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Rating Index Rating
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3.6
755 Reviews (755)
5 Stars
182
4 Stars
338
3 Stars
140
2 Stars
58
1 Stars
37
Conditions
3.2
Value
3.9
Layout
4.2
Friendliness
4.5
Pace
4.1
Amenities
2.3
78.4%
Recommend this course
628 out of 755 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.5
22 Reviews (22)
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
2
Conditions
3.2
Value
3.7
Layout
4.0
Pace
4.1
Amenities
2.4
StaffFriendliness
4.4
68.2%
Recommend this course
15 out of 22 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.5
47 Reviews (47)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
12
2 Stars
6
1 Stars
3
Conditions
3.1
Value
3.7
Layout
4.2
Pace
4.2
Amenities
2.0
StaffFriendliness
4.6
74.5%
Recommend this course
35 out of 47 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
This mountain course delivers a thrilling layout of dramatic elevation changes, steep terrain, and resident peacocks roaming the tee boxes. Friendly staff, relaxed pace of play, and strong value make it a rewarding Big Island experience.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Woodland
Par 72
Length 7091 yards
Slope 144
Rating 74.3

Malakei Golf Club wanders through a colorful landscape of indigenous flora and fauna, providing a home to a variety of wildlife including peacocks, pheasants, and wild turkey. Situated in the Kona region of Hawaii, which is widely renowned for its coffee farms, the course offers dramatic elevation changes that range from 1,800 to 2,850 feet. The golf course plays through lush forests accented with lava tubes, cinder cones, and an ancient stone wall that dates back over a century. The fast bentgrass greens, rolling fairways, and cooler climate are reminiscent of a course in northern California but the stunning panoramic views will definitely remind you that you are in Hawaii. Malakei Golf Club's 15h hole is a signature hole thanks to its memorable scenery. It not only offers an incredible view of Maui's 10,000-foot Mount Haleakala, it is also your best chance for a hole in one.

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Makalei Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1992
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Dick Nugent (1992)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

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

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Fivesomes Allowed No. Only with permission.
Dress code Proper attire is required.

Food & Beverage

Restaurant, Beverage Carts

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Hawaii (2016 #18)
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Reviews

3.6
755 Reviews (755)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 12
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 37
Bunkers 16
Thick Rough 15
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 31
Advanced Golfers 18
Locals 18
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 22
Convenient to the City 19
Near the Airport 17

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Fairways are in fair to bad condition. The Course is well laid out. Lots of vertical rise /drop. Greens were very nice. Only outhouses on the Course. Highlight of the course are the peacocks that come up to visit. Chickens too.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 157
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 250 Contributor
First Time Playing

Totally different experience

Never played this course before, unique experience. Wanted to try it because the round was less than most other courses within driving distance. Surprised that they insist on collared shirts in this day and age when televised events show player earning millions in T-shirts on the course while being televised in official events. So I ended up with a new shirt. You have to admire the guys for hacking this course pretty much out of the jungle. The fairways are challenging and you better be precise or you will lose balls. There is a ton of work left to do but if they do it right, this could be one of the nicest golf courses in the country.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fun and challenging.

Makalei was an interesting and challenging course. The bent grass greens are challenging but fun. The fairways are in need of work but not horrible. The layout will definitely challenge for golfers of all levels. We will definitely play this course again while we're on the island.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fun course but need work

Makalei was fun to play! Cooler because it’s in the hills,. Great layout, some pretty views, and so much wildlife! We’ve never seen so many peacocks!,,

The course need work. Greens are good but the fairways are full of weeds. I’m hoping this is a temporary problem because of Covid. Their clubhouse and pro shop are soon the be upgraded, which is a big steep in the right direction. We’ll play again when we come back.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 25
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Makalei Apr 30, 2022

Fairways were firm and greens were soft so very playable. Greens were in good shape but fairways and teeing ground had a lot of broadleaf weeds making for some awkward lies. Lots of peacocks as always and even a few wild turkeys.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great Crew

Lloyd and Larry did a great job from check in to start.

Course had been plugged and Sanded on the greens.

.fairway was cut and clean .

Over all great course , will play again and will tell

Friends to check it out .

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

What a course

Scenery was spectacular on the course.

Greens were just plugged and sanded but still made for a

Great Day.

Check in with Lloyd and starter with Larry were

Exceptional ( very nice to talk with and knowable)

Will play here again when we come back

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 12
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

A Nice Course Moderately Priced

In a sea of courses with prices over $100, this was a nice gem. The conditioning had some issues. The fairway wasn't bad, but if you strayed off the fairway, it got a little rugged. But the greens were in good shape. The best feature is the location. On the top of a mountain, the views were great. They had plenty of space to work with. No two holes were close. Don't try to walk this course! A challenging layout. If you don't hit it straight, you're in the jungle. Just a great course to play for the money.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

THE COURSE CLOSED WHEN WE WERE ON HOLE NUMBER 7

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO JOIN GOLFNOW TO GET OUR REFUND !

the "CHAT" doesn't work !

THIS IS UNFAIR AND it's the last time WE USE GOLFNOW

Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Needs Time and work/money to recover back to former level

I have played here since 2013 and have been a Peacock member (great value!) since 2014 up until covid interfered with our usual on Island long stays. In the past this was a great test of golf even with sloped fairways that penalized shots that were offline and/or hooking/slicing with the slope (thinks links golf for ball roll). The par 3's are all still great tests, the par 5's are varied and good but some of the par 4's seem to be just fitted in, although the elevation changes and green layouts add to the challenge on the shorter par 4 holes. Greens are still very good, but sadly the rest of the course has not weathered well. Fairways are in tough shape and bunkers are mostly in very rough shape. We played with a "Local Rule" in our group, any ball in the bunker you could rake the bunker and roll the ball onto the raked sand before playing - this made the bunkers a none issue. WE love the wild Jungle atmosphere, the testy tee shots, killer par threes, the birds (my wife especially), the staff....we don't love the overall present condition of the course and hope that it improves in the next year or so.

Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Wonderful experience

Beautiful course layout in higher elevation. Some difficult holes, but a player friendly experience for sure

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
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