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Rating Index Rating
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4.3
459 Reviews (459)
5 Stars
179
4 Stars
205
3 Stars
53
2 Stars
12
1 Stars
10
Conditions
4.2
Value
4.3
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.1
93.2%
Recommend this course
425 out of 459 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.2
22 Reviews (22)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
9
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.2
Value
4.3
Layout
4.3
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.8
95.5%
Recommend this course
21 out of 22 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.4
44 Reviews (44)
5 Stars
25
4 Stars
15
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.4
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.3
StaffFriendliness
4.7
95.5%
Recommend this course
42 out of 44 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Puakea's varied, challenging layout delivers beautiful mountain views and consistently solid conditions at an outstanding value compared to other Kauai courses. Exceptionally friendly staff and a smooth pace of play make every round an enjoyable island experience.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6954 yards
Slope 130
Rating 73.1

Ranked the 13th Best Golf Course You Can Play in Hawaii by Golfweek Magazine in 2009, Puakea is a one of Hawaii's best kept golf secrets. Designed by Robin Nelson, Puakea is a fun golf experience for the recreational golfer while still a challenge for the better player when played from the back tees. Located in Lihue across from the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, Puakea is easy to get to no matter where you are staying on Kauai. With its fully stocked pro shop, large grass driving range and practice bunkers and practice green Puakea is a great place to spend the day working on your game. Be sure to visit the Grille for a burger, salad, sandwich or cold beer.

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Puakea Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1997
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Robin Nelson (2003) Robin Nelson (1997) Mark Miller (1997)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS No
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Appropriate golf attire.

Food & Beverage

Bar, Grill, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+ Annual
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12 rounds of waived fees
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Reviews

4.3
459 Reviews (459)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 23
Brunch 10
19th Hole Specials 7
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 50
Elevation Changes 40
Water Hazards 37
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 38
Locals 29
Seniors 29
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 53
Near the Airport 51
Near Local Attractions 13

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 31
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course could be great

Layout is great and could be a gem. Greens were recently plugged and sanded and made putting a good guess, at best (no mention at reservation and no discount for greens condition). Maintenance crew must be short handed, lots of work to be done and only saw a few workers.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a year
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Over priced

We always play this course when visiting Kauai we really have enjoyed it in the past..the scenery is spectacular!

This experience we brought friends and were sadly disappointed..

Price doubled

Never told about aerating!

Course Under construction

Also we brought a friend for a ride along and they charged us $38. She does play golf!

Our play was fast no one was on the course until hole 12.

Good bye Puakea!!

Great employees very professional and approachable!

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice course for the money

Found a hot deal for $50 which made it enjoyable. A lot of construction on the back 9 going on. Luckily I was playing with someone who knew course otherwise I would have been lost. Better signage needed. Had a group of 7 in front of us playing slow. Otherwise a very nice place to play

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Finally open but more expensive

I have played this course many times in the past but this is the first time in four years due to Covid19 restrictions and construction work on the course. The construction of housing on the back nine is ongoing but doesn’t adversely affect the course too much. The greens were in decent shape as were the fairways, but traps were somewhat overgrown due to recent neglect. The grounds crew seemed to be playing “catch up “ with some of the mowing and trap maintenance.

My main complaint is the steep increase in cost which has more than doubled for nonresidents. The pace of play wasn’t an issue since there were so few players on the course. I think they would be a lot busier if their prices were more reasonable.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Just reopened. Now overpriced.

I have played this course numerous times in the past. It was closed during Covid19 lockdown and additionally due to extensive construction on the back nine causing course renovations. The traps were poorly maintained during closure and are starting to be overgrown. Many tee boxes don’t appear to have been mowed in several weeks. Fairways and greens mostly fine. Used to pay about $60-65 / round. Now at least double that. Course was relatively empty probably due to above issues.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

New owners

I think kauai tourists and locals are an available market for reasonably priced golf and perhaps local membership pricing. Each course has to choose their market and the high end market is plentiful and competitive on Kauai.

Puakea has a nice atmosphere much of which will disappear as more residential development spreads around the course.

Puakea used to have afternoon rates, resident guest rates etc but these have gone away which will increase play at Wailua.bottom line I don’t think Puakea can compete in the market they’re shooting for.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 57
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great to be open again

Good to play again after being closed so long cause of Covid. New management doing a great job I really enjoyed playing golf at Puakea again!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 19
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 44
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Glad it is reopened

Great course, Cost through GolfNow 2x what is was prior to Covid, Course in very good shape. Greens not too fast. Pace of play great.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

This course is a nice layout but in rough shape. Definitely not worth the $179 rack rate, and not even the GolfPass discounted rate of $127. It will take many months of maintenance to get this course into a condition where you want to pay more than $100.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 60
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

GREAT course

This course is excellent for the money. GREAT shape. Does not have the ocean views/on the ocean like the other course in Kauai BUT YOUR not paying 250-400 per round either. GREAT course!!!!!!!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
1.0
Previously Played

This course is closed!!!!

This course is closed. Why is there any “TeeTimes”???

Played On
Reviews 4
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Closed for fake virus still.

Golf now sold me a non refundable rate for a golf course that hasn't been open since covid. Now they are refusing to refund me. Shady business practices.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 27
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
Incentivized Review
5.0
First Time Playing

Lovely course

Puakea is a beautiful course on Kauai. The views are exquisite. Nice layout. Some very challenging holes that are well defended as well as some beautiful par 3’s. Wished I lived closer (am in NY!)

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
Incentivized Review
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Jurassic Park ,best price for Hawaii

First, we were met in the parking lot with a cart by a friendly manta o take our clubs. We checked in and were told of a great deal for golf 5 days $350. If you ever play in Hawaii, you know this is a deal. Large putting green, practice bunker and driving range. The course was well groomed, wide open-but challenging. True , and well maintained greens. Beautiful mountains surround the course. It is where some of Jurrasic Park was filmed. Number 6 is an over-water shot with elevated tees. I never used the right club. Fun times every time, great staff, a great restaurant. Many locals are there just for the food. We like to arrive first thing at 7am, or between 10-12, when we are the only ones teeing off.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

My favorite course in Kauai! So beautiful in the mountains, layout is great same for the conditions, not crowded... a must play!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Course was very nice but rental clubs were really expensive

We really liked the course and the great landscape. Also the course was in great shape. The price for our rental clubs (40$ each) on the other hand was nearly as high as the green fee.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great course.

This course is a winner and I will definitely play there again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course was ok for the money. Club house staff were unfriendly. Beverage cart staff was very friendly.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/17/2019

Mahalo for playing Puakea and for taking the time to offer us some feedback.

Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 25+
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Wonderful golf course and incredible value for a quality course

We loved everything about Puakea Golf course! We didn't expect much as it wasn't as pricey as other courses in Hawaii but we got amazing value and were very impressed by the immaculate golf course. Fun to play, beautiful views of the mountains, friendly staff. What is there not to like about this course? Even if you book the special, arrive early as they are flexible and will let you play earlier if there are earlier tee times. A must go! My second best golf score in Golf. Thank you!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
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Kapalua Resort Plantation Course - Hole 18

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