Waikoloa Beach Resort - Beach Course

Showed up to course at 8:10 for a 8:20 tee time for 9 holes. We were second in line and waited for attendant to finish with person in front of us. Male at desk greeted us with the statement 'You're late'. Actually we weren't, but he determined that we didn't have enough time to start and stated 'you have missed your tee time"--it was now 8:18 and he said you can play later or you can forfeit your deposit. We asked what the next time was and were told that 9:05 would be the next time. We were good with that. The weather was perfect, the course was beautiful, the day was awesome after I left the club house and dealt with your UNFRIENDLY desk attendant. My suggestion is that you change your desk attendant (large, unhappy male) and then you will receive 5 stars across the board.

Great views of the ocean, lava fields, wildlife, etc. Course is nice and challenging but a little pricey for my tastes.

No cart person while round. No GPS despite the Hawaiian tourist Troon rates. People were not that friendly. No one with a towel at the end, no one says hello. I arrived hour before tee time. Closed. 30m before tee time they opened and rushed us on to our tee box. No time for driving range. I bought two rounds which included free driving range. I asked the desk if I could use the driving range later. The guy said sorry, that’s the managers call. I asked where’s the manager? He said “I’m the manager”! ??? He said you can go mow but not later cause I may not be here. “Can I just tell whoever is on duty, that you said it was OK given you’re the manager” ?

He said “no man don’t be dropping names, that’s not cool”. What the heck??? He’s not reflective of all the folks. The starter was nice and there was a nice lady who first checked me in. After that I was very aware this wasn’t like the high class courses like in Kapalua and other Troon courses. But the course is well maintained and pace was good.

For how much we paid and for the ratings, I was very disappointed. The practice range was mostly sand, what grass remained was in loose shreds. The targets on the range were mostly out of reach for me (17 handicap). No practice putting green. Pace of play was terrible. We registered as a twosome and requested to be paired up, but 3 Asian twosomes left in front of us - refusing to be paired. There was no GPS on the carts and the flags were not equipped with the reflectors to read with a rangefinder, so it was almost impossible in the wind to get accurate yardage to the pin. Seriously disappointed! Won’t go back.

I played the King’s Course at Waikoloa Beach Resort today. It’s an excellent links-style course, with fast fairways, so a low draw just runs and runs. Lots of wind today, which made it even more interesting.

I believe this should not be considered a Beach coarse, there is the feature hole (7) that gets close the the water. but that is the only hole, the rest are around condo's hotel rooms and lava rock which is nice. i believe this course should be renamed as the Waikoloa lava course with a tickle. the greens were average, the fairways were OK nothing special I believe that if course was around the $70-$80 range with a cart that would be fair.

I am a rookie golfer and haven’t played for quite some time, but this was a nice relaxing course with super friendly staff.

Fun course without all of the elevation changes or out of bounds. Plenty of traps to get in your way and slippery green with sneaky breaks. The resort tees were a good choice for a 14 who hasn’t swung a club since Oct. very fair course for the wives.

I enjoyed my round at Waikoloa Beach and would play again but not before Mauna Kea and Mauna Lani South. Both are in top condition and offer spectacular scenery. This course was in good shape and the greens ran true but a tad slow. We got around in just under 4 hours so pace of play was excellent. The only hole on the ocean, number 7, is a great par 5 and for us a good place to see some whales too! Otherwise, none of the holes are on the beach.

Checking in was a hassle as the first person to help me was no help and tried to charge me and my group to play there saying "this is just a confirmation not a voucher". I insisted she get some more knowledgeable help and the next person figured it out quickly and we were on our way. I played 6 courses in Hawaii on this trip and these guys were the only ones to give us some hassle.

The Good:

- Course was in nice shape. Greens are fair, if a little slow, and the course was overall in very nice shape.

- Despite a seemingly high price tag, this course is actually one of the cheaper options on the big island

- Pace of play was excellent

The Bad:

- Staff acted like booking through golf now was criminal and they made sure to let us know, "it's much easier" if we just call them directly. The check in process took nearly 20 mins as well as they figured out how much to charge us

- Calling this the ocean course is pretty misleading. There is one hole on the ocean, and one other hole where you can see it. The rest of the course is surrounded by a resort

While this was the only course I played while on the island, I did get to see the course at Mauna Kea, and it looked incredible if you can afford the price tag. If you are looking for a cheaper option where you can actually see the ocean, the Kona Country Club is where you should play.

I see a lot of poor ratings here from before 2017, but in January 2018 I found everything about the Par-70 Beach Course to be just perfect for a pleasant day of golf. Yes, the greens may be on the slow side, but they were still slightly the quickest of the 3 different courses I played in 7 days on two islands. I found all 3 Hawaii green speeds to really be pretty similar. Pay attention to the grain!

The staff was nice and friendly in the Pro Shop, the starters (I practiced the day before) helpful and very accommodating and the putting green was the same speed as the course (a blessing- it's not like that everywhere!) and there was a nice chipping/bunker practice area next to a large grass driving range to give you everything you need to prepare.

