Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (Hawaii Island)

This course is fantastic. There are no routine holes without an interesting aspect. Lots of elevation changes with both uphill and downhill holes. Not to mention the stunning ocean views from quite a few holes. Overall lush. If I had to nitpick, greens were patchy in spots and all bunkers need a top up of soft sand. Overall, ranks among the most enjoyable courses I’ve played anywhere in the world. Would play again.

Enjoyed playing this course. Nicest public course on the Big Island. A little pricey, but worth playing once.

Beautiful course, really challenging given the 35mph winds we played in, but a great track overall. Everything was in great shape except the greens were a little rough around the edges and fast as glass…nothing damaged from the fires except some trees and hazard OB (which made it a bit easier to find the tee shots that got helped in there by the wind!)

Wonderful staff all around, gorgeous views, and great food and drinks…

Very challenging and incredible views from just about every hole. Service staff very courteous and professional. Can’t wait to play again next time we visit the Big Island.

Greens and bunkers terrible. I know they plan on shutting down next year to redo greens and bunkers but maybe don’t wait.

Pace of play was seriously slow no Marshall’s on course .

I know they just had the fire but not the excuse for the conditions of greens and bunkers.

Definitely not worth paying what they charge for green fees to play it in its current condition.

I have played this course many times and enjoy it, no more.

I will wait until they redo next year.

Too many good courses around most cheaper also.

Course has generous fairways in good shape and ball sits up nicely on them, plenty of great views, lots of elevated greens, but unfortunately the greens are not what you would expect them to be, they have different areas of grasses growing in, look top dressed, and inconsistent rolls, they held well put does it really matter trying to put on that?? Bunkers were ok, but not the greatest of conditions either. I fortunately got a hot deal rate, if I had to pay full rate I would have been very mad!!!

Beautiful setting.

Not in the best of condition.

Too expensive.

Played a few on the island. This is a nice one and worth playing. Greens were a little rough looking but played fine. Wind makes it very challenging. Normally I’d play the blue tees, but played the orange/resort and it was plenty challenging.

Didn’t spend any time inside, so can’t rate amenities. Staff were fine.

I’d play again on my next visit. Kona CC was nice as well.

Played three courses on the BI and by far this was the most expensive course but worth the price. Conditions were excellent and greens rolled twice as fast as the other courses played. The course challenge, layout and views of the ocean did not disappoint. Was happy to land my tee shot on the green on their signature hole #3 and make a two putt for par. The rest of the day was a bonus and played to my handicap. There was little wind on the day I played. If it had been windy no doubt my score would have been higher. Played in a foursome and we got around the course in 4 hours. Bring your camera. Expensive but worth it!

For how much it costs to play here, you’d expect really nice greens. The greens looked like my local town course that costs 40 bucks to play at. I was pretty shocked. Course plays difficult as well. I was trying to decide between Mauna Lani or this place and I chose wrong. For the money, play Mauna Lani just down the road. Its 10/10 conditions and has more holes along the ocean.

The best views and beautiful course are always an attraction for me. Unfortunately the greens are lost, two types of grasses are competing against each other and the consequences are very sad. Every putt had a fast portion and a slow portion, as if putting through a rain puddle, when it rolled through the thick green patches your ball would start screeching to a halt. Best cart girl, Heather, and the friendly staff were not enough to help the course. Play the other courses for that price until they fix their green problems!!

After my recent experience at the overpriced, under maintained, step child of the two courses at the Mauna Kea resort, it was nice to play on this longstanding gem of a course.

From the moment we arrived, the staff was super nice and accommodating. The pro shop is stocked to the gills with excellent merchandise in a beautiful setting.

The course itself was not in its typical pristine condition, but was still well above average and the greens were rolling true and fast.

This is one of the hardest resort courses you can play and it was showing its teeth with a bit of a breeze when we played.

The views are incredible and we played in 4 hours, which is always nice, especially on a tough course that gets a fair share of daily play.

I would highly recommend playing the actual Mauna Kea course compared to its sister course, Hapuna at Mauna Kea. Night and day difference when it comes to friendliness of staff, off course amenities and pace of play.

Restaurant and snack bar were closed for renovations but able to walk down to the bar in the beach for lunch. Pro shop closes early, like 4:00 so if you have e an afternoon tee time and want to purchase something, do it when you check in.

I have been to the Big Island numerous times as my mom is Hawaiian and my parents live there. I have now played all of the “public”courses and Mauna Kea along with Mauna Lani are top notch. The ocean views on nearly every hole at Mauna Kea are simply stunning. The range is lacking as there is not much space and the greens were a little choppy but that did not interfere with my overall experience. Staff was friendly and the wet towel at the end was refreshing. We got the Golfnow price at $160 which is a steal. I highly recommend this bucket list course at full price but Golfnow discount made it even that much sweeter. Aloha!

1. If there are open tee times, management releases them to Golf Now at a discount.

2. See above

3. NONE of the other top courses on the Big Island do this. Mauna Lani, I am talking to YOU.

4. This golf course is over 60 years old and is an utter and absolute masterpiece. Golf design wise, it’s a gem from one of the best to ever do it. The views are unparalleled. The staff is great and the facility feels like it was built last week.

5. If you’re lucky you’ll get Jayne on the drink cart. Have her make you a cocktail and you can thank me later.

6. This place is what Big Island golf is and should be. Every other course and resort on the island should take note. If you’re doing less than this, you’re losing.

We went in knowing next to nothing about the course but we're able to get a hot deal through gn and decided to give it a try. The gate entry person warned us we may not be able to play due to high winds. We were able to play but we're warned again about the winds by the pro shop and they definitely were pretty intense. We decided my wife and I to play a scramble to take a lot of the pressure off and that was a great decision. Instead, we were able to just take in the beauty of the course and the views! Our cart girl Jen made sure to come by often to check on us and was incredibly friendly. Overall, this was a great experience and would definitely come back on a less windy day to see what kind of scores we could shoot.