and were crazy slow. High quality flag sticks though. Many bunkers were washed out.

The first cut here is not even grass, it's 6" to 1' of fescue and ground cover. Muddy as well. Ridiculous.

This course is owned by an onsite church, which is an insult to injury. Glad I am not a tourist compelled to pay visitor rates.

Yeah yeah, blah, blah... rainy season. So either close the course or cut the rate by 75%. Even then I wouldn't play here again.

I play golf for fun, and this course was not fun. They offer to let you go around again for only the cart fee. Pass.

While not infested with chickens like the Pali muni nearby, there were a few young pigs. Also a few holes had a constant and annoying beeping noise emanating from sprinkler control boxes near the cart path.

I do not recommend this course.

I am a 10 handicap. The course was not in very good shape. They had a lot of rain so couldn't mow and had to stay on cart path only. However biggest complaint is the course layout itself. There are too many blind shots and tricked up holes where the fairways end into a hazard and there are no yardage markers. Too many forced carries. Would not play it again.

This was the first time playing Ko'Olau. The weather was great and the course was beautiful. The back nine was definitely more challenging than the front. The back was still quite wet from the all of the rain a couple of days before, balls plugging with no release. The bonus was seeing a Football Hall of Famer out there.....