Hawaii, Big Island Golf Course Reviews
Kona Country Club ReviewKailua-Kona, Hawaii, Hawaii the Big Island
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Kona Country Club Scorecard from the longest tees as of date of last review
Kona Country Club Golf Course Overview: Kona Country Club is the "local" golf course along Ali'i drive near the Kailua-Kona area (most of the Big Island golf courses are up near Kohala). This track offers super-wide fairways and spends a lot of it's time inland, winding around or between various condo complexes, yielding some less than memorable golf holes. However, there are some gems along the ocean and a few other well-designed golf holes along the way. The golf holes of note are reviewed below:
Kona Country Club Hole 2: This fairly straight par five sends you down through a wide corridor between jungle and condos, headed for the Pacific. The green complex is ringed behind by a nice group of palm trees that frame it nicely. There are a few bunkers along the way, including a few by the large green.
Kona Country Club Hole 2: This fairly straight par five sends you down through a wide corridor between jungle and condos, headed for the Pacific. The green complex is ringed behind by a nice group of palm trees that frame it nicely. There are a few bunkers along the way, including a few by the large green.
Kona Country Club Hole 3: By far the most interesting golf hole on the front nine of Kona Country Club, this par 3 is long and exciting. Any shot hit right will find the rugged lava coastline and there is a nice frame of palm trees and sand traps around the green requiring a very well struck shot to avoid a big number.
Kona Country Club Hole 4: This par four is fairly straight forward, running away from the ocean. It is slightly uphill and a little bit of a raised/crowned green.
Kona Country Club Hole 6: This par five has a bit of a tricky tee shot as it bends right around the dogleg, with OB on both sides; matching up line and distance is pretty key if the player is going to be aggressive off the tee. The green is slightly elevated requires a shot to fly all the way onto it. The background feels far away from civilization and has a nice Hawaiian natural feel to it.
Kona Country Club Hole 8: Kona features a lot of ho-hum par fours where scoring is a real possibility. The 8th is not one of those as it is a strong dogleg right with OB on both sides. It requires a long drive to give a clear path left of the palms to have a good sight line to the green, which is tricky to putt as well.
Kona Country Club Hole 11: The 11th is a fairly good opportunity for a birdie if a long hitter can put the drive in the middle, avoiding the OB right and thick jungle and trees to the left. There are bunkers in play but enough room to work around them to get a shot at the relatively benign putting surface.
Kona Country Club Hole 12: A sort of mirror image of the 3rd, this par three heads parallel to the coast, but it a little shorter and a little flatter. Nonetheless, the views are spectacular and the shot is tough.
Kona Country Club Hole 13: The 13th is a long par 4 that is mentioned foremost because of the placement of the tee box on a lava outcropping hanging over the ocean. While it would take a horrible golf shot to find any of that trouble, it is rugged with the strong smell of the sea and a genuinely great visual. The other danger is the obvious shot left, which is OB. Right is fine as the 14th borders the hole on that side.
Kona Country Club Hole 14: Another fairly straight forward par four, this one does have ocean views to boast about and a few well placed bunkers to enhance the challenge.
Kona Country Club Hole 17: The final par three of the day is the only short one but there is really no place to miss as condos, lava or jungle will catch any truly big mistake.
Kona Country Club Hole 18: The finishing hole would probably be more remembered if they made it a nasty par four, but as it is, this dogleg right is very short and has a massive swale that a long drive can catch, leaving a mid iron or less into the green. However, there is OB left and a steep hill right where the golfer can easily turn this relatively benign finish into a nightmare if they are not careful.
