Makalei Golf Club

Bring your"A" game, this course will test you! Also, local knowledge can save quite a few strokes... if you're paired with someone familiar with it.

After looking at the price you have to pay to golf other courses on the big island I decided to try Makalei. I played here two days in a row for around 50 dollars each day. This course I has very nice greens and many challenging holes. I played from the blue tees (around 6800 yds). The championship tees are 7100 yds and the white tees are around 6100 yds. For the price I think this is the best value on the island. Lots of elevation changes and an extremely fun course to play. I highly recommend that you save your money and try this golf course before playing the expensive courses here.

I played this course on a Sunday morning. I arrived early and checked, the golf cart attendant wasn't around so I waited ten minutes for a cart to the range and starting booth. I barely had time to hit a dozen balls and make a couple putts but enjoyed the round immensely. There are plenty of peacocks, geese, and other birds to keep you entertained.

Condition of greens was outstanding. Pace of play was very slow.

This is no joke this is a mountain course but with the bonus of beautiful ocean views. On a clear day you can see Maui, as well as 50 more less of coast. Every hole is interesting with a variety of challenges. Greens were in great shape the day I played.

The course was dry and the fairways provided some roll. The greens were great and putted true. Overall, this was a fun course to play and offered challenges in shot placement.

I have been playing Makalei for about fourteen years, when I come to Kona for vacation. I usually get to play it three times each visit. This time the new changes for tee-off location it's to confusing. Besides, the pairing contributed to very slow play: foursome very slow players, followed by a single player playing two balls. I was single and I asked the twosome behind to join me to speed up play. After three and a half hour we were still at hole # 12. The price through Golf Now was $ 68.50 I don't think it was worth it!.

Full disclosure: I didn't have time to play Makalei, but a cart tour of more than a handful of holes by the former general manager gave me just enough of a taste to want to come back and play. Makalei looks like a fun ride through the mountainous jungles of the Big Island. Some of the views that overlook the coast miles away - especially from the driving range and eighth tee - are pretty sweet. I think the routing change implemented in September, 2014, will help golfers ease into the round better than the previous first hole, a daunting uphill par 4. There's hundreds of feet of elevation change between the clubhouse and the holes higher up, so there's never a flat hole, or flat lie, on Makalei. Peacocks roaming about add to the beauty of the unique mix of flora and fauna. Makalei might be the best value on the island, a big draw for golfers looking to escape the pricier resort golf along the ocean.

I had read the online reviews as well as other reviews, and thought the course was going to be tougher than it actually was.
I booked this through golf now, and received a 67% discount over the advertised usual price, and was a little apprehensive that the course superintendent would somehow find a loophole in the deal. Much to my surprise, it worked out perfectly, and the price was exactly as negotiated through golf now.
I also rented golf clubs, and they were very good quality taylor-made and modern/current clubs with no signs of wear or tear. The price for the club rentals were not part of the overall discount that we received through golf now. Thus we actually paid $50 per set of clubs for rentals. That was steep, but in view of the entire experience, it was fine.
The wildlife was as advertised. Peacocks, wild turkeys. Absolutely stunning views of the beach and airport and airplanes taking off and landing 3,000 feet below certainly added to the experience.

The layout of the course is great, with beautiful views and challenging golf -- many risk-reward shots. I was in three bunkers, and experienced very shallow sand (about 1/2 inch) on top of lava bedrock, resulting in a skulled shot over the green. Aside from this, the course is wonderful. The greens were true and in great shape. We saw many peacocks, roosters and turkeys throughout. Distances to tees requires a cart -- not walkable.

Loved golfing here. They changed the routing of holes to make a better experience. The difficult uphill number one is now number 12. A golfer can score here. Plays shorter than 6161 yards.

Dramatic elevation changes and wind create a challenging track that's fun to play. Middle handicappers can still score well as long as the ball stays away from the edges. Greens are well maintained and and bunkers come into play often.
Great value, terrific scenery and peacocks around every corner.
Highly recommended

the course was in good shape but if you do not hit it straight you can get in the thick stuff just outside the rough. forget about finding the ball, bring enough balls to make it through the round. Beautiful scenery and good greens!!

This course is ver hilly. Even with a cart there was plenty of walking. They reconfigured this course since playing it last year. The 1st hole must be about a mile from the clubhouse. Fun and challenging.

