Kohanaiki Golf Course: Where Championship Design Meets Hawaiian Paradise

A Course Unlike Any Other in the Islands

When world-renowned architect Rees Jones was handed 450 acres of ancient lava flows along the Kona Coast, he saw an opportunity to create something special. The result is the only course bearing his signature in all of Hawaii, a par-72 layout that stretches to 7,329 yards from the tips but never feels punishing.

What sets Kohanaiki apart is its six oceanfront holes. No other course in the state can claim that distinction. These aren’t just holes with ocean views. They play directly along the shoreline, where the sound of waves breaking on lava rock becomes part of your pre-shot routine.

The course winds through more than 200 restored anchialine ponds, those unique brackish water ecosystems found only in Hawaii. Jones and his team didn’t just work around these natural features. They made them central to the design, creating a layout that feels less like a golf course imposed on the land and more like something that’s always belonged there.

Golf That Welcomes Every Level

Walk into most private clubs and you’ll find a course designed to humble you. Kohanaiki takes a different approach. Director of Golf Lehua Wise, a Kauai native and three-time Desert Chapter Women’s Player of the Year, has built a program around one simple idea: golf should be fun.

“We want members to feel like they can play well here,” Wise says. The course offers multiple tee boxes that make it accessible whether you’re a scratch player or picking up the game for the first time. The fairways are generous. The greens are true but not tricked up. And those oceanfront holes? They’re thrilling without being terrifying.

That philosophy extends to the junior program, where PGA-certified instructors teach keiki (children) not just the fundamentals but a genuine love for the game. Watch a group of kids on the practice range here and you’ll see something increasingly rare: young golfers who can’t wait to get back out on the course.

The Golf Hale Experience

Here’s where Kohanaiki does something most clubs don’t even attempt. Scattered along the course are three fully stocked Golf Hale, each one a mini oasis offering everything from mai tais and margaritas to soft-serve ice cream and Polaroid photo walls.

These aren’t your typical halfway houses with stale hot dogs and warm beer. Each station rotates its offerings, featuring Kohanaiki’s own craft brews (more on that in a moment) and fresh snacks that actually taste good. The idea is simple: create moments of joy that have nothing to do with your scorecard.

It’s not uncommon to see a foursome lingering at a Golf Hale, cold drinks in hand, swapping stories about the hole they just played. That’s the point. Golf here isn’t a race. It’s an experience meant to be savored.

Beyond the 18th Green

What happens after your round might be just as memorable as the golf itself. The 67,000-square-foot clubhouse isn’t just large. It’s thoughtfully designed to keep members engaged long after they’ve racked their clubs.

The lower level houses a state-of-the-art microbrewery run by award-winning Master Brewer Steve Balzer. Every tap on the property pours Kohanaiki beer, from three flagship brews to seasonal offerings made with locally sourced ingredients. That IPA you’re enjoying on the 19th hole? It was probably brewed a few hundred yards away.

Dining options range from the casual Beach Restaurant to Kōnane, a 120-seat chophouse and sushi restaurant with ocean views that make you forget you’re at a golf club. The culinary team sources from Kohanaiki’s own two-acre certified organic farm, where produce goes from ground to plate in hours, not days.

A Commitment to the Land

Kohanaiki has earned Audubon International Silver Signature status, a recognition that means something in an era when “sustainability” often feels like marketing speak. The course runs on a solar-powered desalination and reverse osmosis system that distributes one million gallons of water daily.

Those 200-plus anchialine ponds? They’re not just pretty water features. A dedicated team maintains and restores them, bringing back native water birds and wildlife that had disappeared from the area. Jones designed the course to protect these ecosystems, not exploit them.

The Real Luxury

Kohanaiki could have built the most difficult course in Hawaii. They could have created something that only single-digit handicappers would enjoy. Instead, they built a course that welcomes you back, round after round, because it understands something fundamental about golf: the best courses are the ones you can’t wait to play again.

Located just seven minutes from Kona International Airport, Kohanaiki offers members and their guests access to more than just golf. The world-class spa, fitness center, Adventure Team and members’ beach create a complete island experience. But make no mistake—the Rees Jones course is the heart of it all.

In a state filled with spectacular golf, Kohanaiki stands apart. Not because it’s trying to be something it’s not, but because it’s perfected what it set out to be: a place where championship design, Hawaiian hospitality and pure playability come together on every hole.