My Quest to Check Off Golf's Best Experiences
The Golf Bucket List
#17, Par 4, 462 Yards
Coore and Crenshaw have always been very good at creating courses with a wide variety of hole lengths. You can expect to play a wide variety of hole lengths on each par, which play as half-pars either more of less than stated on the card. This one is definitely a par 4.5, and can extend all the way back to 550 yards from the Tour Tees. However, since it plays downhill, if you can get the wind and slope right, you can hit a really really long drive to make it more manageable. The carry over a canyon of jungle is awfully intimidating if you have a fairway wood into the hole. Like the 15th, and like the 18th that you'll play next, a bail-out to the right is a reasonable way to get home if you aren't sure you can carry it all the way to the green.
The view from the bail-out area on the right:
#4, Par 4, 310 Yards
This is a short par four from the Regular Tees. From the Tour Tees, it goes way back to 422 yards, so the hole is quite different. Given the blindness of the landing area, I thought this was a little odd for a resort course. It really slows down play since you can't tell when you're clear to hit. We had to send someone in the cart up the hill to see when the coast was clear, as did the group behind us. I failed to take a picture on this hole (I'm not sure how). I'm posting a picture of the tee shot that I found online from www.golftop18.com which has a nice review of the course with pictures.
The Plantation Course was a lot of fun to play, having seen it so many times on television over the years. I certainly wish we had a day that wasn't so gusty--the bag guys said it was definitely more than the typical wind. However, the course is built to be playable in the wind, so kudos to Coore/Crenshaw for taking the possible weather conditions into account when designing this course.
#14, Par 4, 271 Yards
Though it plays up the hill the entire way, this is another hole where the pros can reach the putting surface from the tee. Hit whatever club you're comfortable with from the tee from a driver to a mid-iron. It's a commanding view from this green, looking back down toward the Ocean.
#7, Par 4, 491 Yards
After some shorter holes, the seventh is just plain nasty. It's approximately the same length as the par five fifth hole, but this one is a par four. The main difference that makes the length reasonable is that the hole tumbles down the hill the entire way and plays shorter than the yardage. However, to really take advantage of the hill, you have to take it over the corner of the dogleg--this plays like a cape hole. The green in the distance is the eighth hole--you can't see the seventh green from the tee.
#15, Par 5, 500 Yards
There are two par fives on the second nine--this one, and the 18th. While it's still plenty wide, this feels like one of the tighter drives on the course. If you can get it far up the right half, you might have a change to reach the green in two shots. It requires a heroic carry to get it onto the surface, but there is loads of room to bail out to the right. From the right, it leaves a really difficult pitch to get up-and-down, so some might lay up to have a full shot into the hole...personal preference.
#12, Par 4, 347 Yards
In the last several years, under the right wind conditions, this has become a drivable par four for some of the pros. In fact, Dustin Johnson famously nearly aced the hole in 2018, and that was from the back tees, which extend back to 424 yards. If you can clear the hill, which obviously he can, and did, it's a downhill roll all the way to the putting surface. This is the first hole of a six-hole stretch where Kapalua is gettable--get your game together and start making some good scores.
After the round, it was fun to walk around the locker room where the tour guys had been the week before. The lockers still had the names of the players who used them, with the tournament they won that qualified them to play in the Tournament of Champions.
Kapalua (The Plantation Course)
Lahaina, Hawaii
https://www.golfatkapalua.com/plantation-course/
Checked off the Bucket List January 14, 2020
Golf Digest:
#22, America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (2019-2020)
#2, Best in the State of Hawaii (2019-2020)
#1, Par 1, 433 Yards
A fan of the PGA Tour would know this tee shot quite well. Historically, it was the first tee shot of the Tour season, and the first televised golf after a holiday break. With the Tour's wrap-around season, it's not exactly the first shot of the season anymore, but it's still the first shot of the calendar year and still gathers lots of attention with a typically strong field. Looking down the hill and out of the Ocean, the opening hold bends to the left and rolls downhill. The Tour Tees are way up the hill right in front of the clubhouse. The drive needs to position you for a difficult second shot into the green that lays on the other side of a chasm. This is tumbling land, rather than gentle as Crenshaw would call it. I hit a great shot into the green and then blew it by three-putting. Even though these greens were softened, there is still plenty of contour and difficulty.
#10, Par 4, 308 Yards
Gently rising from the sea? Yeah right! The second nine occupies the eastern portion of the property and starts off with a steep climb up the hill. The farther you hit your drive, the narrower the fairway, but there's really no trouble outside of rough. There is one bunker on this hole, but it really never should come into play. While this plays much longer than the distance on the scorecard, it's definitely a chance to start the back nine on a good foot.
#18, Par 5, 599 Yards
As far as I know, this is the longest hole on the PGA Tour, but playing straight downhill, it's still reachable in two for some of those guys. You see drives of 400+ yards sometimes on this one with huge rolls down the hill. Keeping it right the entire way is plenty safe the whole way and makes it very playable if you don't want to take on the carries. On the approach to the green, the hole plays like a redan, where the land will kick a ball from right to left and toward the back left corner.
#16, Par 4, 354 Yards
This is the last of the easier stretch, before two really long finishing holes. Again, hit whatever club you can land safely on the fairway to avoid the bunkers. The fairway is actually divided in half with four bunkers in a line splitting the right and left sides. Ideally, carry them all, or pick a side and be precise. The real estate on this hole is pretty good too!
