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Oahu Golf - Recommendations, and Is Reasonable Even Possible?

SkiBumGolfer

SkiBumGolfer

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So my fiancé and I are gonna be in Honolulu and Oahu in late April this year - can't wait! The trip isn't really for golf, but I'd really like to get one or two rounds in if possible. If anybody has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

However on a related note, it seems that reasonably priced rounds are nonexistent. Everything looks to be marked up 2x or 3x for non residents, and as a result nothing looks to be less than about 140-150.

I'm not completely opposed to paying it, but I want to see if I'm missing any good deals, so if anybody has suggestions for doing it on a budget, that'd be great! Thanks in advance guys.

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Turtle Bay - Palmer course. Not cheap, unfortunately. That being said, the North Shore of Oahu is the best area in Oahu by far. Great views, and away from the crowds of Honolulu and Waikiki.

And "fiance"? Congrats!!
 
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Turtle Bay, and do Pearl Harbor, the New Jersey and the Aviation Museum. You will be a different person for it.

JM
 
I am in a similar boat, Ryan. I head to Oahu in March.

Turtle Bay is on my list of places to play. I think I will pass on Ko-olina this trip.

There is a course just down the road from Turtle bay, a 9 hole course, that is pretty beat up, but has fantastic views. My pro told me about it. Kahuku Golf Course. The pro shop is a beat up shack, there are roosters running around, but it is a great piece of property and a good price for golf.

I played a course inland Oahu - Olomana golf - it was a blast when I played there in 2002. I have no idea what the price is, or what kind of shape it is in currently.
 
I've played Ko Olina. It's a fun track. (Caveat -- it's been 14 years since I've been there.)


Turtle Bay is the quintessential Oahu course, though. I saw it, but didn't play it. Looks great. Get a lot of shave ice regardless.
 
Turtle Bay is expensive but a great place to play. Koolau has amazing mountain views and is about $100(cheap for Hawaii), it was in pretty good shape when I played their 2 years ago. Ko Olina was in good shape when I played it 2 months ago but it's $160 round and can be slow the time of year you're going. I'd recommend an early tee time. Here's a picture of Koolau which at one time had the highest slope rating in the world. Now they've backed the slope rating down to 152 off the back tees and it's now fallen to the 3 toughest course in America. The par 4 18th is one of the toughest holes I've ever played.

Koolau15d.jpg
 
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You can definitely swing it! As some have previously mentioned, the Turtle Bay Palmer course is crazy nice but there are other options out there that won't cost an arm and a leg.

- Turtle Bay Palmer course (best course I've played)
- Kapolei
- Ko'Olina (very nice resort course)
- Makaha Valley (nice hidden option, but be careful driving through Waianae)
- Royal Hawaiian Golf Club (was Luana Hills when I was there from 02-06; hard as hell)
- Coral Creek (best value, IMO)

It's been 10 years since I was there, but from what I remember, for the money Coral Creek couldn't be beat. IIRC it has a 600+ yard par 5. Royal Hawaiin is similar to Kooalau. Blind tee shots, undulating greens and winding cart paths that seem to be carved through the jungle. A buddy of mine and I played there and we had to grab his shag bag at the turn! It was definitely a good experience.

Enjoy your trip!
 
Thanks for the recommendations folks! It sounds like I'm not gonna get away cheap, but at least there are some more reasonable options. I should say I will be staying mainly on Waikiki - wasn't my choice, but the company my fiancé works for does a lot of business with several of those hotels so we got some screaming deals. We'll be driving around most of the island, but courses close ish to Waikiki will be easiest.

Dr RosenRosen said:
And "fiance"? Congrats!!
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Thanks man!

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North Shore palmer course is not cheap but worth it but if i recall there is a course 5 mins from there thats really cheap (matt gc)


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tahoebum said:
Turtle Bay is expensive but a great place to play. Koolau has amazing mountain views and is about $100(cheap for Hawaii), it was in pretty good shape when I played their 2 years ago. Ko Olina was in good shape when I played it 2 months ago but it's $160 round and can be slow the time of year you're going. I'd recommend an early tee time. Here's a picture of Koolau which at one time had the highest slope rating in the world. Now they've backed the slope rating down to 152 off the back tees and it's now fallen to the 3 toughest course in America. The par 4 18th is one of the toughest holes I've ever played.

