Geoff,
I have played both, but have played Manele more even though we have only stayed at the Lodge. Koele is not much good in my opinion. The course is somewhat bipolar, with half of the course winding through the mountains and substantially elevated above the other half, which is manufuctured, boring, and over relatively flat and uninteresting land. Nothing memorable as far as architecture goes on the flat nine. Not much more on the mountain side. I actually prefer Robinson's 18 hole putting course (at the Lodge) to the Koele course. Sure the putting course has plenty of phony features, but they dont seem nearly as out of place as they do on the real course.
IMO, Manele is much better. The course is tiered into the side of a steep slope which ultimately falls into the ocean. Consequently, the views are fantastic but many of the tee shots have a very similar feel. The greens arent all that interesting but the Nicklaus people did include a number of center line bunkers in both the driving zones and at the green. There is even a quasi-horseshoe green around a bunker on a par 3 (no. 16, I think) Sort of an odd hole though because the green lacks slope so if you are on the wrong side you have no hope of putting around the bunker. I guess the bottom line is that they were trying to do some interesting strategic things, sometimes with success, sometimes without. It all would have worked better if the green contours had been better incorporated into the strategy.
The routing is strange with odd criss-crosses and double backs and it is not a walking course. but neither is Koele-- not even close.
The two ocean holes are beautiful, with spectacular carries on 12 (217 yd par three) and 17 (a long par 4.) No. 17 is a fun hole and beautiful, but last time I played it they were building a house behind the green, ruining the illusion that one could end up in the ocean if one hit the ball long. No. 2 is one of the few holes where you cant really see the ocean, but it is one of the better holes on the course.
Last time I was there I didnt play either course, but instead spent some time hitting balls on the beautiful range, and ferried over to play Plantation once. That being said, I did enjoy the course the first handful of times I played it, and wouldnt feel bad about recommending it to anyone who didnt mind sitting in a cart.
Depending upon your friend's sense of adventure, he should check out the Cavenaugh Course, especially if he is staying at the Lodge. The Cavenaugh was the old Dole course built for visiting execs. and is now almost exclusively the locals course. IMO the routing is much better than than the routing on both nines on the adjacent Koele course, and there are some interesting features, like severely falling away greens, a par 3 which plays straight up (over a moto-cross jump), and a long, uphill hump-backed fairway. Last time I was there they were try to rebuild some greens and add some bunkers so I wouldnt be surprised if it now isnt nearly as interesting as it was.
Warning. Last time I was there the conditions on the Cavenaugh were truly horrible. But still it was fun to walk over from the Lodge with a partial bag. Don't forget to leave 5 dollars in the drop box.