The Ocean Course at Hokuala

We arrived and hour and a half early for our tee time and were asked to play early after hitting a few shots On the range. The course was in average condition. And I was surprised how many holes are on the glide path for the airport and it’s amazingly loud. No attendants on the course for any drinks or food. The cart we had initially quit working after 14 holes. After the round there is no area to go get a drink of any kind. Not even a vending machine.
For a fee of $421 for 2 with one set of rentals I was amazingly underwhelmed. Will not be going back there or recommending it to any of my golfing friends.

It was our 1st time in Kaua‘i & we love to golf beautiful, PGA courses! We received a warm welcome from the gentleman who took our clubs, the shop attendant & our starter.
The 1st thing I noticed was the voice coaching us on this Jack Nicklaus course was that of Kellie Hines, FEMALE Head Golf Professional.
I'm on disability, so I ride along, play caddy, & take pics. The front nine my Husband, Gaven, ROCKED! He birdied Hole 3 & Parred on 5 other holes. There was 1 instance of on in 2, but we don't talk about the par he got on Hole 4.
Hole 6 was breathtaking! You had to drive over lush jungle & the cart path through said jungle was wild. On the other side I heard familiar honking overhead. There were Canadian Geese flying overhead. No judgement, we'd move here too.
To keep the course in such lush conditions requires rain, so luckily for us we had just rang in our lunch order on our carts & were at the Clubhouse. How cool to see Bubbles on the menu! Yes please!
The back 9 after the rain was tough. We had lost momentum from the rain delay, so it was all about aloha for being in this gorgeous place.
The sights were a sales pitch of why you should buy at Timbers Kaua‘i — Ocean Club & Residences. Gaven lost 6 balls on the back 9. If your ball goes out of bounds it's in the drink, also know as the Pacific Ocean. The rugged drops & view of Nawiliwili Harbor were stunning! There was even a cruise ship at port!
Thank you for an amazing day. Now that we're back to real life, when we get stressed, we say remember Kaua‘i!

Staff very friendly. Course in great condition. Layout to next hole was a little confusing at times. We were a foursome and had a three some behind us so felt pushed at times which made the round less enjoyable. No 19th hole so if you want a beer after the round you’ll have to go somewhere else.

I have played this course many times in the past when it was owned by Marriott. It is now owned by Timbres Resort. The fairways were more brown than green. The front 9 had mowed grass on the fairways and rough. The mowed dead grass was very thick and difficult to play out of. Moving the ball was not always an option as the mowed dead grass covered the entire width of the fairway in some cases. The greens on the front 9 had been recently arrested and sanded so they did not put true. The snack shack attendant was niceness but had difficulty in understanding english. The main restaurant is closed so no after round meal. In the past this use to be a beautiful lush course. Not any more.

Actually played this course twice while I was staying at the Marriott next to the course. Back 9 is beautiful with oceanic views and beautiful signature holes like 16. High risk, high reward shot for an easy birdie. Practice your knock down shots because there’s a lot of wind you face on this course.

This course is so fun! And the people working here are outstanding. I love that they di genuinely want you to enjoy yourself. Course is challenging but open and very playable. Island green and other features make for a fun round and require good strategy. Beautiful surroundings. Pace of play perfect - you can relax and finish in 4.5 hours easily (faster if pushed). We loved the starter!

My only complaint is that the beverage cart didn’t come by until #17.

As noted, the course has four beautiful holes along the water, also several along the very active and loud runway of Lihue Airport. My issue is not w/ the course but the staff. I made the mistake of suggesting the pace of play was slow......the Pro, Kelly, just about took my head off. Never asked me "why I thought that" or "I'm sorry you feel that way", just everything is just fine/perfect, I'm wrong. The starter seems to think he's a comedian, calls everyone by "boss" vs your name, although he has your name on the tee sheet. I'd suggest Poipu Bay or Princeville, just as nice or nicer and the staff is polite and will treat you w/ respect. I won't be back.