Koolau15d.jpg
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I have played the Koolau course and it's cool. Saw mongoose running around. I was told that record for lost balls was in the 72 range. I only lost 7 so I was happy with that. I hooked up with a guide "The Golf Guy" and he took care of everything. Highly recommend to contact him. He made the tee times picked me at the hotel and brought me back. PM me and I'll look up his number.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Thanks for the recommendations folks! It sounds like I'm not gonna get away cheap, but at least there are some more reasonable options. I should say I will be staying mainly on Waikiki - wasn't my choice, but the company my fiancé works for does a lot of business with several of those hotels so we got some screaming deals. We'll be driving around most of the island, but courses close ish to Waikiki will be easiest.



Thanks man!

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Could always ask the concierge at the hotel you're staying at about deals on golf. It never hurts to ask, and depending on the hotel, they may have relationships with local courses that result in discounts for guests that are referred to those courses.
 
I would second Koolau as well and I liked Royal Kunia. The course overlooked Pearl Harbor and had some pretty spectacular views as well.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Thanks for the recommendations folks! It sounds like I'm not gonna get away cheap, but at least there are some more reasonable options. I should say I will be staying mainly on Waikiki - wasn't my choice, but the company my fiancé works for does a lot of business with several of those hotels so we got some screaming deals. We'll be driving around most of the island, but courses close ish to Waikiki will be easiest.



Thanks man!

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A lot of the courses will have pick up schedules from Waikiki hotels. Last time I was there it wasn't the greatest, but it made getting to one or two courses a lot easier than having to rent a car.
 
Royal Kunia looks nice and isn't too far from Waikiki it appears. How far is Ko'olau? That course looks incredible, though if I break 100 there I'll be pumped.

As for a car, we have a rental car so no worries there. My fiancé wants to do some exploring.

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SkiBumGolfer said:
Royal Kunia looks nice and isn't too far from Waikiki it appears. How far is Ko'olau? That course looks incredible, though if I break 100 there I'll be pumped.

As for a car, we have a rental car so no worries there. My fiancé wants to do some exploring.

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When we were last in HI, my wife came along for my round since they had golfboards. She plays, but isn't good enough to drop 100+ dollars on a round, and she really enjoyed it. Might be another option to get an extra round in.
 
mpeterson said:
When we were last in HI, my wife came along for my round since they had golfboards. She plays, but isn't good enough to drop 100+ dollars on a round, and she really enjoyed it. Might be another option to get an extra round in.
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Ko'olau you mean? I thought about that, since the course appears to be ridiculously scenic.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Royal Kunia looks nice and isn't too far from Waikiki it appears. How far is Ko'olau? That course looks incredible, though if I break 100 there I'll be pumped.

As for a car, we have a rental car so no worries there. My fiancé wants to do some exploring.

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If I remember right, Ko'olau is on the west coast of Oahu and the Pali Lookout overlooks the course. We drove there and I think it took about 20-30 minutes in the morning to get there. The later in the day you play, the longer it will take you to get there.
 
Gotcha, thanks man.

I'm seeing a bunch of reviews on Google complaining about the course conditions at Ko'olau - things like "worst greens", "jacked up patchy fairways", "terrible maintenance", etc. Did any of you who have played it experience that? I'm not a big turf snob or anything, but if it's really bad then that's not cool when they want $145/round.
 
I didn't have any problems with the conditions at Ko'olau, but I played that course in March and it was past their rainy season. When I played Royal Kunia it was in January and there were a couple of soft spots on the course from earlier rain.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Royal Kunia looks nice and isn't too far from Waikiki it appears. How far is Ko'olau? That course looks incredible, though if I break 100 there I'll be pumped.

As for a car, we have a rental car so no worries there. My fiancé wants to do some exploring.

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Here's a map with some of the courses.

oahumap_1024x1024.jpg
 
I went to Oahu a couple of years ago. I played several courses in January.