The course conditions were excellent, with wide open and clean fairways, very playable rough, fluffy white sand bunkers and a little water added to a few holes just to change up the beautiful palm tree & black lava settings that prevail throughout. I played on a pretty calm day for Hawaii and the breeze was just enough to be welcome, although it can still gust and fool you. Playing the resort tees (my driver distance is only about 220 these days) I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day, actually shooting my handicap without being particularly sharp.

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone staying at the resort- it's simply great at $100, and if you're not staying there it's still a fine choice at $150, which is the typical visitor rate for most nice courses in Hawaii. I wish I would have played the Waikoloa King's Course, too- next time!

Played this course 7/10/2017. Conditions were very good with green speed in the moderately quick range. Hard to have super fast greens in Hawaii due to the trade winds that can blow strongly at times. Bunkers were in decent shape although I was not in too many of them. Played from the back tee's and it is challenging, especially with the winds cranking. One scenic hole #7. If you are looking for scenery and have one shot, Mauna Lani South is #1, Mauna Kea is #2, and then I would put the Beach Course in there. Hapuna is a nice track as well. The rest are pretty standard courses here.

When i reviewed this course in 2015, I described it as neglected. The course condition is vastly improved since then. I was a little disappointed the greens were still bearing sand from recent aeration which we were not warned about nor discounted for. A minor discount and advance acknowledgment of the condition of the greens would have gone a long way toward building goodwill, but maybe they don't count on repeat business to sustain revenues. The sand traps / bunkers remain unacceptable. A quarter inch layer of raked sand on top of hard packed sand does not make for satisfactory play. I guess I need to hear from a professional groundskeeper why bunkers are a recurring maintenance problem at golf courses. More than half the time we invoke our own "local rule" declaring them "ground under repair" rather than guessing how each might perform. I wish we didn't have to do this. Well-maintained bunkers are a part of the game I enjoy. I wish we could get them more often.

Made a tee time for 12:28pm with golfnow....Got a big hassle at check in, they did not wanted to accept the rate and had to show the reservation on my phone to get it accepted.. That was not a good start, asked to pair me up with someone and the staff at the counter said no problem... Wrong!! Asked the starter and he made several excuses and said it was not possible.... Proceded to play as a single and got stuck behind 2 ladies foursomes on the 4th hole , since there is NO ranger, had to skip the 9 hole and jump past these clueless ladies.. The course is in horrible shape, the fairways has quite a few patches of MO Grass and the greens are SLOW!!! In addition the cup holes are many many years old!!!!!! For the price paid, it is NOT worth it!!!! Play Hapuna beach for about the same price and it is MUCH MUCH better!!!!!!

We played at 7:45 in the morning, which is a premium tee time, do NOT waste your money. Course is in horrible condition, fairways are under repair and the greens were absolutely atrocious. I have played municipal courses at home with better conditions. Good luck, I would not pay more than $65 for this course right now.

We've been playing here since the 1990s and this course is still fun, though the fairways are starting to show their age.
There is a lot of good golf course maintenance, the greens appear to have been aerated about a month ago, leaving some slowing lines and sand.

Our pro shop experience was enhanced by Jamie who was pleasant and efficient.
Conversely, Paul the starter seemed to be on a power trip.

They start out with two water holes, a long par four and a long 205 yard par three which is almost all carry. A good idea is to warm up on the practice tee.
Four years ago the Course at Waikoloa Beach Resort consolidated their clubhouses and practice facilities to Kings' Course, which really doesn't take away from the amenities of either course. The range is large with excellent turf and a short-game area. The Beach holes were realigned and the
clubhouse closed.
Hole #7, the amazing signature hole, is a 90 degree dogleg left uphill par 5 to a bunker covered green surrounded by beautiful ocean vistas. Be aware of the lava rock outcropping hidden in a swale on the right side approach.
Hole #10 is really long for the ladies, at 500 yards it's tough from the short tees.
Number 15 has a long carry over water into the wind.
Course conditions were almost ideal, except for greens recovering from maintenance. The fairways were flat and well-trimmed, and the rough was very playable.

The pace of play was good, we never waited and no one trailed us, even though we started with a twosome behind us.

This is one of our favorite courses on the Big Island.

This course is in good condition considering it gets three times the play of Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea. There are some rough spots in the fairways but the tees and greens were in great condition.
The Bermuda grass rough will cause serious shot deflection.
Our pro shop experience was excellent because it was Allen who checked us in. He's friendly and helpful.
They have a busy, thriving, and nicely stocked pro shop.
Our starter was efficient and friendly. We teed off early and played a fun three and a half hour round.
This course plays tougher than Mauna Lani South and there are several killer par fives here, specially the #1 handicap second hole.
The Kings Course was built in the middle of a lava field.

This course is special because of the presence of mountain goats spotted on the back nine.The goats are big and come in brown, beige, and black colors. They thrive on the lava rock hills. A great photo op., and a small distraction to see a herd of goats crossing the fairway.
The designers, Weiskopf and Morrish, have fully utilized lava rock formations to intimidate the golfer. The short par four holes are sneaky tough, errant tee shots that don't find the short grass are destined to spend their time in permanent lost ball land.
Good design, tough yet fair, well conditioned course, great weather, sea breezes, and fast play make the Kings Course at Waikoloa a good choice.