Makalei Golf Club

You literally had to work your way through the peacocks, turkeys, wild pigs and countless small birds as well as mongoose, roosters, cats and the occasional golfer.

We lucked out and played a quick 18 between rain storms. The greens were good but could be quite a bit firmer for a semi-private course since many of the craters didn’t get repaired. The traps are currently being redone.

The layout is interesting with many huge elevation changes, but a few too many blind shots made necessary because of the steep uphill holes.

Impossible to walk as it could take a half hour to get to the first tee as the start and finish are a long way from the clubhouse. You must be careful with the cart as even the concrete cart paths can be so steep that you can’t stop.

We enjoyed this unique rainforest experience and would recommend it.

Amazing course for working on your slope swings. Fun course to blast drives far, and work on your slope swing. The wildlife was in deep mating season which created an “climatic” experience. Good golf. Nice staff. I recommend it if you are not here to play a $50000009 round. I think I got more out of this than I would have at a stiff collar snob course.

limited clubhouse amenities with no restaurant or bar open on Sunday - not very friendly clubhouse staff - poor driving range condition and mats - then the course started - very poor condition of course especially all the sand traps that were deemed under repair but appeared to be left unattended to never be fixed - the course used to be nice based on the layout but maintenance and financial issues must have beset course - greens and wildlife were the only pluses now to what may have been in the past a very nice golf course..... won't be going back

Beautiful course - scenery and the peacocks are amazing. Layout is challenging because of the slope of the hills. You will almost never have anything close to a flat lie, and reading the greens is virtually impossible. Still - it is reasonably priced and worth the $'s just to see the views and the scenery. Nice people there too. Bunkers were under repair, which was not mentioned anywhere when I booked. That was a bit of an issue, but by the 3rd hole I as thankful for the free drop.

I played this course in March 2018 for the first time. If you are staying in Kona you have to drive an hour and pay $150 to $200 to play any of the ocean courses. I played here because it was cheap at $60 and close.

Fairways and greens were in good shape.

The bunkers are under repair, and apparently always will be, I saw no repair going on. Besides the 150 stick, there were few distance markers.

I played twilight rates, and wanted to repeat a few holes but was chased off the course at 530, although dusk is at 630. If you play in the afternoon, you better check to find when they close.

Course was relatively empty, I play six holes by myself then caught up to a twosome and finished with them. There is no ranger, the threesome in front of us were bad golfers and slow, which is fine, but they never waved us through.

The course is built onto a mountain and most fairways run either up or down. NO ocean views at all. You typically hit down into the par threes. Being from Illinois i am not used to elevation changes and i typically over-hit the par threes and wound up off the back. You would have to play the course a few times to figure out what clubs to use on those holes.

Scenery is awesome, its like playing through a jungle. I saw 100 peacocks, turkeys, other birds, mongoose. there are wild pigs but i did not see them.

The couse would get more play and be more enjoyable if they put up more distance markers, (how expensive is a 100 yard stick?). How about some signs at the Par 3, saying "Due to elevation change, play this 160-yard hole as if it were 130", i have seen that at other courses. How about repairing some of the bunkers around the greens.

i enjoyed the course and the chance to play without spending a fortune. With a little work, it could be a much more enjoyable day.

This is a challenging golf course, with peacocks all around to greet you! Course is really dry but played here many times and enjoyed it!

This course is fun and challenging, however not for tourists. This not a beach course. Lots of wild life but not close to the water. I would play it again, but do t expect a resort course

If you want to play an impeccably manicured course, look elsewhere.

If you want to play a fun course where everyone is friendly and not too serious, this may be the course for you,

Played this course in February and got off to a good start with very friendly staff in the proshop followed by a polite and informative starter/cart man.

All of the other groups we met on the course were having fun and some of them were pretty decent golfers.

During your round, you will encounter peacocks, turkey's, and all kinds of other birds. It is also common to come across wild pigs.

When we played the course, the bunkers were being repaired and basically unplayable but all in all had a very pleasant round.

Park-like setting in an upland forest of mostly silver oaks. No houses adjacent to course. Bunkers were being renovated and were considered ground under repair. Great views. Long hilly course with long cart rides between holes. Gas golf golf carts. Take extra water as there appeared to be no water fountains or coolers on course. They give you 16 oz of bottled water. Beverage cart was circulating on course though. Course maintenance was 7 on 1-10 scale and similar to a nice municipal course. Thoroughly enjoyed the round and the course.

traps unplayable,fairways and tees need a lot of love.greens and layout good.the worst course I played from golf now

Arrive early, the 1st tee is a long distance from the clubhouse. Definitely not walkable. Bring lots of golf balls; you won’t find too many that miss the fairway. Greens are the best part of this course.

Fun course with lots of interesting holes. Every hole is either uphill or downhill, nothing is flat except a few of the greens. Cooler than playing near the beach. We’ll play again before we leave.

Our foursome was looking for a reasonably priced course to golf while on the Big Island. We went there with a bit of trepidation as it was rsonably priced compared to other offerings. We were pleasantly surprised!! We. Checked in and went to get rental clubs, Cobra golf set that was quite nice. Starter and other staff were very friendly, gave us the lay of the land and a few tips! The sand raps are under repair, seal of them are GUR. Our round was good, enjoyable, a bit slow with folks ahead of us (4.5 hours). Course was in good condition except tee boxes could use some care and attention. Overall were were pleased, great views, challenging greens, and a lot of up and down. This is not a course to try walking! Five minute cart ride up the mountain to the driving range and first tee box. A few hidden areas hard to see golfers in front at times. Overall we had a great time, and scored reasonably. I know I will be playing this again while we are here!! Oh, and yes their are peacocks everywhere, loud at times,and fairly bold, but no bother to us at all!!! They were very beautiful in addition to surrounding sites.

Played here on and off over 20 yrs. Worst conditions I can recall. Tee boxes awful, fairways patchy, greens okay. Supposedly redoing all bunkers but no evidence of such. Have to play all bunkers as ground under repair. Wouldn't go back until conditions are improved.

The course is in a come back mode. Fairways were hard some places and rewarded the players with extra yards and other time the ball just rolled down a steep hill. Greens were good shape and rolled a little slower than I am use to.

Overall it was an enjoyable day. The starter matched us up with two players who play the course often. They were a great help. Thanks Mel and Tony.

I just finished(?) my round of golf @ Makalei. The question mark is because I was only allowed to play 15 holes. When I made my tee time and when I arrived for golf @ 1:30 I wasn't told that I had to be done by 5:30 because they close the course. Normally, of course this wouldn't be a problem as I often play 18 in less than 3 hrs. However, even after complaining to the Marshal at least twice about the pace of play I was informed that hole 15 was the last one I would be able to play because they were closing. This is incredibly upsetting. I can put up with the poor conditions of the bunkers as I was aware of that before I made the tee time but very poor management to allow slow play and then penalize me again by not being able to finish. Beware of this course; not consumer friendly.

Great layout. Lots of birds. Don’t even think of walking. Great views. Great value for Hawaii. Unfortunately sand traps need a lot of work. Currently considered ground under repair

Maybe not the most luxurious course in Kona but very challenging. You really have to put some thought into your shot. Enjoyed it a lot and have booked there again.