Love Big Island

Sustainable Travel guide and itineraries for the Big Island of Hawaii

Home » Golfing and Golf Courses on the Big Island

Golfing and Golf Courses on the Big Island

By Love Big Island | updated

The Big Island is known as the golf capital of the state of Hawaii. Some of the biggest names in course design have crafted championship golf courses into the island that will call you back to the green – again and again.

Table of contents

Table of Contents

The golf courses on the Big Island are carved out of ancient lava flows, wrapped around historical Hawaiian landmarks or front some of the most spectacular coastlines in the pacific. It doesn’t matter if you come to the Big Island exclusively to drive that little white ball, or just want to relax and wind down with your friends at the golf course, Hawaii will not let you down. There are courses for every level of experience: from inexpensive municipal courses to challenging mountainside challenges up to breath-taking championship courses!

Map of golf courses on the Big Island

All golf courses on the island are listed on the map below. Do visit their website and call ahead to make reservations and to check on any current information concerning the opening hours. Click on any icon to get course-details and contact information for the golf course.

If the map doesn’t load or you want to see all the golf course information together, scroll down below the map for our big Big Island golf courses overview

You can find the 19 most popular golf courses below. The golf courses are sorted on location (Volcano, Kona, Kohala coast, Waimea + Hamakua coast and Hilo), and we provide a short description, directions and a link to the golf course website.

Golf courses near Volcano

There are two golf courses close to Volcano:

1: Volcano Golf Course

Daily Fee – 18 Holes – Par 72 – 6547 yards

This 18-hole golf course is set on the rim of the active Kīlauea volcanic crater 4,000 feet above the sea, making it a truly unique golfing experience. Located near the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the cool highlands, it offers sweeping vistas of the surrounding volcanoes (sometimes snow capped in winter).

  • Volcano Golf Course (website or Instagram)
  • 99-1621 Piimauna Dr, Volcano HI 96785
  • 808.319.4745

The Volcano Gold Course offers panoramic views of Mauna Loa.

2: Sea Mountain Golf Course (Closed)

Sea Mountain Golf Course has been closed since April 2018 (source).

The 18-hole “Sea” course at the Sea Mountain Golf Course facility in Pahala, Hawaii features 6,416 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 71.1 and it has a slope rating of 129.

The course is pretty poorly maintained but this is reflected in a modest green fee ($30 in 2017).

  • Highway 11
  • Pahala, HI  96777
  • United States

Golf courses near Kailua Kona

There are 3 golf courses near Kona:

1: Kona Country Club – Ocean Course

Daily fee – par 72 – 6748 yards

2: Hokulia Golf Club

Private – par 72 – 7337 yards.

  • Call (808) 930-4101 or
  • Visit their Facebook page here.

3: Makalei Golf Course

Daily fee – par 72 – 7091 yards

Golf courses on the Kohala coast

There are 10 beautiful golf courses close to the resorts at the Kohala coast:

1: Haulalai Golf Club

Resort – 18 Holes – Par 72 – 7117 yards

Dramatically situated in the black lava fields along the Big Island’s Kohala Coast, the Hualalai Golf Course is both a world class challenge and an exhilarating land and seascape.

The 7100-yard course hosts an annual, season-opening Champions’ Tour event and though its beautifully manicured fairways and greens are more than enough to challenge the legends, they’re also an agreeable test for golfers at all levels.

The Hualalai Golf Course is a semi-private course and is reserved exclusively for resort guests.

2: Mauna Lani Resort Francis H. Ii Brown North Course

Mauna Lani’s North Course represents the quintessential golf experience on the Big Island of Hawaii. Built on a lava bed, the North is characterized by rolling terrain punctuated by Kiawe (mesquite) forests.  Number 17, a par three tucked into a natural lava amphitheater, is one of Mauna Lani resort signature holes and a favorite “I was here” photo spot. A 230-acre protected archaeological district lies on the northern boundary of the golf course. Herds of feral goats frequent the entire golf course, moving from hole to hole throughout the day.  The North Course has fast become one of the most popular tournament venues on the Island.

