Suggestions for Maui Golf???

[jb1982]

We're staying at the Whaler on Ka'anapali. My fiance doesn't play the game (yet...), but she's a big shutterbug and is eager to ride along and take pictures, she's done it before and is good at not interrupting the other players.

That's the downside to Wailea. No twilight on the Emerald (at least not this time of year.) But for the rest of the courses, you can tee off at 2:30 and get a round in. I did at both the Plantation and Kaanapali. I played 3 rounds and never had one over 4 hours!! The GPS in the cart tells you if you are falling behind, and the marshal is there rather quickly when a group starts holding up play. It was great!!

Also, someone else on here reccomended the book "Maui Revealed" to me. I would suggest buying that and highlighting some of the other things you want to do. I was there for 9 days, and never got bored. There's so much to see and do on Maui, and the book tells about it all.

[SwingBlade]

Been there many times and just got back two weeks ago. Plantation and Kaanapali North (South is a joke) are not to be missed but my favorites remain the Emerald for it's symmetry and lush beauty and fairness and the Gold for it's professional level challange. No tricks, no games just the highest overall level of quality golf experience in the most beautiful section of the most beautiful island.

[tmoult]

Maui is the best. I have always stayed at the maui eldorado which is right on the royal kannapali golf course. Hopefully next time i go i will be able to play there. I have looked at many of the holes and the greens are prestine. I have rolled some putts on them. Check out lahina village a very neat little place, and spend countless hours on the beach. Have a great time! Im jealous.

[FakeMontana]

agree about emerald. my favorite as well.

[jetsknicks1]

Well, my September trip to see my Navy son in San Diego has been changed to a Christmas trip to Pearl Harbor. Can't wait to play with my boy and am looking for any suggestions on reasonable ($100) ocean courses.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

Well, my September trip to see my Navy son in San Diego has been changed to a Christmas trip to Pearl Harbor. Can't wait to play with my boy and am looking for any suggestions on reasonable ($100) ocean courses.

Bummer.  I was looking forward to hearing what you thought about whichever courses you ended up at over here.  Just to clarify ... you said are going to Pearl Harbor, but this is a Maui golf thread ... are you heading over there as well, or are you just staying on Oahu?

I guessing k-troop is going to be your best source of info here, I've never golfed on Oahu, and all the courses I know of on Maui are pricey (Kapalua, Kaanapali, Wailea, etc)

[jetsknicks1]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Bummer.  I was looking forward to hearing what you thought about whichever courses you ended up at over here.  Just to clarify ... you said are going to Pearl Harbor, but this is a Maui golf thread ... are you heading over there as well, or are you just staying on Oahu?

I guessing k-troop is going to be your best source of info here, I've never golfed on Oahu, and all the courses I know of on Maui are pricey (Kapalua, Kaanapali, Wailea, etc)

I was looking forward to San Diego too. Sorry, I had the wrong island. I'll just be on Oahu.

[k-troop]

I've reviewed most of my favorite courses here  http://thesandtrap.com/products/category/hawaii

The course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii (Klipper GC) is without question the best deal for golf in the state, and maybe on the planet.  Very fair and playable course, with excellent greens and SIX holes that touch the ocean.  Two full-length ocean holes.  TB Palmer, my favorite course on the island, only has one green on the ocean.

Klipper will run you about $50 with cart; morning tee times are impossible on the weekend, but you can walk on pretty easily if you get there before 0600.  Turtle Bay Palmer is really a fantastic course.  It's about $175 peak weekend rate, but the replay rate is only $35--so play 36 and the per-round rate is around $100.

If you don't mind losing a few dozen balls, I'd strongly recommend Royal Hawaiian GC (formerly Luana Hills).  It's a maddening Pete Dye tricked up layout, but the conditions are always excellent and it's unlike any golf course you will ever play.  The course sits between Mount Olomana and the Ko'olau range, so giant lush green mountains surround you.  The holes are cut out of thick, dense, lush jungle.  It's a really cool course, but don't expect to score well.  The one saving factor of the jungle courses (Ko'olau and Luana Hills) is because of where they're situated in the jungle, you get a break from the omnipresent winds.  Expect to pay $75-$130 depending on time and day; you can save a few bucks booking online.

Two other great value courses are Leilehua (Army course at Schofield Barracks) and Mamala Bay (Hickam AFB course).  Leilehua is a big course with big trees and elevation changes; Hickam is a smaller but very fun course with a few holes on the harbor.  One of the par 3s tees off on the Honolulu Airport main runway built on the reef.  Both will cost around $50 with cart.

