Ko'olau Golf Club

I am a decent golfer whose handcap ranges during a given season from 8 to 11. I found this to be an exceptionally difficult target golf course, where aiming points are unclear. Almost all tee shots and many second shots are blind to the taget, with severe elevation changes.No course guide was offered so almost impossible to figure and errant shots are instantly lost balls. You could typically only see the 150 yard target stakes from the tee, with no sight lines to the greens and without a clue as to how far left or right of target would work. on the par fives, after a good tee shot of 260 yards or more, I fould myself having to up short of a ravine ( which would have required a 260 yard carry) with a sand wedge followed by a longer club ( 7, 8 or 9 to the green)In my view this should only happen if you yout tee ball is out of position. It should not happen when your tee shot is in the middle of the fairway..

Even if you can get past the bazarre layout, the course condition is not good. The fairways were hairy and often looked the same as the first cut of rough. the greens were actually OK, but often had some weeds in them that you would need to play around. The bunkers were awful. few of them had any sand and were like hitting off a dirt road.

I have traveled throughout the US and am happy to pay premium green fees to pay speacial and well conditioned golf courses. I paid $100 for this round, which is twice as much as it is woryh.. If you get a cheap deal, it might be worth a try, but factor in at least 1/2 dozen lost balls. The folks at the course say that you need to play this course a couple of time to understand where to hit it. I have no intention of doing that.

totally good but each hole pretty hard
need endurance
especially this course need hole management.

Course is ok
But conditions is bad
First time I played here, I was excited but disappointed.
Sorry

I am lucky because it is sunny day!
The course is tough and tough!
i want a re-challege.

We played this course because it was on our 2011 of top 100 public courses in the United States. It is our quest to play all of them on the list. That would be the only reason to play this course--to check it off the list. The fairways...well they are no longer fairways. They look like mowed St. Augustine grass. The greens were riddled with weeds. A ball couldn't roll true if it hadn't told a lie in its life. Several putts zig-zagged there way to the hole. The tee boxes hadn't been maintained in weeks if not months. They have let several bunkers grow in, and they have posted signs in them stating "ground under repair." Number 18 once had bunkers lining the right side of the fairway which probably looked beautiful in their prime. Now, they are "ground under repair." It is sad to see. Maybe they were resting on the laurels of being in the top 100 for business. There are no particularly compelling views except some of the mountains in in the distance. A golf course should be challenging, but also attractive to look at. Let's not forget the bunkers...no, lets forget the bunkers. They also are not maintained...many had as little as an eighth of an inch of sand like surface with a hard pan base sure to make your club skip across the surface. The only way to play them was to pick the ball cleanly off the surface. It must be really embarrassing for the staff working there to have to act as though they have a real golf experience to offer knowing full well it is best left to cheap league play. If you want the challenge of some long carry required of some tee shots and some strategic layups, give it a try. It requires some strategy, thought and skill. Its really not a course for high handicappers. There are many more attractive options on which to spend your time and money.

We recommend everyone should play this course at least twice you have to go back to find your balls. Great staff and service tough course but beautiful surroundings highly recommend it!

This course was very difficult, OB is jungle! There must have been 10+ 200 yard carries, the finishing hole had 2 canyon carries. I saw at least 20 Mongoose. and I think they should have said some thing about their being wild Boar out there also! I had 3 piglets come out of the bush and I kept looking for their Mom! what a Hoot! GREAT COURSE!

Many holes too long to carry over jungle. Bring extra used balls. Some carries are 100_150 yards.
Try for fun or save the ball, take the stroke and use the drop zone.

This was one of the hardest courses that any of our foursome had ever played. They warned us that we would need extra balls and they were very right. But as soon as we started to look for ours there were many others.
Loved the diversity of this course and the unwavering beauty.
Our biggest complaint was that it was wet so cart path only. Cause for very slow play.

Being from Canada, and our first round of the year, shooting 93 (6400 yards) on "the most challenging course in the world", and only loosing one ball, I feel pretty good. My buddy not so lucky with his game, but his bag is a lot lighter. But we'd both go back in a heartbeat, spectacular scenery, tremendous layout, and it seemed like we had the course to ourselves. Bunkers could use more sand though. Disappointed we don't have time to play it again, but we're off to Maui ... for more rounds.

Had played this course 10 years ago, so was anxious to play again. As beautiful and challenging as ever, but condition of course is lacking. Poor condition on the greens, fairways and bunkers. Looks like they have been suffering on revenue side, so have cut the greenkeepers' budget. Still, we enjoyed the beauty and the challenge and played in 3:45 as a two somme.
If you want a really challenging course this is it.

The course is set close to the Pali (mountains) and the seanery is totally world class. The the shape of the course reflects just how difficult it must be to maintain a golf course is such rugged location. Having stated that, I can understand why the hitting surface is so raw. What I don't understand is why the green fees are so high for what turns out to be a unpleasant golf experience.

A difficult course which requires some thinking but it is easy to forget the golf and start looking around. Mongoose and wild boars just add a whole different element. Unfortunately, the course allows for groups of 5 and 6; play was a very slow 5 and 3/4 hours.

It is the most difficult course and one of the most beautiful courses I ever played, every single hole has a great view with a mountain background. You have to shoot over a valley on many holes, where I lost most of balls, but it is fun and exciting to challenge yourselves. Don't feel discouraged when you see the comment "it is the most difficult course in US".
The ground can be muddy and slippery especially after a rain, careful when walk on slopes.
If you are lucky you may see a wild boar.
I would definitely go back again.

A beautiful golf course with great scenery. The fairways are narrow, so the driver needs to stay in the bag until you know the course. I would definitely play it again.

I loved the challenge of this course but hated the course condition. The fairways were more mud than grass, the bunkers were, for the most part, hard pan, with no sand and the greens were overgrown with weeds.

Course was in great shape, fairways were open and a wonderful golf day was had by all.

It's a challenging course. Be prepared to lose a sleeve or two of golf balls if you're not a single digit handicapper. The difficulty lies in the layout -- narrow safe landing areas, lots of gorges. The course was dry (horrible to play if wet), the fairways were sparse with grass, not quite bare. The greens were not in good shape. The green fees are high if you're not a Hawaii resident, but if you can get a deal through Golf Now, it's worth it for the stunning mountain views. If it's raining, forget it.

The greens were really really bumpy and slow with dry spots and invasive grass all over.
Probably will not play here for awhile until I hear they have been fixed but even if they do fix them it will be many months before it would be nice again. Bummer as it is one of the most beautiful viewing courses in the world. I hope this helps.
Aloha

overall great views. Lives up to its difficulty rating. Has no gps or book with tips etc to play the courses many blind shots and forced carries! Booklet or cart gps would improve that for sure because you are guessing. Course condition poor due to natures challenges with shade and moisture. Bring a lot of balls