Hawaiʻi Golf

Each Hawaiian island offers distinct golf experiences and picking which island is best for you matters as much as picking the course. Hawaiʻi Island has championship golf courses along the “resort row” of Kohala Coast. Maui’s Kapalua Plantation course is bucket list-worthy. Oʻahu has the widest variety of courses for every budget. Kauaʻi has boutique-championship courses with fewer crowds. Lānaʻi has both free and resort-guest-only courses.

Sarah Burchard

Editor

Which Island Has the Best Golf Courses?Six Signature Hawaiʻi Golf Courses Practical Hawaiʻi Golf Information

Which Island Has the Best Golf Courses?

Hawaiʻi Island — Championship golf

The Kohala Coast of Hawaiʻi Island, also known as Big Island, is a golfing destination. Mauna Kea Beach Golf Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1964, is one of the earliest signature-designed resort courses in America, alongside Mauna Lani's South and North courses and the Waikoloa Beach and Kings' courses. There are multiple resorts within a 15-minute drive that contain six or more championship layouts.

Best for: Golf-focused trips, coastal courses.

Skip if: You want the convenience of city life.

Golf course on the Kohala Coast. Photo by John Hook / Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Maui — Bucket-list golf

Maui golf courses are some of the most prestigious in Hawaiʻi. The Kapalua Plantation Course, redesigned by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, was the former location of the PGA Tour's season-opening event for more than two decades. The Royal Kāʻanapali, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., and the Blue, Gold and Emerald courses at Wailea are also top picks on Maui.

Best for: Golf enthusiasts wanting a signature course.

Skip if: You want to play multiple courses in one trip. Hawaiʻi Island's Kohala Coast offers more courses in one concentrated location.

Kapalua Golf Course. Photo by Tor Johnson / Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Oʻahu — Golf to fit every budget

Oʻahu has the broadest range of golf courses in Hawaiʻi. On the high end, Ko Olina golf, at the Ted Robinson-designed Ko Olina Golf Club, is one of the most spectacular on island, and Turtle Bay, on the North Shore, offers oceanfront courses from both Palmer and Fazio. On the affordable end, municipal courses like Ala Wai and Pali, plus local favorite Waikele Country Club, offer an excellent alternative. Oʻahu is also home to Waialae Country Club, the private Honolulu club that hosted the PGA Tour's Sony Open every year since 1965. Starting January 2027, Waialae Country Club will host the Sony Championship Hawaii, a new PGA Tour Champions event held the week of Jan. 11-16.

Best for: Visitors combining golf with leisure on Oʻahu, visiting golfers on a budget, short-notice tee times.

Skip if: You're seeking exclusive resort-style golfing.

Ko Olina Golf Course.

Kauaʻi — Golf with Fewer Crowds

Kauaʻi may not have as many courses as the other major islands, but the ones they do have are still championship level and with fewer crowds. The oceanfront Princeville Makai, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.; Poipu Bay golf, also a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design and former host of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 to 2006 and The Kaʻuiki nine at Kauaʻi Lagoons are the island's best options.

Best for: Golfers wanting championship quality without the crowds.

Skip if: You need a large number of course options. Kauaʻi has fewer choices than Kohala Coast or Oʻahu.

Poipu Golf Course. Photo by Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Lānaʻi — One municipal, one Nicklaus original

Lānaʻi has two very different options. The Cavendish Golf Course is a free, public 9-hole, par-36 course in Lānaʻi City with no clubhouse, staff or golf carts — players walk the course with their own clubs and balls. Golfers can arrive at any time, no tee time necessary. The other option is for Fours Seasons Resort Lānaʻi and Sensei Lānaʻi guests only, and this is Manele Golf Course — a Jack Nicklaus-designed, par-72 layout built on lava outcroppings above Hulopoʻe Bay. In the winter, golfers can often spot whales from the fairways.

Manele Golf Course. Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Lanai.

Six Signature Hawaiʻi Golf Courses

The following Hawaiʻi courses are consistently ranked among the best in America. Mauna Kea Beach on Hawaiʻi Island, Kapalua Plantation on Maui, Ko Olina Golf Club and Waialae Country Club on Oʻahu and Princeville Makai and Poipu Bay on Kauaʻi. Rather than ranking them, think of these as six signature courses, each worth playing for different reasons.

A note on pricing: green fees change annually and shift with season, so treat every figure above as a starting point. Verify the current rate on each course's website before you book. We try our best to stay up-to-date, but can sometimes lag behind.

Mauna Kea Beach Golf Course — Kohala Coast, Hawaiʻi Island

Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed this course in 1964, and today it remains one of Hawaiʻi’s first destination-resort courses. The signature third hole is a par 3 situated over an ocean cove to a green that feels like its own island. Fees from $200 to $300 for resort guests. Book early, through the course or your resort concierge, availability moves fast. Collared shirts are required, cart is included in the price, resort guests get priority tee times.

Best for: Golfers already on the Kohala Coast and anyone who wants to play a historic course.

Skip if: You're on a tight budget.

Kapalua Plantation Course — West Maui

Designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, this course hosted the PGA Tour's Sentry season opener for years and is still a champion-level course. Fees run from $300 to $475 depending on season, which are among the highest in the state. Book directly through Kapalua's website. Collared shirts are required, carts come standard, resort guests get a discount.

