Waikoloa Beach Resorts (Hawaii Island)

My wife and I played this course for the first time in the middle of the day. We were practically the only ones on the course. Nene and turkeys were abundant. The course was in very good shape. Many workers were out manicuring the course but stayed out of our way and weren't a distraction. The housing on the course is set back enough that errant shots aren't going to break a window. The bev cart came by at least three times in our round, maybe we were the only ones on the course. Thats a record for what we've experienced at other courses. A cooler was provided on the cart and plenty of sand for filling divots. All in all Waikoloa Village course was a great day at the course.

Mahalo

Facilities are muni style, but the course and conditions above average. Interesting and entertaining track without a lot of trouble to get into. Very much an enjoyable round.

This course is inexpensive to play but there is a trade off. The fairways are so heavy and thick that there is no roll, the ball dies right where it lands. These dense Kikuyu grass fairways act just like rough and deflect fairway woods and irons.

" Kikuyu is somewhat "hairy", if you look at it closely. And the leaves bend over in the middle, forming a spongy mat that traps the club, especially because the ball tends to sink down between the blades, effectively resting on the ground. The trick is to strike down on the ball, as though from heavy rough. Otherwise, the thick mat of interlaced Kikuyu blades trap the club, drastically reducing clubhead speed. " *Golfers Guide to Grasses
Using Kikuyu grass for the putting green is unheard of in the US, and the Waikoloa Village Golf Course is the exception. The putting here does not roll true, it's bumpy and grainy depending upon density.
This track is long and plays into the wind on some of the longest holes. There are so many uphill shots to the elevated greens. There are multiple elevations on this layout with elevated tees and water comes into play especially on the approach to 18.

The bunkers are full of pea gravel and are unplayable. There's limited yardage markers on the course, except for the 150 stakes and some 100 yard, and 75 yard plates in the fairway. Women golfers do not get any real forward tee breaks here. With the high winds and the deep fairways, the ladies will have a tough round.

The pro shop is friendly and Cal the cart guy/starter is efficient. You cannot get your cart until after Cal releases you to the first tee.
The course scores high on looks and scenery with ocean vistas in the distance. The grass is bright green from all the rain.
There are a lot of Nene, Hawaii state birds and a protected species, here.
They don't have a beverage cart, but there's a young women camped out in the midst of the back nine selling sodas and beer. There's no water in the cart nor on the course and no ice or towels either. There's no food available if you have a morning tee time, the bar opens around noon.

We've been playing here since the 1990s and this course is still fun, though the fairways are starting to show their age.
There is a lot of good golf course maintenance, the greens appear to have been aerated about a month ago, leaving some slowing lines and sand.

Our pro shop experience was enhanced by Jamie who was pleasant and efficient.
Conversely, Paul the starter seemed to be on a power trip.

They start out with two water holes, a long par four and a long 205 yard par three which is almost all carry. A good idea is to warm up on the practice tee.
Four years ago the Course at Waikoloa Beach Resort consolidated their clubhouses and practice facilities to Kings' Course, which really doesn't take away from the amenities of either course. The range is large with excellent turf and a short-game area. The Beach holes were realigned and the
clubhouse closed.
Hole #7, the amazing signature hole, is a 90 degree dogleg left uphill par 5 to a bunker covered green surrounded by beautiful ocean vistas. Be aware of the lava rock outcropping hidden in a swale on the right side approach.
Hole #10 is really long for the ladies, at 500 yards it's tough from the short tees.
Number 15 has a long carry over water into the wind.
Course conditions were almost ideal, except for greens recovering from maintenance. The fairways were flat and well-trimmed, and the rough was very playable.

The pace of play was good, we never waited and no one trailed us, even though we started with a twosome behind us.

This is one of our favorite courses on the Big Island.

This course has some good, interesting elevation changes, friendly but not to friendly fairways Nd of course fabulous views. The only negative would be the kitty litter sand traps.

This course is in good condition considering it gets three times the play of Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea. There are some rough spots in the fairways but the tees and greens were in great condition.
The Bermuda grass rough will cause serious shot deflection.
Our pro shop experience was excellent because it was Allen who checked us in. He's friendly and helpful.
They have a busy, thriving, and nicely stocked pro shop.
Our starter was efficient and friendly. We teed off early and played a fun three and a half hour round.
This course plays tougher than Mauna Lani South and there are several killer par fives here, specially the #1 handicap second hole.
The Kings Course was built in the middle of a lava field.

