Kaanapali Kai Golf Course is Maui’s 2nd easiest course for scratch golfers playing from the tips. Bogey golfers tend to struggle more than their female counterparts and scratch competitors because the Kaanapali Kai Golf Course is actually tighter and is thus ranked by the USGA as the 4th toughest on Maui from the Sand (white) tees. Lady golfers who play the red (Hibiscus) tees will love the Kaanapali Kai Golf Course, as it is Maui’s easiest. Topography is the same as the Royal: hillside and rolling. Elevation can make fairway and green targets seem smaller, and winds as well as contours befuddle. Roughs are made for recovery. Fairway bunkers are mostly visual hole framers. Lies in the fairways are usually even, and greens are medium-to-large. They hold well, and putting is much friendlier here than on the Royal Course. Undulations are there, especially on the newly revamped, Robin-Nelson-re-designed 3rd, but less extreme. Water comes into play heading home, with two short carries on 16 & 18. Most find the Kai to be an enjoyable venue, although it was a controversial expansion from the original nine hole executive course that Arthur Jack Snyder had created. Snyder, who also designed the Wailea Blue and Orange (now Gold & Emerald redesigns by Robert Trent Jones II), always felt the nine-hole original was a far-better venue, but millions of golfers since then have found it to be a delight to play.