It's a rainforest, it was raining off and on all afternoon. Still love the course, it's very quiet and peaceful out there.
Lots of different elevations. (As the Scottish and the Welsh would say "It's a bit of an up and down" . The course has been re-arranged so the #8 hole is now #1, it's a bit confusing and a bit longer to get to #1 and a long drive to the clubhouse when you finish on #18.

I paid $25 so it's difficult to expect too much, especially when considering Hawaii Golf prices.

Pros:
Cheap
Extremely quick round

Cons:
Poor maintenance- tee boxes looked like rough in some areas. They weren't flat lies either. Nothing like impacting a driver slightly off the toe because of a sloped tee box.
Lies- The course is high in the mountains so understandably there are tons of altitude changes; however, they didn't put much effort into ensuring flat areas to strike the ball. I remember hitting about 8 fairways and none of my lies were all that rewarding. I remember hitting one iron the entire round from a lie that seemed completely level. It's a part of golf to play from different lies, but I feel that if you hit the ball in the fairway you should have a reward of a decent lie.
Fairway- the fairways were not well taken care of, and as a result, it felt like most of the course was playing from the rough. The fairways were short, but so bumpy and uneven.
Bunkers were like hitting out a gravel pit.

I would not go back to this course, even with such a great discount. I would much rather pay $80-100 for a very nice course than save $50 to play here again.

I didn't actually score all that well considering every approach shot was from a slight to heavy uneven lie.

The peacocks scared my wife slightly, they were pretty used to humans and in some cases even ran towards us assuming we would feed them.

Got a good rate on golfnow but still not much of a deal. The course has lots of elevation change since it's up the hill from Kona and there's lots of birds to see BUT the course is not in good shape. They said they aerated the greens which is good to know but they hadn't cut the greens in days so that it was ridiculous trying to putt on them. You needed to hit the ball really hard at the hole. One on the stimpmeter. Courses still cut the grass even after aerating. First bunker I was in my club bounced to the ball since the sand was so hard. Layout was good but this course needs a lot of maintenance.

Very well maintained, interesting layout, hilly but very playable for all. High in the hills so weather always and views a great plus. Greens fees also best on the island and deals make it even better
Played many times and will continue to do so, only bummer this trip was greens just aerated so putting very erratic but expected...still a great round. Will continue to lay there every trip

The course needs some maintenance. Most of the tee boxes had not been repaired in some time. It didn't affect play, only the aesthetics. If you are expecting great views, this is not the place to go. You occasionally catch a glimpse of the coast. The uphill holes are as tough as the downhill holes are easy. The greens and fairways had a lot of weeds growing through them, but only slightly affected play. The bunkers were hard packed. If they aren't going to maintain them, they might as well turn them into grass bunkers.
If you are a resident, the resident rate of $33 (I think) is reasonable, but the visitor rate of $100 is too high when you consider you can play the course at the Hapuna resort for the same price and it is more convenient and in better condition. It can be cooler up at Makalei, so it is much more pleasant in the afternoon than on the coast.
They start you out on the 8th hole. I think they do this because of its proximity to the practice range. It is a little hard to find your way around if you are not familiar with the course, and starting on the eighth hole makes it easier. The range balls should be replaced. You probably would do as well just making practice swings of your different clubs. Hitting the range "balls" won't tell you much about your warm up.
The staff was friendly and helpful. You might want to play it once if you have some spare time or you can only play in the afternoon and you want a cooler climate. I won't go back.
Yes, as everyone else has noted, there are peacocks on almost every hole, but I don't play golf for the wildlife. DON'T try to walk this course. There are long distances between holes and there are very steep inclines.

We were incredibly excited to play this course as we have played numerous other courses on our stay and loved them all. When we arrived we discovered the course had been aerated just the week before. We were not notified at booking that this was the case. Upon the start it was evident the course was not in great shape with the rough being 3-5" deep. They started us on the 8th tee with little instruction on how I find it. When we finished 8-18 we followed the signs back to supposed 1 hole and was told we did not go the right way. We said we followed the signs and were told we made the mistake because we followe the old signs (only signs posted). We then went all the way back and followed the #12 sign to the first hole. The greens were atrocious as they had been aerated and cross hatched. Also ungroomed and played slow as molasses. It was impossible to judge the putt. Outside of the cart lady who was extremely nice the course attendees were dismissive and unhelpful. The starter even laughed when we commented on the aerated greens. We will never play here again or recommend it to anyone.