This course is special because of the presence of mountain goats spotted on the back nine.The goats are big and come in brown, beige, and black colors. They thrive on the lava rock hills. A great photo op., and a small distraction to see a herd of goats crossing the fairway.
The designers, Weiskopf and Morrish, have fully utilized lava rock formations to intimidate the golfer. The short par four holes are sneaky tough, errant tee shots that don't find the short grass are destined to spend their time in permanent lost ball land.
Good design, tough yet fair, well conditioned course, great weather, sea breezes, and fast play make the Kings Course at Waikoloa a good choice.

Again we were paired up with another couple who we thoroughly enjoyed. The round was a little on the slow side - did not see a Marshall. Sand traps are terrible - loose pebbles.

Hawaii golf in March - rates were ok for this course. Views are nice of ocean and snow capped mountains. Disappointed bunkers were made of gravel - not good for clubs - guess there is too much lava rock and sand is hard to find! Not impressed with adjoining restaurant. I ordered curry stir fry vegetable with shrimp and it came as a bowl of soup with rice on the side - not what I expected.

The golf experience at this course is very dependent on the weather. It is often very windy which makes play difficult. On the day we played the weather was perfect - sunny with only a mild breeze. That being said, the course is very enjoyable and in very good condition. Although we rode, this course is walkable. It is a fair test of golf and can be challenging from the tips. The golf here is meant to be enjoyable and it is. This is not a resort course. It is located in the town of Waikoloa Village so a lot of locals play here. The price at $68 on GolfNow (9:30AM tee time) is a good value.

Great course for start of the year lots of room off the tee :0)

I have now played most of the courses on the west side of the Big Island. I was looking forward to playing the Beach Course for the first time but walked away really disappointed. The course was in poor shape with many greens with browned out patches, bare patches in the fairways, cart ruts all over the place, etc. Pace of play was slow at around 4 3/4 hours. The starter was grouchy and sent us to the wrong first tee. The course layout feels like you are in a subdivision with the hotels, condos, townhouses, etc. Yes you have the ocean on one side of half the fairway of one par 5 but that is it. We also got to listen to the loudspeakers at a corporate luncheon for several holes. The whole experience was like a muni course on the weekends but at a much higher price. This is a high volume resort experience. If you want the real resort experience go up to Mauna Lani and pay a bit more for a well maintained course and more ocean views from both courses or head up to Big Island Country Club for a better value and a peaceful setting.

Course is in good shape. Rough is tough. Elevated greens cause you to take 1 or 2 longer clubs than you normally would use. The only disappointment are the sand traps. They don't have sand. They have a coarse shard mixture that scrapes up the sole of your club. After the first trap I would lift out and play from grass. Other than that we enjoyed the course enough to play twice in one week.

Self serve refreshments. Thee is a restaurant but I don't think it's part of the course.

We just golf to have a good time and hope for some good golf too. We had both. This course is better than the mountain courses, cooler than the ocean courses, and wider fairways. We plan on coming back weekly. We were paired with nice couple to make the experience even more fun, and met dome great, literally, turkey's along the way.

Enjoyed the course very much - great value, conditions and staff!

Great staff, course condition was good! Play was slower than normal but it was Sat. pm. I would play this course anytime and it would be a favorite.

Beautiful layout. Challenging for an 18 handicapper such as myself. Friendly staff and course was in excellent condition. Play again for sure. Rather play 5 rounds here then 1 round for over $200.

Great course that is not as well known as some of it's neighbors. Well maintained and a good challenge. Staff bent over backwards to make the experience fun.

Ocean front golf will cost you in Hawaii.
That's why the Kings course at the Waikoloa Beach Resort is well known as a more affordable, value-oriented round of golf on the Kona coast. There's no premium price tag tacked on for an ocean view. You won't see the Pacific, but there's still plenty of water hazards, and the golf is still good.
Tom Weiskopf designed a straight-forward resort course that's mostly flat and framed by black lava rock.
Weiskopf takes pride in building short par-4s. There are two pretty good ones on the Kings. Golfers can make a three or an eight on holes five and 13, depending on how much risk they take off the tee.
The 6,566-yard Beach course is 500 yards shorter and a little easier than the 7,074-yard Kings.

Extremely lucky that I played on a day when the wind was very mild!
I like to play Waikaloa, anytime that I am on the Big Island