Best for: Bucket-list golf and anyone who wants to try a PGA-Tour-level course.

Skip if: You're a high handicapper. At this course you must drive off the tee and have an ability to hit long clubs into greens.

Ko Olina Golf Club — West Oʻahu

This Ted Robinson designed course is known for being the most photographed in Hawaiʻi. Its partnership with the neighboring Four Seasons and Ko Olina resorts makes it the easiest premium round to book on Oʻahu. Fees run from $160 to $245 depending on season and time of day. Book online or through the course. Discounts for resort-guests staying nearby. Collared shirts are required, carts are included.

Best for: Resort-quality golf on O’ahu and family golf trips.

Skip if: You’re looking for an exclusive-club. This course is high-volume.

Waialae Country Club — Kāhala, Oʻahu

Designed by Seth Raynor, this course hosted the PGA Tour's Sony Open every year from 1965 through January 2026, and will host the new Sony Championship Hawaii on the PGA Tour Champions starting in 2027. It's a private club, so public access is limited. You can play as a guest of a member or during specific charity and tournament events. There's no posted fees and no way to book, unless you are a club member. Best for: Golfers with a member connection, or anyone attending during Sony Championship Hawaii tournament week.

Skip if: You don't know a member. The course is not generally open to the public.

Princeville Makai — North Shore, Kauaʻi

Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s designed this clifftop course with ocean views. Fees run from $250 to $325 depending on season. Book through the course website or with a golf-booking aggregator. Collared shirts are required, carts are standard, walking is generally not permitted.

Best for: Kauaʻi trips and golfers who want a stunning backdrop.

Skip if: You're visiting during winter high-surf months. You are more likely to get rained out on the North Shore during this time.

Poipu Bay Golf Course — South Shore, Kauaʻi

Also a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design, Poipu Bay golf hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 to 2006, including several rounds during Tiger Woods' prime. The South Shore is typically drier than Princeville's North Shore location, which means you have a far lesser chance of being rained out. Fees run from $185 to $300 depending on season. Book directly or through a resort package if you're staying nearby. Collared shirts are required, cart is included.

Best for: Kauaʻi visitors who prefer the sunnier South Shore.

Skip if: You want proximity to the Nā Pali Coast.

Practical Hawaiʻi Golf Information

Book tee times 30 days out through GolfNow.com or directly on a course's website. Resort guests generally receive a 30- to 60-day advance-booking advantage over the general public, plus a 15% to 30% discount at their resort's partner courses. Winter, roughly November through April, is high season and carries premium pricing. Shoulder-season rates typically run September through early November and May through early June.

Cost

How GolfNow works

GolfNow is a booking aggregator that lists discounted tee times across many Hawaiʻi courses. Pricing shifts based on demand, which means the same tee time could cost less if you book a few days out versus same-day, or more during a busy holiday week. It's a useful tool for finding value, but some premium courses, including Kapalua Plantation, prefer direct booking through their own sites instead.

Resort packages and booking windows

If you're staying at a golf resort, ask about a stay-and-play package before booking rounds separately. Most resorts will bundle a discount with priority access to tee times before the general public can book. This advance-booking window is often the real advantage, not just the discount itself, since world-famous courses sell out popular morning slots weeks ahead of time during high season.

Twilight rates

Most courses offer a twilight rate starting around 2 p.m. This could be a discount of 30% or more off the morning rate in exchange for a shorter window of daylight to finish 18 holes.

Sunset golf at Manele Golf Course. Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Lanai.

What to Bring

Dress code

A collared shirt is required and no denim is the standard across most Hawaiʻi courses. Some private and upscale resort courses enforce this strictly at the pro shop. Verify the course's policy before you arrive so you know what to pack.

Sun and hydration

Hawaiʻi's tropical humidity and trade winds can be dehydrating on the course. Make sure to carry plenty of water, and use reef-safe sunscreen — mineral-based, zinc oxide, non-nano. Hawaiʻi law restricts sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate statewide.

Rental clubs vs. bringing your own

Most Hawaiʻi resort courses stock quality rental sets, so traveling without clubs is definitely an option if you're not too attached to using your own equipment. If you play regularly and have a dialed-in bag, it's worth the hassle of checking clubs, since rental quality varies course to course.

Photo courtesy of Project Reef sunscreen.

A Cultural Note

Native Hawaiians and golf courses have been battling over water for decades. During the plantation era, sugar and pineapple corporations built private ditches to divert stream water for their cash crops, drying up wetland kalo, or taro, fields and gutting the local food system. When the plantations folded, that water didn't go back to the streams. Instead, corporations and real estate developers redirected it to luxury resorts, estates and golf courses.

An 18-hole course in Hawaiʻi uses 750,000 to more than 1 million gallons of water a day, depending on its size. Most courses use non-potable water, but some have been caught using potable water while residents were asked to conserve during droughts. In 2025, after the Lāhainā wildfires, a dispute was filed against Kapalua Golf Course, owned by TY Management. The course was forced to stop using potable water on its fairways — freeing it up for drinking water and farms — and the fairways turned brown. That eventually led the PGA Tour to cancel its signature season-opening tournament, The Sentry, citing unplayable conditions.

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