Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
Kapalua Bay Course
(300 Kapalua Dr., 877/527-2582,
www.golfatkapalua.com
)
along the Kapalua shoreline is a touch more forgiving at par 72 and 6,600 yards. While
all of the holes offer resort-quality play, the highlight here is hole #5 where the green is
sandwiched between Oneloa Bay and D.T. Fleming Beach Park. While putting here you
are surrounded by 270 degrees of brilliant blue ocean. Even if your round isn't going quite
as you had hoped, this rocky promontory is relaxing enough to bring a temporary moment
of peace. Like the Plantation Course, however, the Bay Course is windy in the afternoon,
so early morning hours are best for calm conditions. Greens fees here are still expensive at
$208 for regular guests and $188 for those staying in Kapalua resort. As with other courses
the fees decrease throughout the day, and you can pick up a late afternoon round for as
low as $98. (
Tip:
If the weather forecast is calling for
kona
winds, it means that the winds
will be light and the conditions in the afternoon will be just as good as the morning. If the
weather forecast is for trade winds of anything over 15 knots, then you'll want to schedule
an early round). To find the clubhouse for the Bay Course, turn on Kapalua Drive from
Lower Honoapi'ilani Road across the street from Oneloa Bay (Ironwoods Beach). Travel
up the road by the tennis center and you will see the clubhouse on your right.
The
Kapalua Golf Academy
(1000 Office Rd., 808/662-7740,
www.golfatkapalua.com/golf-academy
) has been voted as one of the best golf schools in
the country, with 23 acres devoted to bettering your game. Everything you could possibly
need is available here, from private instruction and video analysis to on-course lessons and
custom club fitting. Though the golf instruction is by no means cheap, seasonal packages
and specials can sometimes offer surprisingly affordable deals.
Ka'anapali
There are a number of benefits about playing the courses in Ka'anapali. They're cheaper
than Kapalua and closer to the majority of resorts. Perhaps most important, however,
they're less prone to wind and rain, and it takes the trade winds about two hours longer
to reach Ka'anapali than Kapalua. What this means is that an 8am tee time at Kapalua on
most days will begin getting blustery around the 6th hole, whereas at Ka'anapali you could
be well into the back nine before the wind becomes a factor. The sacrifice in Ka'anapali is
that the views aren't quite as nice (though they are still spectacular by normal standards),
and the greens are just
slightly
less manicured when compared to Kapalua.
Of the two courses in Ka'anapali, the
Royal Ka'anapali
(2290 Ka'anapali Pkwy., 808/
661-3691,
www.kaanapaligolfcourses.com
)
has the best views and is the nicer course. In
addition to paralleling the Pacific Ocean, this par-71, 6,700-yard course is also historic as
