Naniloa Golf Course — Attraction in Hawaii

The lady at the Front Desk is awesome! The price is DIRT CHEAP. But you get what you pay for. It does the trick if you need to get out though. The rental clubs are atrocious. My hands were so sore I could not even get my wedding ring back on. You would think a tourist location would do better.

It’s a 9 hole course. Spend the money on a cart solely because anytime you stand still you get attacked by bugs. If you can get one. I think they have two. The fairways are crab grass and the greens are even worse. You could putt better in the parking lot on pavement. If you bring your clubs with you on vacation, THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO GO. But again, it does the trick.

Easily the worst course I have ever played. You can lose a ball dead center in the fairway. Again, it does the trick though if you want to waste an hour and a half. It’s almost impossible to find the entrance too. It’s the first left or last right on Banyan Drive, depending on which way you are coming from and you can walk there from the Grand Naniloa Hotel. Make sure you grab the score card cause there’s nothing to lead you to next hole. They don’t even put water in the ball washers. I think I found a bug from 1984...

My teenage daughter and I played this course simply so we could say we played golf in Hawaii. And—for that—it was great. We didn’t bring our own clubs, we didn’t want to spend much money, and we’re not very good. So—for our specific constellation of circumstances—this place fit the bill: they have (terrible) rental clubs and it was free with our hotel room.

Also, we saw some pretty wildlife as we played.

BUT if you are not basically in the same situation as us, this course will disappoint you. There are no golf carts. The greens and tee boxes are laughable. It is buggy. And all the sand traps have been filled in with (crab) grass.

Furthermore, like most of Hilo, this course is flanked by dilapidated buildings. It was sad.

Wanna check a box and say you golfed in Hawaii as inexpensively as possible?—play here. Have ANY expectations or standards for where you play golf?—find somewhere...

The course isn't bad, really. The new owners also renovated the place to a decent degree. I learned to golf at this course and it has improved. That being said, THIS GOLF COURSE DOESN'T LIKE KIDS! A bold statement to be sure, but when you tell me that my 6, 8, and 11 year old children can play on your course but are not allowed on the carts and must WALK the course instead....not cool. What a discouragement. I learned to golf at that course and it was one of the most chill, relaxed, "for the locals" type of course and now that whole vibe is gone. Definitely will NOT be golfing...