科艾雷体验高尔夫球场

You might wonder why someone thought of putting a golf course high in the mountains with hardly any ocean views--until you play here! It couldn't be any more different from the seaside Challenge at Manele Bay course a few miles away, but good golfers will love both! Huge elevation changes put you in a different climate zone, with forest, deer, wild turkeys, and more....including one elevated tee with a purely amazing view (17th hole). Coffee and free pastries for early tee times. If you are staying at either 4 Seasons hotels, paying for play provides unlimited golf in the same day. This course has never been crowded when we have been there. It really is an "Experience!" The golf shop is a 2-minute walk from The Lodge at Koele (check for hotel specials!) or a shuttle will take you there.

The Experience at Koele is a Greg Norman Design and the polar opposite of its sister course, The Challenge at Manele. This is a mountain style golf course that has been transposed into the tropics. Because of the high elevation it is 10 degrees cooler in the mountains with dew in the morning. In fact it is cool enough that I needed a jacket for the first couple of hole minutes. Because of this they have bent grass greens which are unheard of in the tropics. The sea-shore paspalum tee blocks were in great shape however some of their Bermuda fairways were rough around the edges.

Played The Experience at Koele on 1st March 2013.Flew from Oahu that morning to play there and The Challenge at Manele.I was treated like I owned the place. The staff were fantastic in accommodating me from the minute I arrived. Complimentary coffee & pastries. Excellent practice facilities. The course, what a layout!I understand in recent years, not as much effort in maintaining the course has allowed it to suffer a little. However, i think with the new owner of the island now putting the effort into getting the course as good as it can be, it won't be long before it is again in pristine condition. They are in the process of rehabilitating the cascading waterfalls and small water hazards around the course. Yes, it could be greener but it is a course carved out of valleys and mountains on a windswept island. This style of golf is not for everyone, but is none-the-less a great test of your skills.With 25-30mph winds, playing off a handicap of 4 from the Tournament tees I shot 70 off the stick. So a score can be made if you think your way around the course. The front-nine cascades through the valley with the Par 3 7th a great hole at 209 yards with a lake bordering the back & right of the green. The Par 4 8th requires a precise tee shot to a comfortable lay-up position, for a short, precise approach to an island green. A hole that can be easily birdied/bogied. The par 5 9th is reachable with a good drive, but requires full commitment on the approach to carry the hazard that edges the left of the fairway & green. A climb up the hill to the back nine exposes you to the tradewinds for a test of ball control and accuracy with a couple of great holes to negotiate. The pick in my opinion, the Par 5 12th with a long carry over a ravine. Needing to play down the left side is difficult with the wind pushing hard from the right. If you can stay left the green is reachable with the wind then behind you on the approach. The par 3 13th is straight into the wind and can play 2-3 clubs longer than the yardage suggests. The 17th is the signature hole and for good reason. A huge drop to the fairway makes the landing area seem quite narrow. But it's an illusion, a typical Greg Norman design trait. Tee it up, smash it at the left hand side jungle, and as the ball climbs out of the chute of trees the wind will start to push it right. It will settle in the middle of the fairway and leave a short iron in. Hitting this fairway will make your day. A downhill Par 3 finishes the round, but be warned, it's all carry to the green with a large dam in front of the green. This is a course with it's own unique style. Beautiful but strategically placed waterfalls and creeks speckle the front, with wind & elevation changes a feature of the back. I loved it.

I thought this course was in nice shape, very picturesque. The only negative was that it was cold and windy when we played in the morning! It warmed up eventually but I was wishing I had pants on for the first 2 hours. We were able to start early and were not paired up with anyone which was nice. We didn't see any other golfers for several holes. We were able to play pretty quickly, we never had to wait on anyone. I really enjoyed our round at this course, very relaxing and quite beautiful.

Played the Experience at 8:30am after taking the 6:30 ferry from Lahaina. Matched with two guys who knew how to play, hit the ball a mile, and were impressive to watch all morning. Finished the round in 3.5hrs - always a pleasure to encounter solid pace of play. Although the sun was shining at the ferry landing, it was overcast when we made it up to the course - at about 2000 feet up. Finished the first 5-6 holes under cloudy skies, then the clouds came down to earth. We played in the clouds for the rest of morning - which made for a hugely awesome Experience for me. Sometimes we could make out the hole ahead from the tee, sometimes we drove ahead to get an idea of what was coming. On several tee shots, we could track the ball just 20-30 yards before it disappeared into the clouds. Although these are not the kind of conditions I would enjoy/choose as a regular thing, they added some unique challenges to an excellent course.Course was in terrific shape from the tees through the greens. Course staff were friendly, attentive and gracious - like they appreciated me being there. Except for a couple of adjoining fairways on the back nine, most holes feel carved out of the wilderness. There is a four par with a true island green, a lot of natural water (ponds and creeks) in play considering the elevation of the course, and several holes with dramatic elevation changes. Water features on the 17th and 18th were under repair - and dry. I really enjoyed this course. It has it's own feel, style and play, but clearly belongs in the same grouping as the three top 100 courses on Maui and Lana'i - The Challenge, Kapalua Plantation and Wailea Gold.