Mauna Kea Golf Course

One of the most beautiful course I have ever played. Some world class holes.

Service continues to be lacking. Bag service was adequate, but no one else appears to be trained in customer service. There was no starter again to offer any information about their tee system or to keep groups on schedule. The practice area had 5 stations set up all of which were occupied--3 of them by young children who appeared unlikely to be playing. There was plenty of room to have more practice stations open. During our round, we were pressed by what we thought was a large family playing golf. We were astounded by what appeared to be an incredible pace of play as they all descended on us on the 2nd hole and lined up waiting in the fairway for us to finish putting. We speculated they were playing best ball. We rushed through the hole and headed for the signature third hole. As I teed off, they descended upon us again before my wife could even tee up the ball. We felt pressured again to move along. Instead of taking time to enjoy the hole and take some pictures, we rushed off to the 4th. We never saw them again, and we ultimately concluded that the resort was taking promotional pictures with the group. Would it have been too much to tell us in advance that this was going to happen or simply to drive up to us to let us know what was going on? Again, poor management and poor customer service. This is a tough course with many elevated greens, an abundance of bunkers and potentially awkward lies to hit from. In my experience, there is not much in the way of trade winds on this course, and it can be very hot as it was the day we played and was the last time we played. Play it if you like a challenge. Twice was enough for us. We won't be back.

Course layout and views are outstanding, was a bit disappointed with course conditions, it was very dry as compared to Mauna Lani that we played just two days earlier.

I'll never play here again. About 1000 houses surround the course and everyone has a guy mowing or edging all afternoon. Course grounds crew did the same thing. Felt like they followed me around with blowers, mowers, etc. Views were the real attraction. Course was in good shape. Grill closes at 3 so no food available after that. I've played $60 public courses that were more fun.

Hint to staff: Add yardage markers. There's only a few to be found.

It's off season in Hawaii so there were only a few groups going off. Most appeared to be locals residing on property. Maintenance was being done both on the course and the driving range. There was very little signage on the course (hole markers, cart signs, navigational signs). It was unclear if this was maintenance related. The 19th was closed when we came off the course (closed at 2:30). We saw the beverage cart once. While the course was very nice and challenging, if you pay full rate, this is not a good value.

The course is worth playing for the views and grand nature of it. Was shocked that I went out as a single and never saw anyone in front or behind me until I caught a threesome on 17. Range was closed due to resodding and greens had been aerated 15 days before (which is usually enough time to get back to 100%) but were still very sandy and bumpy. This is a challenging course. Most greens are elevated and heavily bunkered. Tees and fairways were in excellent shape. One hole I had to wait by the green for 5 minutes for them to turn off the sprinklers. Overall this is a very memorable design and a beautiful experience. Once the greens have recovered it will be in perfect condition. A must play for me in the future, although high handicappers and beginners would likely be very frustrated here. No GPS on carts. Use the yardage book.

This course is a must to play for any one staying on the Big Island. The course is beautiful, with great views of the ocean. The staff was very friendly and even made us bag tags at the end of the round. The prices of food, drinks and items in the pro shop are very reasonable as well. The day we played it felt like we had rented the entire course! They don't pack the course at all. Even with taking pictures and watching whales jump while on the 18th tee box we still played in less than 4 hours. Like the title said A MUST, spend the money and it will be worth it!

Even though I had trouble with my own game, I enjoyed playing here ! :) TIPS:
1) nearly ALL the greens are elevated. Use AT LEAST 1 club extra ! :)
2) Difficult greens (tiers), 3 putts are in play ! :(
3) Bring your sand wedge with you ! (And your camera :)
4) It can become very hot during the afternoons. Then again, rates are better !
5) Play Mauna Lani South Course for comparison...... and a lava rock bordering fairways experience.... brings lots of balls though ! :)
6) Play from the dark orange tees (unless you REALLY want a challenge and play a consistent 10 or less under par..... IMO). I usually play blue tees, but the RESORT ORANGE is more than enough to handle !

A bit on the expensive side (non resort resident), but worth the trip !

The views on this course are amazing. There are lots of elevation changes and plenty of ocean view holes. That includes the Par 3 third where you hit over a small bay to an elevated green.

Course conditions were great. Greens were very smooth and rolled true and the fairways were great to hit off of.

The staff was awesome. I had accidentally booked a time for the day after I thought I did. When I showed up a day early they still honored my original green fee, which was lower, and put me with a twosome staying at the resort that had played several times and had good course knowledge.

Overall this was a great round in paradise. I hope to play again there someday.

Mauna Kea celebrated its 50th anniversary - and the birth of lava golf on the Big Island - in style Dec. 7, hosting its annual pro-am and bringing in Mark Rolfing and architect Rees Jones, who renovated his father's classic in 2008. Mauna Kea's got all the characteristics of a five-star course - ocean views, top playing conditions, a dynamic layout by a big-name architect - except one, playability. Plateau greens, one after another encased by deep bunkers, wears on you. Only the strong survive. Don't get me wrong. It's a great course. It's just not one I would want to play everyday, and that to me, is the mark all courses should aspire to. Is Mauna Kea a bucket list place? For sure. Its two awesome par 3s on the water are worth the price of admission alone.

The fairways were in only fair condition. Bunkers were poor and some of the bunkers had grass growing in them. Bunker sand was not good and thin in some places. 5 or 6 holes had elevated greens and blind shots to the greens with some greens having tiered levels. This is tough on the average golfer and in my opinion not much fun to play.

A very good course layout and well maintained. However, the experience marred by poor green design. Multi level greens with deep swales made putting on many hole locations almost impossible

I will play course every time I'm on the Big Island.

Beautiful views. Golf course tough and in great condition.

Not cheap, but well worth it. Great conditions and challenging track. Staff make you feel welcome right from the start. Hole no. 3 is obviously the jewel but a lot of great holes to remember.

The greens were sanded , you did not tell us, they were nice enough to not hold us to your reservation!

Truly one of the great courses in the Hawaiian Islands. It is scenic and incredibly maintained. This course, along with the Prince in Kauai, are absolute "Must Plays"

We had a very nice experience at Mauna Kea. The staff was pleasant and helpful. This was my first time playing. The course was beautiful and in very good condition. The wind came up in the late afternoon which added some difficulty but overall a great day.

Lots of bunkers. need to be on your game. check the slope rating before picking your tee box!

Course was scenic. Views outstanding. Club needs to show holes on scorecard. Fairways were very good as were the greens. Will play the course again. Shot a 90