Turtle Bay - They have (or had) a replay rate so if you play the Fazio course first then play the Palmer you can play both for basically the price of the Palmer. You have to call the proshop to do it.
http://www.turtlebayresort.com/Hawaii-Golf/Rates
From their reservation page:
Make it a Day - It's easy: just add $35 for Fazio or $45 for Palmer to the rate of the course you'd like to play in the morning and you have your 36-hole package.
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Personally I thought the Palmer course was better. The Fazio course was empty when I was there so it was a nicely paced round. The palmer gets more play so there can be pace issues.

Ko Olina - Its a nice course. When I played it, it was very windy and made it challenging. The course has a few nice holes but to be honest out of the courses I played I remember this on the least. I remember 18 and two of the par 3's.

Royal Hawaiian - This is the type of course I was thinking of when I thought of Hawaii golf. The views are amazing. Its not very long ~6500 or so yards but when I played it, it was one of if not the most difficult course I have ever played. Its target golf at it's finest. I lost track of how many shots hit the fairway and proceeded to roll off the side of the fairway.

Ko'olau - This was the last course I played when I was there and I thought I saved the best for last. This course is easily the hardest course I have ever played (beat out the Royal Hawaiian which I played the day before). Its going to rain at some point during your round. There are a ton of blind carries. The views are amazing. They also have a really cheap replay rate if you want to do that.

If I were to got back out of the courses I listed I would replay Ko'olau and Royal Hawaiian. I'd also want to play more of the rain forest courses.
 
In case you don't get to golf, do yourself a favor and hike (or drive) to the end of Kanea Point in the northwestern most part of the island. Obviously there is plenty to see on the island, but this area is FAR underrated.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaena_Point
 
Nighthawk117a said:
I went to Oahu a couple of years ago. I played several courses in January.

Turtle Bay - They have (or had) a replay rate so if you play the Fazio course first then play the Palmer you can play both for basically the price of the Palmer. You have to call the proshop to do it.
http://www.turtlebayresort.com/Hawaii-Golf/Rates
From their reservation page:


Personally I thought the Palmer course was better. The Fazio course was empty when I was there so it was a nicely paced round. The palmer gets more play so there can be pace issues.

Ko Olina - Its a nice course. When I played it, it was very windy and made it challenging. The course has a few nice holes but to be honest out of the courses I played I remember this on the least. I remember 18 and two of the par 3's.

Royal Hawaiian - This is the type of course I was thinking of when I thought of Hawaii golf. The views are amazing. Its not very long ~6500 or so yards but when I played it, it was one of if not the most difficult course I have ever played. Its target golf at it's finest. I lost track of how many shots hit the fairway and proceeded to roll off the side of the fairway.

Ko'olau - This was the last course I played when I was there and I thought I saved the best for last. This course is easily the hardest course I have ever played (beat out the Royal Hawaiian which I played the day before). Its going to rain at some point during your round. There are a ton of blind carries. The views are amazing. They also have a really cheap replay rate if you want to do that.

If I were to got back out of the courses I listed I would replay Ko'olau and Royal Hawaiian. I'd also want to play more of the rain forest courses.
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Great info man. Ko'olau keeps coming up in here as a must play, so I'm all but sold on that one at this point. My fiance said she would join me for it when I showed her pics, so I think that should work out! If I play a second time, I think I'll either do Royal Hawaiian or Royal Kunia, or perhaps keep it on the cheap and do one of the munis.

stevie-a said:
In case you don't get to golf, do yourself a favor and hike (or drive) to the end of Kanea Point in the northwestern most part of the island. Obviously there is plenty to see on the island, but this area is FAR underrated.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaena_Point
Click to expand...

Appreciate the tip, looks amazing!
 
stevie-a said:
In case you don't get to golf, do yourself a favor and hike (or drive) to the end of Kanea Point in the northwestern most part of the island. Obviously there is plenty to see on the island, but this area is FAR underrated.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaena_Point
Click to expand...

I agree with Kanea Point and I think Hanauma Bay is another spot to check out. It gets a little busy, but it is absolutely beautiful.
 
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