Makalei Golf Club

I've played this course 3 times in the past when I came to the big island, and found it to be quirky fun. Now, it is clearly struggling, having just changed ownership. I understand the new owner is committed to reviving the course. It needs a lot of reviving. The greens are horrible, with disease spots all over. The bunkers haven't been raked, turned or cleaned in months. The fairways are playable, but in spite of drought conditions in South Kohala, are slightly overwatered. I hope this course can be saved, but it is not a good value now, in spite of the reasonable cost.

Mountainous couse with plenty of bird life. Staff very friendly. Play a bit earlier in the summer to get the best weather and floral conditions. Looking forward to the next trip!

You've never played such a steep course! All parts of this course are angled top challenge play. Long drives come up short and poor drives can run down hill to the green. The grass is great to play on, but the course gets a little muddy from the daily rain. I highly recommend this course to anyone coming to the big island that wants to cool down while playing golf.

Hidden Gem? This course at first seemed cool with the long drive through thick forests and beatiful peacocks. But the condition was terrible. The bunkers were unplayable and certain areas of the fairway as well. Multiple times I had to move my ball over 10 yards just to find Some grass. Some of the tee boxes looked like the rough. If the conditions were better, The course would be pretty fun to play. Definitely not worth the rate, or even a hot deal for me. If you have played hapuna or mauna lani you be extremely disappointed with this course.

Had a great time. Golf course was in good condition.

This is not a resort course.

Amenities are minimal but still good value especially if you could get discounted rate from GolfNow.com.

This course has improved substantially from when I last played it in 2014. I think it was facing semi-drought conditions in 2014. Currently, it is green and the fairways have grown in substantially. While the fairways are not pristine, especially in extreme sloping areas, they are very playable. There still are plenty of weeds in the fairways, but typically they don’t impact play.

The dramatic elevation changes downhill and uphill provide an unforgettable golf experience. This is a course of spectacular character. You really need a range finder with slope technology to judge distances accurately. I had one uphill shot measuring 132 yards but the slope indicator on my range finder read 161 yards. I hit a 160 yard club to the center of the green. There were dramatic differences downhill as well.

This course has substantial distances between many holes. The distances and difficulty make for a long round. While I read several reviews of single players playing under 3 hours, I think this is the exception. You would have to have no one in front of you. We had no one in front of us the entire round and it took us a little over 4.5 hours as a threesome. We typically play a normal course in 3.5 hours if we don't have to wait. On the day we played we did have rain on the first three holes which could have added to our playing time.

The greens can be tricky to read, but beautifully receptive to approach shots and true rolling. They are reasonably fast considering how lush and green they are. Reading some of the greens reminded me of the “mystery spot” in Kentucky where your eyes trick you into thinking you are on an incline when you are completely level. We tried reading the greens with feel from our feet to judge the slope which appeared to prove more effective than judging with our eyes.

When I reviewed this course three years ago, I said I would not go back; however, I had a friend along on this trip who had never played it, and we had time to play all the courses on the island. I’m glad I went back. I was favorably impressed with the improvement in the course from 2014, and I highly recommend it now.

Played this on my own while on vacation and got around in under 3 hours. Staff was great and the marshal checked with me 2 or 3 times to see how the pace was. All the regulars let me play through and only had to wait on a tee box one time on a par 3. Course was in great condition and played fairly with true fairways that funneled into playable lies and true greens that were readable and in good shape. I'll definitely play again when I'm back in Hawaii.

extreme undulating fairways. Multiple breaks on greens.

never a flat lie.

fairways not well maintained.

Peacocks were beautiful.

No adjoining fairways were nice.

Not a friendly course for a beginner.

The course was recommended by a local resident. Couldn't get a signal for my gps so was on my own to estimate yardage which was a challenge as there are no fairway yardage makers to be found. If your looking for a course to hang out with the guys and horse around it's fine. If you on vacation and you're golf purist save your money and head to the resort courses. Great bird watching!

This course is a typical public golf course in terms of condition. The greens would rate above average but are slow. It is a course with big elevation changes. Lots of wild life with peacocks in abundance,along with NeeNees and turkeys. The views can only be appreciated on clear days, but it is a lush green layout.

Great course , views , wildlife , and not ringed by a condos . One of the best if not thee best non-resort course on the island . This course will become a regular stop for me when visiting Hi . Enjoyed everything about the course , no complaints from me . Play it you wont be sorry . If your reading this you already know you will get a great deal for this course on golfnow.

Very friendly staff on course. Very challenging course from blue tees. Greens were decent, fairways and tee boxes a little rough in some areas. It was a treat to play here.

This course wasn't all that bad. The 1drawback was you had to travel it seemed like 5 miles in the cart to get to the 1st tee. You could never walk this course. It was pretty hilly. There were speed bumps in the cart path. Other than that this course wasn't all that bad. The beverage girl came around quite often but $6 a beer seems a bit steep. They have a nice little restaurant run by a little Asian women and their chicken bowl was pretty good. The price was right on golf now.

We were staying in Kailua-Konya for a week and I played Makalei GC and had an awesome experience!!! I liked it so much I purchased the three round - 18 hole special for tourists for $198. The course was great - very challenging but fair, the greens awesome and true, the staff courteous and friendly, especially the Head Pro, Peter Finnegan PGA Pro. I highly recommend this course to anyone visiting Kailua-Kona!! Besides a great course to play with great vista's overlooking the Pacific Ocean - you will see lava tubes, wild peacocks, wild turkeys, wild pigs, wild pheasants, mongooses, beautiful tropical birds serving as a gallery for you.

This booking was a great value for Hawaii!! The staff was awesome. Great customer service! Food and drinks and nice gear available if needed.

We loved the wild life on the course. There were many types of birds that we feed seed bought at the course.

Lots of tricky slopes on the greens. The elevation on some holes made it hard to walk but a great time was had by all. Would golf this again for sure!!!

Definitely not a resort course which was a nice change. Layout was nestled among trees yet open fairways for the most part. Peacocks at every green and tee. Occasional turkey and grouse can be seen. VISTAs were spectacular. The course was pretty dry and tees beat up but greens were above average. Great value for the money!

The course is a lot of fun and challenging. The fairways and tee boxes could use some TLC. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Would definitely play again. The peacocks are amazing!

I took family from mainland who were visiting . The enjoyed course layout, very different from resort courses. Wildlife was fun to watch. Course was a challange as flat lies were hard to come by but that was what made it fun. Recommend everyone should plat at least once.