Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (Hawaii Island)

Awesome views, cool ocean breezes and challenging golf, what a great course

The course was scenic and a challenge to play due to many of the greens are elevated. The greens were bumpy since they were punched a couple weeks ago. I still enjoyed the day.

Lots of sand traps and very hilly

Beautiful holes on the water

The greens had been aerated and sanded a week before. They were still rough. They were mowing the rough and it looked like they were going to bail hay. That is the reasons for the average rating on course conditions. The staff, the resort, overall exceeded expectations.

My Son and I played this course during the early season. We were aware that the greens were being aerated during our round, which probably helped slow them down. However, we weren’t ready for the other conditions which were pretty poor at several spots on the course. This included unkempt bunkers, faded flags, and damaged fairway and roughs.

The valet parking was non-existent, the pro shop staff charged my son for a ride along (the only course in Hawaii that did so), and the starter was nowhere to be found. On a positive note, the beverage cart driver was always around when needed and the on course restroom facilities were spotless.

I would recommend playing Mauna Lani if you’re looking for value for your money.

Greens just renovated, no reduction in rate, still beautiful but of course an extra challenge to negotiate. Bunkers in poor condition, matting evident in most. We received reduced rate but not through the golf pro shop. Certainly not worth full rate at present.

Our lasting impression is the beauty of the course and we’d definitely recommend it.

Great view and layout with lots of elevated greens. Greens were punched and extremely slow, but we were warned and received a substantial discount.

Fun to finally play here and a nice finish to four rounds on the Big Island. A couple of holes were a real challenge on long approach shots faced by us older golfers. Happy to stay under three digit scores for two 78 year old duffers!

This is a great course that should be added to a bucket list. Expensive but worth playing at least once.

I was really looking forward to playing this course and saved it for my last round of my vacation. Unfortunately, it did not live up to its reputation. Perhaps this is because I played Mauna Lani North the day before and it was a great experience and a beautifully maintained course.

To begin, the baggage drop was not easily identified. There was a podium for a valet yet none was on site to assist. I was probably too early as my tee time was at 10am. Anyhow, I asked the pro shop where to park and they told me to use the valet parking then walk back.

I brought along my 6yr old son to enjoy the day together and they made me pay for a rider; the only course of the five I played to do so. We then went to the driving range and hit some balls to warm up what we didn’t realize was that the first green is within driving distance and we found a couple dozen driving range balls on the first hole.

There was no starter to be found, so I teed myself off and began the round. The views on the course are quite incredible, however the conditions were not ideal. I knew booking the round that the greens were being aerated and would be very slow and bumpy. That I can live with. The rocky bunkers, faded flags, and water damaged rough surprised me along with the outdated golf carts.

One nice surprise was the beverage cart employee who came around frequently and kept us hydrated. They were very nice and friendly, however I was surprised that they did not have credit card payment ability for the cart.

In the end, I would recommend that you play Mauna Lani South or North as it is much better and well worth the time and money.

The world famous Par 3 (over the ocean and lava rocks) 3rd Hole was everything I'd imagined it to be. Hit one that I didn't think made it across (because my eyesight is so poor and overcast day), so hit another one to about 8 ft. Got to the green and to my surprise my first one was in the bunker. Up and down for par !! Missed the birdie for Player B. I was easy on myself and played the Resort Tees which are very friendly at just under 6100 yds, I think. Tee options were solid and fair.

The course layout is excellent with no gimmicky holes whatsoever (unlike 18 at Hapuna), with amazing ocean views on many holes. Maybe a few more elevated greens to hit up to than I was expecting, which made things interesting. The only thing I was disappointed in was the influx of, what I think to be, the Poa on the most of the greens. It's very unsightly, can throw a roll off line and not what I would expect for the money I paid (glad I didn't pay the rack rate). There also seemed to be a lot of this foreign grass encroaching into the fairways also. Maybe its not Poa but its a different species of grass. I found the greens and fairways and general course conditioning to actually be much better at Mauna Kea's sister course, Hapuna at Mauna Kea. Do not pass up an opportunity to play Hapuna. Cheaper with better course conditioning and the same ocean views, it just doesn't have the hole(s) right on/over the ocean and the name recognition of Mauna Kea.

Staff were friendly and the starter was very accommodating in getting me out a bit early and on my own, and I greatly appreciated that.

Not sure I would rate it as high as The Plantation Course at Kapalua (which may be in a different league and price point anyways), or even the Gold and Emerald courses at Wailea on Maui. Regardless, it is still an iconic course and a must play if you can get it for a good rate.

If you’ve got one course to go to in the Big Island (and you’re not staying at the Four Seasona) you have to play Mauna Kea. This Jones (RTjr and Rees) layout is a real golf course in a resort setting. Elevation changes, blind shots, tricking slopes greens, and THAT 3rd hole - if you’re a golfer, you’ll love this course. There are other beatiful courses in the island but they’re tamed down for the tourists. Mauna Kea the first, the original - you gotta try it

Amazing course layout and design. Beautiful in every aspect. My only gripe would was there was no marshal or anyone to enforce tee times or pace of play. We had no one in front of us the entire front nine and played a 1.5 hour round. Back nine we caught up to a single playing 3 balls and group of 4 members who played extremely slow and had no regard for pace of play. Took 3 hours to play the back 9. There was minimal staff working and seemed like you could just walk out and play whenever

The Mauna Kea golf course is my second favorite place to play golf right behind Pebble Beach!

Inside the pro shop the staff were very good

Outside, my bag was waiting for me one time of the four times I played - not what I expected for premium priced green fees -

Snack bar opens at 11am - not good if you need to eat before a 9am tee time -

Alan the starter was accommodating in pairing me with other players -

Elevated Greens and Bunker placement demands precise shot making . Beginner and Intermediate golfers should pass on this course .