The best courses you can play in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Course Vaults is a golf course logging app where members have logged 1,648 rounds in Hawaii and rate what they played. These are the 7 highest-rated public courses within about 25 miles of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, ranked by those community scores.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Kohala Coast, HI, USAPublicRobert Trent Jones Sr.
- 4.1Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 3.7Value
- 5.0Scenery
- 4.3Facilities
$350 with no food on property and a limited driving range. Had maintenance guys in every fairway bunker of the first 5 holes we played and teed off at 9:20. Besides the chaos and heavy price tag, it was a fun course.
Written by
@Fut’sPicks
- Views
- Driving range
- Must play
South
Mauna Lani Resort Golf
Kohala Coast, HI, USAPublicH. Flint & R. F. Cain
- 3.0Conditions
- 4.3Layout
- 4.0Value
- 5.0Scenery
- 4.1Facilities
I’ll admit, I can’t always distinguish the North and South as much as I’d like - I played them a few years back - but what I do remember from the South are some truly special views. It’s a resort-style course, so it doesn’t beat you up.
Written by
@moodiebanks
- Views
- Driving range
- Grass range
Hualalai Golf Club
Kailua-Kona, HI, USAPublicJack Nicklaus
- 5.0Conditions
- 5.0Layout
- 5.0Value
- 5.0Scenery
- 4.2Facilities
- Must play
North
Mauna Lani Resort Golf
Kohala Coast, HI, USAPublicH. Flint & R. F. Cain
- 3.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.5Value
- 4.5Scenery
- 3.3Facilities
Compared to the South, Mauna Lani North feels a little wilder and more rugged. Carved through ancient lava fields and framed by kiawe trees, it has a character all its own.
Written by
@moodiebanks
- Views
- Driving range
- Pristine
Waikoloa Beach Resort Golf
Waikoloa, HI, USAPublicRobert Trent Jones, Jr.
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 2.5Value
- 5.0Scenery
- 3.5Facilities
- Challenging
- Driving range
- Must play
Kings
Waikoloa Beach Resort Golf
Waikoloa, HI, USAPublicTom Weiskopf & Jay Morrish
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 2.5Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 4.0Facilities
- Challenging
- Driving range
- Must play
Hapuna Beach Resort
Kohala Coast, HI, USAPublicArnold Palmer & Ed Seay
- 4.0Conditions
- NRLayout
- NRValue
- NRScenery
- NRFacilities
Relatively easy layout, interesting holes, condition is decent, need to play grain on greens
Written by
@acedriver
How we rank
Course Vaults ranks public golf courses by Course Vaults Score (CV score), a community rating from golfers who have played and rated each course. Only open courses with at least 5 explicit ratings qualify, and this list is limited to public or guest-friendly courses. City pages include public golf courses within about 25 miles of Kailua-Kona, so nearby suburbs can appear on the same list. Rankings refresh about hourly as new ratings come in; each page shows when it was last generated.
FAQ
Common questions about public course rankings in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
The top public golf courses in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Course Vaults are led by Mauna Kea Beach Hotel with a Course Vaults score of 8.5. This page ranks 7 courses, including Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Mauna Lani Resort Golf, Hualalai Golf Club.
Course Vaults ranks public golf courses by Course Vaults Score (CV score), a community rating from golfers who have played and rated each course. Only open courses with at least 5 explicit ratings qualify, and this list is limited to public or guest-friendly courses. City pages include public golf courses within about 25 miles of Kailua-Kona, so nearby suburbs can appear on the same list. Rankings refresh about hourly as new ratings come in; each page shows when it was last generated.
Yes. The Kailua-Kona, Hawaii list includes public golf courses within about 25 miles of Kailua-Kona, not only courses whose city field is an exact match. Nearby suburbs can appear when they fall inside that metro radius.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is currently #1 among public courses in and around Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Course Vaults at 8.5 out of 10.
This ranking was last refreshed Nov 12, 2026, 3:55 AM EST. The page revalidates about every hour as golfers add new explicit ratings that meet the 5-rating minimum.