If you love planes very low overhead and tee boxes vibrating. This is the best place for you! On hold 11 you are 50 yards off the runway. Beautiful course but miserable playing especially for the price,

The Ocean Course at Hokuala is a little sleepy at the beginning.

Three par 5s in the first six holes offer an excellent chance to get a couple shots under par early, provided you navigate the difficult par-4 third hole.

This course really kicks into gear, however, after the turn - hence the course’s namesake. The 13th hole, adjacent to Lihue Airport’s runway, provides an interesting distraction when a plane is descending to land. The signature 14th is a beast of a hole at 193 yards from the blue tees, despite a bit of a wind assist. The 15th and 16th offer exhilarating risk/reward tee shots and downhill/downwind wedges on approach. Maybe a cruise ship will be exiting the bay as you play the 16th, providing quite the gallery.

The greens are very grainy and the bunkers are very fluffy. Areas around the green are closely mown, and grainy as well, so getting up and down for pars when missing the green is a challenge.

For the most part, there is plenty of width off the tee and the wind is not as much of a factor as at Poipu Bay.

In summary, the back nine is worth the greens fee alone. Get your camera ready.

I would have bought more soft drinks but, the prices are too high

The course should be renamed the "Runway Course" as it is adjacent to Kauai's main airport. Tour helicopters flew over the course constantly. The back nine had a number of holes where good shots were rewarded with bad lies or the ball going over a cliff unseen from the fairway. Construction on the back nine added to the noise.

Tough course for hackers, but one you have to play for the beautiful views. Almost got rained out, but glad we kept going. Ending holes are breathtaking. Don't miss this one.

Friendliness left a little to be desired and the airplane traffic is a little distracting, but this is a marvelous layout! Wide open fairways, with challenges around the green. A couple of world class par 3s!

Course was awesome and fun. Starter Ricky and Greens keeper Eric were friendly and added to a great experience

Very nice course with some breath taking views. Course was in very good condition. Pace of play was superb. Very nice pro shop and the staff is TOP NOTCH. Trust me folks, you won't be disappointed playing this track.

This is a top-notch resort course that really stands out on the water-side holes on the back-9. The front is decent with some good holes but nothing really stands out. The back-9 is much more interesting and striking. Kauai is gorgeous and several holes play along the water across from the backdrop of the hills and mountains. There is also a hole that is closer than I ever thought I would be to an airport runway (waving to the passengers as they landed while I was on the tee box was fun!). This used to be called the Lagoons Course. The course has a good number of forced carries and risk-reward features. The course is not walkable due to some steep elevations from greens to tees.

Absolutely amazing course! The course went through renovations and recently opened up the front nine so now you can play all 18 holes. Really like the layout of the course. The course has a good mix of short and long holes. The short holes will tempt you to go for it even though you know the better choice is to hit an iron off the tee. On the longer holes you can let loose without fear. Bunkers are well placed to give you something to think about on approach shots but doesn't destroy your scorecard. Be prepared for up to a two club wind on the back nine but that's typical for Hawaiian courses along the coast.

The course is in great shape with the only knock being the greens on the front nine are very young so the will not hold your approach and will roll slow ( we were told this when we started our round). In another 6 months they should play great.

The price of the round is up there but found a decent deal on TeeOff to bring the cost down a bit. You will still be paying over $100 for this quality of a course and it's worth it.

Formerly Kaua'i Lagoons, Timbers has taken over the property from Marriott. Only the back nine is open.
Ocean and bay views are fantastic! Best on the island. The greens are Tif Eagle and slow. Layout fun. "Signature" hole is 16, but I think it is silly. Best hole is par 3 15th hole.

The back nine gets all the attention, and it should. There's a stretch of five holes that plays right on the ocean, and they are all they are cracked up to be. But the rest of this Nicklaus Signature Course isn't too shabby either. In fact, when the wind is up, the front nine, which is a little bit inland, might be more enjoyable since it's shielded somewhat from the elements. Either way, it's a terrific experience and should only get better as the new owners invest in a front nine renovation.