Volcano Golf Course — Local services in Hawaii

We had a foursome with the first tee time of the day during their $5 Friday. Two in my group rented the last of the only two carts available to rent. Me and another in my group ended up walking bc a twosome with a tee time after us rented the other cart first which we had no problem with. The starter agreed and allowed the other twosome to join our foursome. After we completed nine holes Cody singled me out and harassed me saying we are taking too long and we cannot keep the carts out that long. (we played at a two and a half hour pace bc they allowed the other two players to join our foursome and the rough was in such poor condition it was difficult to locate your ball.) I informed Cody he is harassing the wrong person bc I was walking and had no cart. Also I informed him the starter allowed the other two players to join my foursome. He said he needed the Cart in case of there is an emergency bc he was the course Marshall. After I walked away I noticed he harassed the other two players that joined us until they agreed to return their Cart. They got no refund. Later we noticed the Cart was rented to another twosome. When we finished our round I informed Cody what he did was wrong. He said I can't help it if since he was done using the Cart for what he needed it for. Cody said you need to play by the rules and that five hours is too long for a round. I replied the rules do not state you need to finish in five hours (especially if they added two to our group and the golf course was poorly maintained). He replied that the rules do not allow six players. I informed him that he should speak with his starter for allowing two others to play with our group. He said he scolded his starter. I replied so why are you harassing me about that. I added we all play by the same rules under the United States Constitution which prohibits discrimination. We do not plan to go back to this Course until they put money into maintaining the golf course and their management team receive...

Played the course yesterday and while it has a nice layout, it isn't in the best of shape. The fairways have open dirt spots, the bunkers have plants growing out of them and the greens are a weird mix of different grasses. Putting this another way, I passed several stand-up water stations filled with cobwebs and they looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months.

Also, the course is a bit hard to navigate if you haven't played before with the signage often hidden behind the brush. Plus, two tee boxes intersect causing some confusion and a few holes on the each side are across the road.

The clubhouse matches the state of the course and, while completely functional, it also could use some TLC and probably a new layout.

Finally, the views aren't all that amazing. On a clear day, you can see the volcano and there is quite a bit of elevation changes which make for interesting vantage points. Also, there are several holes with good visuals from the tee boxes. I spent most of my time, though, studying the various trees which are all of interesting shapes and sizes. I'm not a tree expert and don't know the various types, but they were plentiful in variety and some of their shapes were incredibly unique.

Overall, I played 18 and rented a woeful set of clubs for $80 (bought a candy bar and tees as well). While I understand this is Hawai'i and the prices will be a bit high, I really would like a more well-kept golf course...

First, the "could have been better". My wife and I made a tee time to play 18 and were informed upon check-in that the greens had been recently aerated. I have had this happen at a Top 100 course before (and not told), only finding out when my second shot hit the green. In my opinion a small reduction in the green fees would have been nice. The greens that day (November 20th) were rough and hard to putt. Tee to green though, the course was in very good shape.

Second, the great parts. We rented a cart and two very nice sets of Callaway clubs and were on our way to truly enjoying a nice round at Volcano Golf Course! This is the oldest course on the island. What a great layout with lots of humps and bumps in the fairways, not something you normally see on an inland/parkland course. There was, of course, lots of weather, but it is Hawaii. I really loved the par 3 3rd, the risk-reward 4th, the around the bend 5th and 11th, both par 5's, and the uphill 17th, also a par 5. We finished 18 in about 3 hours. Overall, we both had a great time and really enjoyed playing this course. I would recommend it to anyone staying on the Big Island. Plus, since it is right across the highway from Volcano National Park, a visit there is easy if you have the time.

Finally, remember that you are at 4000+ altitude and factor that in with your club selection - it took me a few holes to realize what was happening with...