KAPALUA PLANTATION COURSE
Designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore

HIGHLIGHTS BY DA GAME SHOW HOST DAVE WARD

What strikes you about this course is its length, elevation changes, width of the fairways, size of the greens and the views! What will test your skills are the wind, slope of
the greens and ability to hit every club in your bag. A great challenge and a true test of golf. You can tame this beast on a calm day but when the elements are up, even the pros go nuts!

OVERVIEW

Scratch golfers playing from the tips enjoy Maui’s longest venue. The USGA Course Rating is Maui’s 2nd highest. Bogey golfers playing from the regular ‘whites’ will find this to be on a par with the Royal course in terms of what they can expect to shoot. Men who play the forward tees (ladies too) will find it is Maui’s toughest course. Effective playing length is far shorter than the measured yardage. Roll is big, as are the contours of the holes, which funnel tee shots into slots that help add length. A good example is the 17th hole, a 508-yard par 4 that many will play a 3-metal off the tee, and 7-iron into the green. Elevation and winds also help (for the most part), but when they turn into Konas, the course is five shots or more harder.
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TEE-TO-GREEN

The fairways are extremely wide on most holes, making for easy targets. Roughs are short. No major doglegs and lie/stance is usually level (when you are where you belong). Topography is sweeping, rolling hills that Sports Illustrated once described as “golf on the edge of the world.” The greens are big targets and hole positions can add strokes quickly because they can make it as easy to leave the golfer above the hole or short. Putting is often across long expanses, but greens roll true, and hold well. Fairway bunkers are massive and reminiscent of a Scottish links. Fear factor is high for most first-timers.
DIFFICULTY
HAZARDS AND ROUGHS
GREEN SIZES

EDITOR’S NOTES

This is one of those golf courses that, for a resident here on Maui, is so praiseworthy that finding the right words to say what is felt is difficult. I have been all over the world and played on a good many golf courses. From Baltusrol’s Upper and Lower, to St. Andrews’ Old Course… the Plantation Course at Kapalua impresses my in a lot of the same ways. I’ve got to hand it to the team of Mark Rolfing and Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore… their work on this course is something that needs reminding… these guys are that good! Coming across the pond, whether from Asia or the mainland, is a haul, so to be on Maui and to skip this venue is akin to taking a pass on drinking water after two days of trekking across the Sahara! You just don’t do it! So… in a nutshell: this is one of those $300 expenses you should dig into your pocket and ante up for…. Nuff said!
FOR THE MEEK
ROOM FOR ERROR
WOW FACTOR

FACILITIES AND AMENITIES

Much like the Bay Course, the driving range is abbreviated and somewhat compressed, and it’s a five-minute cart ride away from the main facility, but it’s private and quiet.  The clubhouse features a slick open-air restaurant and bar of the same name: the Plantation House. It, and the pro shop, face the ocean at the back of the building, on either side of a portico overlooking the first hole and the ocean beyond. You see it as you walk down  the dramatic entryway and main hall. Downstairs you’ll find the locker rooms with past Kapalua event Tour player champions’ names engraved in brass everywhere…. This place is a Hall of Champions and Mark Rolfing is responsible for it all. Amazing. The glistening Hyundai Tournament of Champions trophy is encased in plexiglass on a wood platform in the main clubhouse crosswalk where the views about and the huge practice putting green awaits. There is a pro shop with the pineapple-inside-the-butterfly-logo to be had.
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CONCLUSIONS

The Plantation Course’s size and scale set it apart from all other venues, and its storied history as a PGA Tour host since opening 24 years ago eclipses much of everything Hawaii has to offer, but if only to play it once. Many golfers are unsuited for this golf course on a regular basis. It is too long, there are some impossible uphill shots, elevation changes can be so extreme it is almost unsafe for some. I can’t see a lot of fat older people or seniors having much fun here, nor can it be fully appreciated by a four-year-old, or a beginning honeymooner. That said, I do think the views, serenity, and experience are
worthy of a ‘ride in the park’ but only you can decide if the $300 per person tariff is fair. The golf and the views are unlike anything else on Maui. The way in which the holes were shaped, with their wide and sloping fairways, sets up incredible and memorable shotmaking opportunities. There are holes one would normally ever expect to reach in regulation, but because of the help from the wind and the slope, it can be done. All of that while seeing some of the best ocean views anywhere. If you have a pulse, an ability to strike the ball with some degree of passion, and are ready to spend that $300, then this is a golf course you should play.
Photos
PGA Tour

