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Golf Course Review Makani Golf Club Kailua Kona Hawaii

Makani Golf Club

Golf Course Review Makani Golf Club Kailua Kona Hawaii

Reviewed by: mjquick, Salt Like City

Golf Playing Conditions 5.94 GOOD
Golf Playing Conditions 5.94 GOOD

I play this course at least two times when on the Big Island because it is different (2500 ft. above sea level) and I love the layout. It 10 degrees cooler up here and the views are great. I was first out and they were rolling the greens so they were perfect! They are working on the fairways and they need to. This is the worst part about this course. Played 12/10 and 14/2018 and when I come back next year I will play it again.

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Golf Course Review Kapalua (BAY COURSE) Lahaina Hawaii

Kapalua (Bay Course)

Lahaina, HI

Reviewed by: JohnnyGK, Thousand Oaks

Golf Playing Condition 8.12 GREAT
Golf Playing Condition 8.12 GREAT

Played the Bay Course today, Sunday 8/5 at 9:30am, 4 hours POP and really enjoyed it. I’ve previously played the Plantation Course about 10 years ago, which is also an outstanding golf course. Personally, being a close to the ocean view kind of guy, I liked the Bay Course better. It’s a beautiful track. The 5th hole Par 3 is stunning.

As expected the golf course was in great shape and playing firm. The greens were much more firm than I anticipated and without my hotdog putter, and my trusty rusty 60 degree wedge, being I had to rent clubs, I struggled. They are not easy to read and you have to be careful as there are some very tough pin placements. Overall the greens rolled well and were Medium/Fast. Advice when pitching around the greens, don’t pin seek, the ball is going to release. Fairways were lush and firm. Rough was only a couple inches long but the ball always sat down in the bermunda turf. So much so I actually lost a couple drives that were in. The bunkers are beautiful Hawaiian red-ish sand well taken care of. The tee boxes, level, cut tight and surprisingly dry.

The golf course layout is a blast and gives you ample room to let the big dog out. There are some reachable in two par 5’s, tough par 3’s and many par 4’s with doglegs. It’s a hilly layout but not crazy. On just about every hole you can see the ocean. Holes 4 and 5 are right on it. I was loose with the driver early and the golf course made me pay for it. Once I got it dialed in, I had many birdie opportunities…if only I could have made some putts.

The service is outstanding. The starter walked me to the bag room for my rentals and filled me completely in about track. The guys in the club rental gave me exactly the type of clubs I requested, on the golf course I saw the cart girl numerous times, the marshal even helped me find a stray drive. Everyone with smiles and good professional attitudes.

I’ll be posting photos in the next few days.

Highly Recommended.

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Golf Course Review King Kamehameha Golf Club Wailuku Hawaii

The King Kamehameha Golf Club

Wailuku, HI

Reviewed by: michaelko, Elk Grove, CA

Golf Playing Conditions 8.40 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 8.40 GREAT

Played here Sunday June 17. 7am. They take public play right now before 8am and after noon, I believe.

They punched 3 weeks ago, and told me over the phone, but I really wanted to check this out.

The greens were sandy, playable, but definitely affected speed. Pretty empty, played through a threesome. The course is in pretty immaculate shape, overlooking the ocean with South Maui as a backdrop. It’s about a 1000 ft up the West Maui Crater. The course’s holes run back and forth along the hillside, so most of the holes are in parallel to each other (aside from a few par3s), which is my main nitpick. But the holes are interesting, and the views are great.

For conditions and a private course feel, this is your place. For value, I will probably play some other courses if I come back to Maui. Nonetheless, I had a great time and am glad I had the privilege to play.

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Recent Golf Course Review Kapalua (PLANTATION COURSE) Lahaina Hawaii

Kapalua (Plantation Course)

Lahaina, HI

Reviewed by: sr129, Diamond Bar

Golf Playing Conditions 7.60 GREAT
Golf Playing Conditions 7.60 GREAT

Played here 1-22 and had a great time. The weather was a mix of sunshine rain and wind at times. Never rained hard or very long and the wind was only an issue on a couple of holes then it went away.

The staff was great and welcoming. I was paired up with a nice guy from Texas and we played as a twosome. Had an 8:00 am tee time and we got off about 10 minutes early. We played at our own pace and finished in less than 4 hours. Never saw anyone behind us and the guys ahead moved along at a good pace.

The Review

The tees were in good shape with no problems finding good level spot to hit from.

Fairways are nice to hit from with good coverage and I never had a bad lie when I found the fairways.

The rough is about 2″ deep Bermuda and the ball really sits down making it tough to get out of at times.

I was in one green-side bunker and it had plenty of red sand. Not to soft and good to get out of.

If you watched the recent tournament, it was obvious that they had some issues with the greens due to more rain that usual in Dec. Now they have recovered except for a couple that still had some thin spots. On these greens the pins were away from the bad areas and we did not have any problems.  These greens are huge and have lots of slopes to deal with. One of my shots landed short of the green and ran off the back (about 60 feet). long on these is not a good place to be.

This place is pricey but its a bucket list course so I was OK with the cost. The views are amazing and I even saw a whale breach off in the distance from one of the greens.