Kauai Golf: The People’s Pebble Beach
The problem with playing golf on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is the waterfalls.
As the western-most public island in the Hawaiian chain, Kauai’s lush landscape, beautiful beaches and relatively pristine mountainsides are all in sight wherever a visitor may go.
So it is not unusual to be playing a golf course in the shadow of a nearby mountain and having gorgeous waterfalls cascading down the tropical, green slopes. Some waterfalls pop up just when it rains up high; some are always there.
As local hazards go, there are worse.
Because Kauai is a little more out of the way than its neighbors Maui, Oahu or the island of Hawaii, it is blessed with a sense that it is your little secret. Even among some of the denser resort developments, it is very easy to feel secluded, secure, and to still have easy access to fantastic golf.
But it packs a lot of good golf in a very small area – just on the eastern side of the island. Here are some courses worth your time:
Poipu Bay Golf Course
On the southeast tip of Kauai, about a 15-mile drive south of the airport, is Poipu Bay – the resort coast of the island and home to several hotels, condominium communities, excellent beaches and golf.
Poipu Bay Golf Club hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for 12 years in the 90s and early 2000s, and remains a challenging, gorgeous course in top condition. Tiger Woods won seven of the eight Grand Slam’s he played in here.
The ocean views here define many of the holes and there are on-course ponds that play a larger role here than at many other island courses. The wide fairways and excellent conditions make this a good course to try to go low. It is 6,612 yards from the blue tees, but stretches to more than 7,100 yards from the back.
No. 9, the No. 1 handicap hole on the course, is a long par 4 to an elevate green and bunkers which bracket the typical landing zone.
The home stretch of No. 15, 16 and 17 run along the coastline with hikers common on the shoreline path which at times comes onto the course.
The finishing par-5 requires focus; players hit to a narrow green protected by water on the left and sand right and back.
Princeville Makai Golf Club
On Kauai’s northern shore, just around the corner from Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg’s 2,000-acre ocean-front compound, sits Makai Golf Club and its companion hotel, the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay.
This is waterfall central.
Across Hanalei Bay to the west, a string of hills and low mountains dip toward the ocean. High up waterfalls crash down at all times. But after heavy rains five or more new ones will sprout from the mountainside and stream all day. It is gorgeous.
Princeville Makai Golf Club ($270 to $300 a round in summer; more during the holiday season) is a stunning round of golf. Resort-quality (perfect grass, wide fairways, some bunkers that can give you real trouble) the course has several coastal holes where on windy days the sea foam rises 50 feet up the bluffs onto the tee boxes.
The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones II and he made use of some wonderful terrain. The front nine starts off with a standard, welcoming, kicking the rust off first two holes. Then No. 3, a 150-yard par 3, takes you into bowl in the land that creates an arena, with cliffside homes on both sides, Hanalei Bay in the back, and glory awaiting.
The next par 3, No. 7, has a tee box so beautiful they do yoga classes on it at dawn. The hole itself is a serious 213 yards over a ravine with the foamy Pacific below awaiting anything but a crisp tee shot.
The back nine makes a little more use of the inland neighborhood, but even here players will get another seaside tee shot or two. The final two holes – the par 4 17 and par 5 18 – are played around and over a series of churlish and insubordinate ponds that can absolutely ruin a good score.
The staff is very encouraging, and they offer sunset cart tours of the grounds with talks full of local lore and fascinating history, some of which is even true. The grounds here make for great stories – golf or otherwise.
