Scratch golfers will quickly find the Royal Kaanapali Golf Course is Maui’s third toughest from the tips. Local bogey golfers tend to rave about how much they like the Royal Kaanapali Golf Course, and that’s because from its Keo Makamae tees (Kaanapali’s equivalent to the ‘whites’), the course plays to Maui’s median slope of 128. That means half the courses are harder, and the other half are easier, based on the USGA Slope Rating System. The Royal Kaanapali Golf Course ranks as the 5th most challenging course on Maui for ladies who are bogey golfers playing from the red (Pu Koko‘o) tees. The Royal Kaanapali Golf Course features unique runway tees that point in the direction of your line. Roll is prevalent as most tee shots play level or downhill. Topographically, the course is set along a hillside, where it ascends and descends in a rolling, winding hole routing. O.B. comes into play often along the course parameters, and there are some trees framing the holes. Fairways are wide and generous targets, and roughs are easily recovered from. Trade winds are a big factor in the design. The green sizes are large, hold well, and undulate a lot. Hole locations behind bunkers and on tiers add to the challenge. Greenside bunkers can have high lips. Water comes into play at the finish. Royal Kaanapali Golf Course is not an intimidating course, but it has plenty of bite, especially on the finishing holes, such as Nos. 17 and 18. Arnold Palmer once described the 18th has “the toughest finishing hole on Tour”, back in the 1960s when the course had just opened and he had competed in the Canada Cup. The Royal Kaanapali Golf Course is part of a 36-hole resort golf complex that features a shorted sibling known as the Kaanapali Kai Course. It’s primary competitors for visitor play are the Kapalua Plantation Course, and the Kapalua Bay Course.