After a visit to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on Monday (which was very cool), we were back golfing on Tuesday. We booked a tee time at Hapuna Golf Course for our second round on the Big Island. Hapuna is Mauna Kea’s sister course and also part of the Mauna Kea Resort.

The green fee at Hapuna was $165, which is quite the drop from the $250 we paid at Mauna Kea. As you’d probably expect given the difference in price, Hapuna is a step below Mauna Kea in a number of ways. Don’t get me wrong though, I still greatly enjoyed my round here.

Hapuna isn’t located right on the ocean like Mauna Kea, but it still has many beautiful views of the ocean and Hawaii’s dramatic coastline. Most of the holes are up in the hills, east of main road that runs through the area. The scenery at Hapuna is incredible and I think that is the course’s best quality.

Besides the scenery, Hapuna also has a number of other things to like. The course is an Arnold Palmer Signature design and I’m always a fan of his courses. I’m not sure how I’d classify the layout, but many holes have a desert links look. There aren’t many trees in play so that means someone can play whatever shot they want to get the ball in the fairway. The fairways and greens are large. For the most part, the playability is good.

We played the blue tees which are 73.0/131/6503. I’d say the toughest parts about playing here are trying to control the ball flight from the elevated tees and trying to putt on the greens. The front nine plays up into the hills, with the 8th hole being highest point on the course. Then the course has many downhill holes to the clubhouse. These downhill holes have elevated tee shots and with the wind off the ocean, it was tough to keep tee shots online. The greens are cut into hillsides and putts break a lot.

I’m not sure there is a signature hole at Hapuna, but the shorter par-3’s were fun to play. The 5th and 7th holes are about 140 yards and offer a chance to get a short iron close. The 13th and the 16th are the par-3’s on the back nine and they both play about a club downhill. The 16th has a good view of the ocean and nice landscaping surrounds the green. The par-5’s are reachable after a good tee shot.

The conditions were solid and everything was playable. Hapuna didn’t have the same lush look found at Mauna Kea, but it was also about $100 cheaper. The tees and fairways had a drier, yellowish look in spots. The ball sat up just fine. The greens were smooth and fast.

Overall, Hapuna is another great design from Arnold Palmer. My only complaint is that the out and in routing can make many holes play very similar. Hapuna lacks some of the thrill found at Mauna Kea, but I thought Hapuna offered a more fun and relaxing round. I would highly recommend a round here if looking for a public course on the Big Island.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):