The Volcano Golf Course, the island’s first and oldest golf course, welcomed back golfers Thursday after being closed for two years.
“The Volcano Golf Course has served the Hawaii Island community for over 100 years,” said General Manager Dawn Crozier of Indigo Sports, the course’s management company. “It was great to see golfers again enjoying the unique golf experience that this course has to offer.”
The course closed in spring 2020 after a legal dispute with the course’s previous management company and the land lessor, Kamehameha Schools, in which the management company’s president claimed it could not operate under the state’s pandemic restrictions and vowed to destroy the course, rather than return it to Kamehameha Schools.
After a private event and blessing on Thursday, about 20 people took to the course on the first day of opening.
With Mauna Loa in clear view, Gunnar Botz played a round of golf with three friends from lower Puna on Friday morning.
“We were so excited to be able to come back up here and play together,” Botz said. “This course is beautiful, fun to play, and much cooler than the Hilo course.”
Volcano provides a challenging, par 72 course that serves many communities between Hilo and Kona.
“I think most people were going to Hilo Muni and course in Kona when we were closed,” Crozier said. “Everyone was so ready to come back. Golf clubs that have stopped playing together are planning on coming back. It’s all really exciting.”
The golf course clubhouse is still closed after a fire damaged the building in 2019. However, Crozier said that landowner Kamehameha Schools is exploring options to rebuild the clubhouse.
“We are really interested in serving the community, and we hope as time goes on and more people come back, we will be able to have community events out here,” Crozier said. “We have a lot of plans in the works.”
The Volcano Golf Course is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Kamaaina rates for a walking round of golf are $36 on weekdays and $40 on weekends.
Carts are currently unavailable, but clubs and push-carts are available for rent. Golf course staff will serve golfers from a temporary mobile office and grab-n-go snack-and-drink stand while the clubhouse is closed.
Payment for golf and snacks will be by credit card only, and the course recommends booking tee times in advance online at www.volcanogc.com.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com
