Puakea Golf Course

The course is really pretty, but my experience there was frustrating. I was wearing an athletic top (not a polo) and was told I had to wear a polo to play, which was fine since that’s the dress code. But I was required to buy a $70 polo from the pro shop just to be able to play, on top of already spending hundreds of dollars. Again no problem, but what bothers me is that every time I pass the course now, I see multiple people playing in T-shirts. It feels super inconsistent, like the dress code is only enforced for some people. Not sure how that makes sense. Because of that, I ended up playing the Ocean Course instead, amazing views, and I wasn’t singled out and scammed into buying a shirt.

This is a pretty nice golf course, I enjoyed playing here a lot. It's not an easy course, but with some course management and knowing your misses, you can get around just fine. There are houses that are just adjacent to the course, but the course is not super narrow. During my visit, the course was recently aerated, but that's alright, means the course is being maintained. The tee boxes are pretty nice with nice grass, especially the par 3's. The fairways are also nice with well maintained grass, really liked the the fairway grass. The rough is what it is, rough. The grass can get thick and grab your club face, so staying in the fairway is best on this course. There are fairway bunkers throughout the course, but look ahead and plan a longer or shorter shot will keep you safe. There is sand in the fairway bunkers, but can't tell you how much, I was able to avoid them. Some of the fairways were split fairways with obstacles or small gulch, added to the challenge and course management will get you to still do well on these holes...had fun on these holes. The greens were enjoyable to put on, rolled smoothly. There is undulation on the greens but not an unreal amount, so being able to read the breaks will help. Look ahead before you hit to know if the the flag is front, middle, or back, the greens are on the smaller side. During my visit the front 9 greenside bunkers were being renovated, again signs the course is being maintained. The back 9 greenside bunkers were still alright, they had sand and nice to hit out of. Amenities -Range- there is a nice driving range with grass to hit off of. They give a small basket of complementary range balls with your round...nice touch. -practice putting green- the practice putting green is nice with variations of undulation and representatives of the greens on the course. -There is a restaurant on property with good food. We got the Bento and musubi which were both good and reasonably priced. Liked the course a lot and had a lot of fun, played a good round as well. I will be coming back to this course the next we visit.

Nice course with incredible views. A bit pricey for not being on the water but amazing hospitality.