Depending on how much time/money you have, I'd play courses in this order of priority--

1. Klipper.  Great course, amazing value.

2. TB Palmer.  Simply outstanding golf course.

3. Luana Hills (Royal Hawaiian Golf Club).  Truly unique golf.

4. Hickam/Leilehua.  I might go play Klipper twice before I played one of these, just because it's such a great course for the $$.

Oahu doesn't have a lot of great ocean holes.  Waialae has a few, but you can't play there (and if you did, it would cost you around $250).  Ko'Olina on the leeward side has some decent ocean views, but the course is a very ordinary resort course and will cost you $175ish--for that I'd much rather play TB Palmer.  I'd pretty much avoid Eva Beach entirely unless your son lives there and you're looking to get something close.  There are no courses in Ewa that are worth what they charge off-island visitors (considering you can play TB or Luana for the same price) except maybe Hoakalei, which is a very, very good course but private.

For value, the three military courses I listed above are all very, very good.  As a non-resident, they're pretty much your only options under $90, and I'd put all three of them in the top 10 courses on the island.

[jetsknicks1]

Originally Posted by k-troop

I've reviewed most of my favorite courses here  http://thesandtrap.com/products/category/hawaii

The course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii (Klipper GC) is without question the best deal for golf in the state, and maybe on the planet.  Very fair and playable course, with excellent greens and SIX holes that touch the ocean.  Two full-length ocean holes.  TB Palmer, my favorite course on the island, only has one green on the ocean.

Klipper will run you about $50 with cart; morning tee times are impossible on the weekend, but you can walk on pretty easily if you get there before 0600.  Turtle Bay Palmer is really a fantastic course.  It's about $175 peak weekend rate, but the replay rate is only $35--so play 36 and the per-round rate is around $100.

If you don't mind losing a few dozen balls, I'd strongly recommend Royal Hawaiian GC (formerly Luana Hills).  It's a maddening Pete Dye tricked up layout, but the conditions are always excellent and it's unlike any golf course you will ever play.  The course sits between Mount Olomana and the Ko'olau range, so giant lush green mountains surround you.  The holes are cut out of thick, dense, lush jungle.  It's a really cool course, but don't expect to score well.  The one saving factor of the jungle courses (Ko'olau and Luana Hills) is because of where they're situated in the jungle, you get a break from the omnipresent winds.  Expect to pay $75-$130 depending on time and day; you can save a few bucks booking online.

Two other great value courses are Leilehua (Army course at Schofield Barracks) and Mamala Bay (Hickam AFB course).  Leilehua is a big course with big trees and elevation changes; Hickam is a smaller but very fun course with a few holes on the harbor.  One of the par 3s tees off on the Honolulu Airport main runway built on the reef.  Both will cost around $50 with cart.

Depending on how much time/money you have, I'd play courses in this order of priority--

1. Klipper.  Great course, amazing value.

2. TB Palmer.  Simply outstanding golf course.

3. Luana Hills (Royal Hawaiian Golf Club).  Truly unique golf.

4. Hickam/Leilehua.  I might go play Klipper twice before I played one of these, just because it's such a great course for the $$.

Oahu doesn't have a lot of great ocean holes.  Waialae has a few, but you can't play there (and if you did, it would cost you around $250).  Ko'Olina on the leeward side has some decent ocean views, but the course is a very ordinary resort course and will cost you $175ish--for that I'd much rather play TB Palmer.  I'd pretty much avoid Eva Beach entirely unless your son lives there and you're looking to get something close.  There are no courses in Ewa that are worth what they charge off-island visitors (considering you can play TB or Luana for the same price) except maybe Hoakalei, which is a very, very good course but private.

For value, the three military courses I listed above are all very, very good.  As a non-resident, they're pretty much your only options under $90, and I'd put all three of them in the top 10 courses on the island.

Thanks K-Troop. Please forgive my ignorance but what courses are close to Pearl Harbor?

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

Thanks K-Troop. Please forgive my ignorance but what courses are close to Pearl Harbor?

Well, Hickam would be closest since PH and Hickam AFB are adjacent to each other.  But it's an island, so all of the courses listed are within a 20 minute drive except for Turtle Bay, which is more like 35-40 minutes.  PH is in the center of the island near where all 3 of the major highways intersect, so it's pretty easy to get anywhere from there.  Traffic is always a concern, depending on which direction you're going and the time of day.