Mauna Kea Resort Golf Club

Mauna Kea Golf Course opened in 1964 as Laurance Rockefeller's original centerpiece for the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. on what was then a rugged black lava field -- making it the oldest golf course on the Kona-Kohala Coast and one of the oldest resort courses in the state. The course has been repeatedly renovated since, most recently under Robert Trent Jones Jr., honoring his father's original vision with elevated, undulating greens set against seaside cliffs. The resort's second course, Hapuna (Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay, 1992), plays as a links-style layout with dramatic elevation change from sea level to 750 feet.

The pre-brief research pass could not resolve whether Mauna Kea's current residential product is meaningfully golf-integrated or mostly hotel/timeshare-driven. Full research resolves this in favor of genuine, though non-mandatory, residential integration: Mauna Kea Resort offers an exclusive Club Membership to homeowners across the resort's 11 named subdivisions, structured in two tiers -- Platinum and Social -- providing golf privileges at both courses plus beach, pool, tennis, and fitness access. Membership is also offered to local Kama'aina residents, not exclusively to resort property owners, and vacation-home guests can add a daily-fee Club privilege rather than requiring standing membership.

Residential subdivisions at Mauna Kea include Kauna'oa, Wai'ula'ula in the Uplands, The Villas at Mauna Kea, and newer Hapuna-area residences at the Westin Hapuna. The 2026 median sale price across the resort runs near $6.2M, spanning roughly $1.8M resort villas up to $15M-$42M oceanfront and Hapuna Bay bluff homes.