Ko'olau Golf Club

Great views, drainage is needed as it is constantly wet.

They are letting the golf course go, particularly on the back nine.

Sand traps haven’t been touched in ages.

Greens were too slow and needed to be rolled.

Number 1 rated course in OAHU maybe 10 to 15 years ago.

Let me preface this by saying I have played a lot of golf courses some good, some bad and I try to be fair when writing my reviews.

First off the scorecard for the course says it was voted #1 course in Oahu!! That may have been the case several years ago but the beauty queen has let herself go since then.

Bunkers, you can’t have bunkers that are mud pits, haven’t been raked in god knows when and don’t have sand in them.

Greens, they need to be rolled!! Looks like they have not been touched in a while and speed was poor.

Fairways, can we have them?? There were several holes where there was no fairway just rough. I think this is due to the amount of rain the course gets and the fact it is on the side of a mountain but again put in the money to better drain the course so that you can keep it properly maintained.

Golf carts, need tires, my cart got a flat as the tires were bald and threads were showing. Not a good look.

So for $80 you are getting an overly difficult course that hasn’t been maintained which is a shame because the views are insanely awesome!! I loved the difficulty too at 150 slope but again you have to keep the course in good shape to support that rating.

Do better!!

Very wet back 9 with ground under repair and plugged drives.

Incredible staff. Very helpful and friendly. Course was extremely difficult of course but will be coming back soon as it was a wonderful experience.

We played this course again because it is so beautiful. The conditions today were poor at best. This is an extremely tough course to start with, add super wet conditions and it’s not much fun. It’s one thing to lose balls in the bush but losing them in the middle of the fairway is totally different. I know they can’t control the weather but when it’s that wet the price should go down. They were hardly anyone else playing. Maybe if they reduced the price more people would play.

The views of the mountains and the ocean are amazing and the course is very well laid out. It was challenging but not crazy hard. The pace of play was quick and having the cart computer helped a great deal since we had never played the course before. It was a great experience!

I played course around the state's and Caribbean and Mexico. This is definitely the most beautiful course I played and challenging. I would tell everyone to play this course when you come to Hawaii.

Going to play it again before I go back home.

I had the first tee time and so I played at my own pace. Took many photos because I wasn’t rushed and the course is amazing. I have a 20 handicap and this was the most challenging course I’ve ever played. Bring at least a dozen balls because you’ll need them...lost 5 balls in the first 4 holes. The staff was friendly and I want to give Brian and Carl a shout out for being so kind. I will be back, next time with more golf balls.

The course has unbelievable scenery and the layout is superb, highly recommend anyone considering playing Ko Olau to go for it but be sure to have either your Agame or lots of golfballs

Don’t worry about bringing your driver unless you are playing from the tips.

Tight course with several lay up shots.

Can’t beat the backdrop of the mountains!

I played turtle bay (palmer) the day prior and I prefer Koolau. Very playable course from the blue tees. Greens are slower than I prefer and they have a few strands of grass that make your putt bumpy but I'm gonna play this course again. Sand traps are also thin but just don't go in them and you'll be fine.

Ko'olua was a nice well maintained challenging course with great views of mountains and some of the ocean!

It was cancelled a week ago, but the usage fee was approved today. Never make a reservation.The golf club official, please take quick action.

Played Ko'olau twice, with a replay deal of just $25 for the second round. The course is in a beautiful location right in the Ko'olau mountains, which makes for some fun golf. The course is well-designed, with a lot of risk/reward shots off the tee. Expect lots of mid/long irons into well-defended greens, as many of the holes have ravines that force you to club down off the tee. There are many holes where driver is a possibility, but the fairway narrows at that distance, so if you don't hit it straight you're lost in the jungle (but if you do you might get a short iron or wedge in). Having those wedges in is helpful if you can pull it off though, because the greens are almost all defended with bunkers, and several are completely surrounded with them. Frequent elevation changes also make judging distance and hitting precise shots a challenge. If you like to challenge yourself on new courses and enjoy the strategy of playing a golf course, this is a great one to try.

My only two complaints were that the bunkers were thin, which made making good shots a challenge, especially when short sided (but I guess that's part of the difficulty of the course...don't leave yourself short sided in bunkers), and that the greens were very slow. The greens took some getting used to, they weren't particularly pure, although some holes were better than others. Other than that this was a great course for a very good price, with great views and a fun experience.