The golf course overlooking Pearl Harbor that generations of Oʻahu residents knew as Pearl Country Club has emerged from a major renovation with a new name, a farm-to-table restaurant, and a lineup of live music nights aimed squarely at people who have never picked up a club. Pearl at Kalauao now offers a public 18-hole championship course alongside dining and event spaces designed to pull in guests who just want dinner, drinks or a place to gather.
According to KHON2, the renovations were built to make Pearl at Kalauao a destination for people who may not play golf at all, with the property now providing golf, dining and special-occasion experiences under one roof. The course accommodates golfers of different skill levels, and the completed overhaul included updated greens and upgraded clubhouse facilities, per the outlet's report.
A Full-Service Restaurant With Local Flavor
The property's full-service restaurant serves lunch, dinner and drinks, featuring what KHON2 describes as local favorites and elevated island-inspired dishes. The station's report notes the restaurant hosts wine, whiskey and bourbon dinners along with holiday dining experiences and community gatherings, and it's open to everyone, not just golfers.
Live music runs Thursdays and Fridays from 6 to 7:30 p.m., according to the same account, and the restaurant has added custom canned cocktails to its drink menu. The farm-to-table sourcing behind the kitchen draws from nearby growers and producers, with Aloha State Daily reporting that the venue pulls watercress from neighboring Sumida Farm along with products from Honolulu Meat Company, Koʻolau-based Ko Hana Rum, and Maui Brewing Company. Sumida Farm supplies roughly 70 percent of Hawaiʻi's watercress from about 10 acres near Pearlridge Center, according to Aloha State Daily.
From Corporate Lease Back To Kamehameha Schools
The transformation traces back to 2020, when ownership of the golf course property returned to Kamehameha Schools after decades under a long-term corporate land lease, a shift that established direct local trust management and enabled the multimillion-dollar overhaul, according to Golf Inc. Magazine. Kamehameha Schools is Hawaiʻi's largest private landowner and educational trust. The facility shut down on Jan. 1, 2024, for a comprehensive redesign led by architecture firm Golfplan, holding a soft reopening on Nov. 29, 2024, before fully reopening on Feb. 1, 2025, as reported by Club + Resort Business.
During construction crews found that all 18 green complexes had shrunk by 35% to 50% over decades of wear; those greens were expanded back to their original dimensions and resurfaced with salt-tolerant Platinum TE Paspalum turf, per Golf Inc. Magazine's account of the project. The publication went on to select Pearl at Kalauao as a national Renovation of the Year 2025 recipient, citing a new irrigation system that significantly cut water use alongside the adoption of 100% electric autonomous maintenance equipment.
Honoring the Ahupuaʻa of Kalauao
The rebrand from Pearl Country Club to Pearl at Kalauao was designed to honor the property's native ahupuaʻa, according to Club + Resort Business, with a new petroglyph-style logo representing pearls (momi), Pearl Harbor (Puʻuloa), land (ʻāina), sun (lā), and the local spring (Kahuewai). An ahupuaʻa is a traditional Hawaiian land division running from mountain to ocean.
That history runs deep. Images of Old Hawaiʻi notes that the ahupuaʻa of Kalauao was historically famous for Kahuewai, or Kahuawai, a freshwater spring and pool along the coastal trail connecting Honolulu to Waiʻanae that was reserved exclusively for Hawaiian aliʻi, or chiefs. Freshwater springs in the area historically nourished extensive taro and watercress farming, tying today's Sumida Farm watercress sourcing to the same land's older agricultural roots.
New Amenities Beyond the Fairway
Short-game players got their own dedicated space during the renovation: a new three-hole pitch-and-putt practice area named Nā Momi ʻEkolu was added alongside expanded chipping greens, a multiuse turf space, and GPS-equipped electric golf carts, according to the Hawaii Golf Guide. KHON2 adds that Pearl at Kalauao has since introduced mobile food and drink ordering on the course itself, a Fit Club walking program, and a pro shop offering locally inspired apparel and merchandise, with the property promoting Twilight Tuesdays and a matinee golf special. The course has also refreshed its event spaces and partnered with Hawaiʻi companies and designers on the overall project, per the outlet's report.
Hosting Bigger Tournaments
The renovated course has already drawn national and collegiate competition to ʻAiea. In October 2025, Pearl at Kalauao hosted the Imperial Hawaii Junior Classic, marking the first time an American Junior Golf Association tournament was held anywhere in Hawaiʻi, according to a report from KHON2 Sports. The AJGA is the premier governing body for competitive junior golf in the country.
In March 2026, the course hosted the 40th Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational women's college golf tournament, according to Hawaii Athletics, after access restrictions at Kāneʻohe Klipper Golf Course forced the historic event off-base. The tournament is the longest-running women's golf event in University of Hawaiʻi program history. More details on Pearl at Kalauao's course, dining and event offerings are available at pearlatkalauao.com.