3: Mauna Lani Resort Francis H. Ii Brown South Course

The Mauna Lani Resort’s South Course was home to the original Senior Skins Game from 1990 to 2000 and is the first course to play before tackling the more prodigious North Course.

South delivers an extremely playable and forgiving layout with ample fairways and approachable greens. But the illusion created by black lava on both sides of virtually every hole a Big Island golf staple makes the playing areas seem rather tight. Mauna Lani fittingly means ‘mountain reaching heaven,’ its name coming from Mauna Kea to the north and Mauna Loa to the south.

4: Mauna Kea Golf Course

Resort – 18 holes – Par 72 – 7370 yards.

There are few experiences that can equal the one at Mauna Kea Golf Course. Still considered to be one of the benchmarks by which other island courses are judged, the course has consistently held a spot in Golf Digest top 100.

It embraces all the values of a great resort golf course: natural beauty, dramatic views, strategic design and memorability of the holes.

The course features holes that are right at sea level like number 3 and 11 and other that rise to nearly 300 feet above. There are over 120 well placed bunkers and the greens are large and very undulating.

5: Makani Golf Club (formerly the Big Island Country Club Golf)

public – 18 holes – par 72 –  6582 yards

The Makani Golf Club is one of the best examples of Hawaii’s treasure trove of independent (non-resort affiliated), daily-fee golf courses, making many top-10 lists in this category since it opened in 1997.

Trademarks for this course include moderate trade winds, glorious views, country club-style landing areas, and good maintenance.

Visit their website here.

6: Waikoloa Village Golf Course

Daily fee – par 72 – 6791 yards

7: Waikoloa Beach Course

Daily fee – par 70 – 6566 yards

8: Waikoloa Kings’ Course

Daily fee – par 72 – 7074 yards

9: Hapuna Golf Course

Resort – 18 Holes – Par 72 – 6875 yards

This is the newer (and less famous) of the two Mauna Kea Golf Resorts. Almost directly after it opened in 1992 it became a favorite of both Big Island locals and visitors.

10: North Kohala Golf Park

The North Kohala golf park is a community non-profit project with as goal the creation and maintenance of a beautiful and affordable golf course. Their small (9 hole par 3) course is for first time golfers, golf lovers and families that just want to get out and play!

Have a look at the review below by Youtube user Quite the Chap to get a feeling for this course:

The Best Golf In Hawaii | EP 11

Golf courses close to Waimea and the Hamakua coast

There is 1 golf course on the Hamakua coast:

1: Hamakua Country Club

Daily Fee – 9 Holes – Par 33 – 2490 yards

This Big Island golf course is friendly, local, and has a very Hawaiian sense of community. This course serves as its own social center in the former sugar mill town of Honokaa along the Big Island’s Hamakua Coast.

Amazingly enough, this nine-hole course is packed into just 15 acres. The laid back character of the course is best surmised by a recent visitor inquiry about the course’s restaurant. The club’s friendly response was, ‘If you like, you can bring all the food you can eat.’

  • Website
  • On the ocean side of Hwy. 19, 41 miles from Hilo
  • Honokaʻa, Island of Hawaii, HI
  • 808-775-7244

2: Waimea Country Club (closed)

Unfortunately, The Waimea Country Club closed in 2012.

Golf courses in Hilo

There are 2 golf courses in Hilo:

1: Banyans Golf Course

Semi private – par 35 – 9 holes

This beautifully landscaped 9-hole golf course was designed by Alexander Kahapea and built in 1970. The course is open daily and includes a putting green and driving range.

  • Website
  • 120 Banyan Drive, Hilo, HI (808)
  • 935-3000

2: Hilo Municipal Golf Course

Daily fee – par 71 – 6325 yard

The municipal golf course in Hilo is the only golf course on the Big Island with a municipal layout.

  • Visit their website for details.
  • Hilo, HI 96720-5710
  • (808) 959-7711
Bars Times angle-down Search angle-down Tour