mratzman

Overall this is one of my favorite courses. The staff is friendly, the views are magnificent, and the layout is challenging but fair and the greens are in excellent condition. But all four of us were disappointed in the condition of the bunkers. Most had only shallow sand and some are actually hard pan. For what this course charges for greens fees, we expected better. With that said you will still enjoy your round at Sedona Golf Resort and we all agreed we would recommend this course.

While this is a beautiful course location and I enjoyed our round there is definitely room for improvement.
While the people in the office were very friendly, the starter was busy giving golf tips to a woman one the driving range and was clueless as to what was happeningon the course. For example, he held us up because he said a foursome had just gone out and walked away. After waiting for another 5 minutes I walked over to where he was talking with the women and asked if we could go to the 1st tee. He said OK, but when we got there we found there was another couple on the tee that we were supposed to be paired with. We were both surprised since the starter had not bothered to inform either couple that we were a foursome.
All four players in our group agreed that the course conditions have deteriorated. Examples here include only about 1/4 inch of sand and liner showing in many bunkers; greens appeared scored and very rough; and some fairways were burned out in spots.
There was no Marshall and pace of play was a little slow on the front nine, but picked up on the back where some players ahead of us dropped out after playing 9. There was also no refreshment cart, but we were provided bottles of water and ice with the golf cart. There is no GPS on the carts so bring your own if you use one.
All in all, we met some great people to play with and had a fun round, but all of us were a little disappointed that the course is not what it once was.

This course is in a beautiful red rock area and has wonderful views. The greens are fast, but fair and in excellent condition. The fairways are on good condition, but overwatered and soggy in some areas. The staff is friendly, especially the starter, who gave us much valuable course information.
We understand that keeping a course and facilities in good condition is expensive, but the biggest downside to playing this course is the $150 per person greens fee, which is considerably higher than many courses within an hours drive.
These issues aside, this course is still our favorite in the Sedona area, we just hope we don't get priced out.

We arrived an hour early as we had allowed extra time in the event of traffic issues from Sedona. The staff was very accommodating and arranged for us to go off about a half hour before our original tee time. Two of our 4-some have mobility issues so we requested permission to drive the carts closer to the green than normal, and flags so the Marshall and other players would know we had permission to do so. We requested this both to assist our players and to speed up play for our group.
We were told by the starter that they did not have flags, but they would turn off the alarm on the cart GPS so we could approach up to 30 feet from the green.
However, the VERY LOUD alarm not only went off, but at a distance much further than 30 feet from the green.
As a result, our two handicapped players had difficulty getting to the elevated greens and we all felt rushed in order to maintain an ontime pace of play. One of our handicapped players frequently had to pick up her ball as she felt she either could not climb to the raised green, or more frequently, could not get to the green, putt, and back to the to the cart in a timely manner.
All in all, although the course is in good condition and the fairways are relatively flat, I would not recommend this course for the mobility handicapped.

Both the fairways and greens are in excellent condition. The greens are fast, but true. This course is more forgiving than most desert courses in that while there is some elevation change, the fairways don't slope off to the sides as steeply as many hilly desert courses. Even more importantly, most holes have significant ruff between the fairways and the desert foliage that allows a chance to play slightly errant shots that might roll into the brush on most desert courses.
We also appreciated that both the player assistant and snack cart were around multiple times on both the front and back nine. It is rare these days to find a course that actually "Marshalls" the pace of play. Although this course is listed as semi-private, we felt very welcome. The course staff were very friendly and gave us some good tips on how to best play several of the holes.
All in all it was a great experience and we are looking forward to playing this course again next week.

After we checked in we were advised by the starter that the front 9 would be cart path only. We should have been advised of this much earlier by text or email, or by GolfPass.
This meant we had to march back and forth across a very hilly course in 90+ degree heat. And even so managed to finish the front 9 in less than 2.5 hours, right behind the group in front of us.
We then started the back 9 looking forward to a better pace of play with less huffing and puffing. But the cart GPS started covering the screen on every hole blocking the course information we needed with a message saying we were behind pace and the course marshall may ask us to skip a hole. Of course there was no place for us to go since we were right up on the group ahead of us, and when the marshal did drive by he just gave us a friendly wave. But still on every hole the same irritating message popped up on the screen covering the info we needed to make our shot. It was easy to delete, but time after time this message came up reminding us of what a unnecessarily difficult time we had on the front 9. If the course management is going to create conditions affecting the pace of play, they should adjust the time on their pace of play clock or turn it off.
We finished the back 9 in 2 hours 15 minutes, even with waiting on the group in front of us on multiple holes.
All in all, this was not the enjoyable experience it should have been and definitely was not worth the money.

This course is very hilly and can be narrow in spots. Thick vegetation immediately off the fairway, and lots of up or down hill lies mean you should be prepared to lose more than a few balls.
The greens are in excellent condition, but they too have lots of slope and undulations. Extra judgement is required in club selection, as there are many holes with steep uphill or downhill fairways.
Currently there is no Clubhouse other than a trailer, as the old one has been torn down, and the new one is yet to be built.
Also check the weather conditions, as this course is on the mountain above Kailua-Kona, so gets more rain than those nearer the shore. This has pros and cons in that it it is beautiful (like golfing in Jurassic Park), but heavy rains can force you off the course when only showers are predictedfor the beaches. Being at higher elevation, it is often 10-15 degrees cooler than down by the beaches, so bring warmer clothes along with your rain gear.
All in all, this course is one of the least expensive on the Big Island and is a beautiful and challenging course for intermediate and above players, but I don't recommend for new players or those who have a lot of difficulty controlling shots from uneven lies.

This was the second and probably the last time we play this course. We left the course after 5 hours and only 15 holes played. A 5 1/2 hour round is ridiculous, even for a resort course. The carts have GPS so the pace of play could be easily monitored, but this was obviously not a priority on this day. On the positive side, the staff we met at the clubhouse and starter shack very helpful and friendly.

The clubhouse facilities are excellent and one of Maui's better restaurants, Roy's, is located on site. The carts are battery operated, quiet, and are equipped with an accurate and easy to read GPS system.

The greens had recently been sanded, and are in good condition, but the fairways are heavily played and the grass is thin in areas. The sand in the traps is not the quality or quantity you would expect on a course that wants to charge visitors nearly $200 per round.

All in all, this course is overpriced for what it offers and there are better golf experiences for the dollar on Maui.

Not as well maintained as some of the resort courses, but better than some of the lower priced courses on Maui. The traps are in poor condition in that the "sand" is shallow and contains a LOT of gravel......not what I expected on a mid-to-high price range course on the the island. Staff is super friendly and helpful. Like many course supplied cart GPS systems there are too many annoying messages...."you are nearing a restricted area" ( I can read the signs), or "Please return to the cart path" when you are on the cart path for example. However, GPS did seem very accurate to the pin which is a plus. Course is more difficult than some in the area in that there is little chance to play (or even find) a ball hit off the fairway and there are few level lies. All in all, it is a fun course to play and the beauty around you helps you get past the minor deficiencies of the course. We are hopeful that the "South Course" will be reopened soon as it was always our favorite Makena course in the past.