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions (TOC) is held during the first week of January and, since 1999, has been played on the Kapalua Plantation Course. The event has a storied history dating back to its inception in 1953, including multiple venues, sponsors, and even names. Starting in 2012, the tournament became a four-day (Friday–Monday) event. This Monday finish allows the tournament to have its own day to finish, and not compete against the second day of the NFL Wild Card Playoff round. The TOC is one of two PGA Tour FedEx Cup events (the Deutsche Bank Championship the other) to use the Friday-Monday format.

Year Player Country Score To par 1st prize ($)
Hyundai Tournament of Champions
2014 Zach Johnson United States 273 −19 1,140,000
2013 Dustin Johnson United States 203 −16 1,140,000
2012 Steve Stricker United States 269 −23 1,120,000
2011 Jonathan Byrd United States 268PO −24 1,120,000
SBS Championship
2010 Geoff Ogilvy (2) Australia 270 −22 1,120,000
Mercedes-Benz Championship
2009 Geoff Ogilvy Australia 268 −24 1,120,000
2008 Daniel Chopra Sweden 274PO −18 1,100,000
2007 Vijay Singh Fiji 278 −14 1,100,000
Mercedes Championships
2006 Stuart Appleby (3) Australia 284PO −8 1,080,000
2005 Stuart Appleby (2) Australia 271 −21 1,060,000
2004 Stuart Appleby Australia 270 −22 1,060,000
2003 Ernie Els South Africa 261 −31 1,000,000
2002 Sergio García Spain 274PO −18 720,000
2001 Jim Furyk United States 274 −18 630,000
2000 Tiger Woods (2) United States 276PO −16 522,000
1999 David Duval United States 266 −26 468,000

The Kapalua International was an unofficial PGA Tour event played on Maui from 1982 to 1997. It was held after the end of the regular PGA Tour season in November for 16 years. For the first nine years, it was held exclusively at the Bay Course. In 1992, it was played at both the Bay and Plantation Courses until the Mercedes Championships moved to the site in January 1999.

  • 1997 Davis Love III
  • 1996 Paul Stankowski
  • 1995 Jim Furyk
  • 1994 Fred Couples
  • 1993 Fred Couples

Kapalua International

  • 1992 Davis Love III

Isuzu Kapalua International

  • 1991 Mike Hulbert
  • 1990 David Peoples
  • 1989 Peter Jacobsen
  • 1988 Bob Gilder
  • 1987 Andy Bean
  • 1986 Andy Bean
  • 1985 Mark O’Meara

Kapalua International

  • 1984 Sandy Lyle
  • 1983 Greg Norman

Kapalua Open

  • 1982 David Ishii
Video Clip
KAPALUA PLANTATION COURSE INTRODUCTION
http://youtu.be/IB1BNldh86Q
Course Details
USGA Course
Tees Rating Slope OUT IN TOT
Championship 77.2 144 3670 3741 7411
Regular 73.3 140 3324 3350 6674
Resort 71.5 132 2965 3054 6019
Forward 68.2 127 2748 2879 5627
Year Built: 1991
Greens: TifEagle
Fairways: Tifton 328
Practice Range: Yes
Lessons: Yes
GPS Tracking: Yes
Metal Spikes: Yes
Walking: Yes
Fivesomes: No
Pro Shop: Yes
Lockers/Showers: Yes
Rental Shoes/Clubs: Yes
Cart Fees: Included
Rider Fee: Yes
Twilight Rates: Yes
Online Booking: Yes
Restaurant: Yes
Bar: Yes
Architect: Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw
General Mgr: Mike Jones
Head Golf Pro: Scott Carroll, PGA
Contact

Kapalua Plantation Course

2000 Plantation Club Drive
Lahaina, HI 96761
golfatkapalua.com
(877) 527-2582
Hours: 6:00 am – 7:00 pm
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