#3, Par 4, 363 Yards
The next two holes head up the hill. This is the longer of the two and the softer climb of the two. A fade that bends right around the fairway bunkers on the right is the play for most players. A more conservative line is at the greenside bunker in the distance. Coming in from the right side is the preferred angle into the green. From the left, its an uphill shot into the green over the bunker.
After hitting some balls to warm up, we drove back to the clubhouse and putted at the practice green near the first tee. The views from the practice green make it difficult to concentrate on putting--this will be a theme throughout the course as the views are incredible almost everywhere. We had some low clouds the day we were there, so it wasn't always clear enough to see all the sights in the distance, but that's ok. As I mentioned, this was the week after the Tour was on site, so many of the bleachers were still up or being taken down as we played--this always makes for a little extra fun.
#8, Par 3, 186 Yards
I said earlier that Kapalua is generally built to allow the ball to be played along the ground, and to keep it under the wind. This hole is an exception. It's all carry to a green that's perched along the side of a hill.
Looking across the chasm to the tumbling sixth hole:
#5, Par 5, 484 Yards
The fifth and sixth holes go out-and-back on either side of a massive canyon. From the fifth tee, a big hitter could probably drive one to the sixth green. It would be a fun par three for the pros to play around with. At only 526 yards from the back tees, the fifth is a definitely a shorter one for the pros. A small fairway bunker lays right in the middle of the landing area and is the key obstacle to avoid. As long as you avoid it (and don't go way right), the hole is very reachable in two, but if you hit the bunker, that's not going to happen. The ground around the green will kick a ball from left to right and toward the back right corner of the green, so landing one short and left of the green is the safe play to let it roll onto the surface.
#9, Par 5, 492 Yards
After a few holes that played downhill, the ninth is a stern uphill climb back to the clubhouse. The drive is fairly non-descript. Just get the ball in good position for the second shot. From there, it's a shot over a crevasse of land and rough to the next landing area, or perhaps all the way to the green, if you've got that in you. Ten bunkers guard the landing area and green area, not to mention long native grass and jungle to its right, so be precise with your second shot.
#2, Par 3, 199 Yards
Laying on the northwestern edge of the island of Maui, Kapalua's two nines are divided by tropical jungle with the first nine roughly on the western side and the second nine on the eastern side, with a return to the clubhouse in between. From the standpoint of land movement and views, the second hole is probably the least interesting hole on the course. The green is behind four bunkers that run diagonally from left to right with and lays on a similar bias.
As I sit in the Midwest on a cold January evening, I'm watching the PGA Tour pros play on a picture-perfect part of the world that can't help but make you jealous. It's the perfect time to write about my experience, just one year before, at beautiful Kapalua. Even though it sits in the middle of the the Pacific Ocean, on the world's most isolated island chain, the significance of The Plantation Course on modern golf architect is extremely significant.
We we go back to the 1980's, golf design was concentrated among several notable architects, including Tom Fazio, Pete Dye, Arthur Hills, and Robert Trent Jones. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were also very much involved, and were the most successful designers among folks with successful PGA Tour careers. Greg Norman, and others to a lesser extent would get involved as well as their playing careers started to wane. However, when it comes to the PGA-tour alumnus who has the most influence on modern architecture, it wouldn't be a stretch to point to Ben Crenshaw, along with his design partner Bill Coore. Crenshaw expresses that he was fascinated with golf course architecture from his early days, and when he met Bill Coore, a match made in heaven had been created. While the due incorporated in 1986, it was a very difficult challenge to get their business up-and-running. Due to economic issues at the time, primarily the savings and loan crisis, there were four projects that had been started that were never completed. The partnership had invested a lot of time and effort (and money I'm sure) and had nothing to show for it. It got to the point of "put up or shut up" and Coore/Crenshaw have said there were times that they questioned whether to keep going. In retrospect, with the courses that they've opened to date and the influence on destination properties like Bandon Dunes, Cabot Links, Sand Valley, and Streamsong (all based on the success and acclaim of Sand Hills), it's amazing to think back and piece together how golf architecture might look different if they had hung it up.
The origin of golf at Kapalua started with Crenshaw, and another name very well known in the world of the PGA Tour--Mark Rolfing. Crenshaw had been married at the Kapalua Bay Hotel, and joined Rolfing nearby to watch the sunset one night overlooking a huge pineapple field. Rolfing is famously a resident of Maui, and an unapologetic promoter of the region. In fact, he was actually Kapalua's director of marketing for a period. Being extremely taken by the sight/site, Crenshaw almost immediately called his partner and told him that he had the perfect spot for a course that "rises gently from the sea." As the story goes, as recounted by Links Magazine, Coore arrived a week later to tour the property. While I'm sure he agreed with how gorgeous the views were, his agreement on the viability of this pineapple field as a location for a golf course was less certain. As you experience the property yourself, you'll see clearly--there is nothing gentle about the elevation changes at Kapalua!
When the course opened in 1991, it was immediately well received, and was very different from many of the designs at the time. While designers like Dye and Nicklaus generally built courses that were quite difficult and demanding accuracy, Kapalua ushered in an era where width become common. Whether it was a philosophical choice or not, the width at Kapalua was really a necessity. The site can be very windy, and with the primary play coming from resort guests, the course had to be playable in a variety of different conditions, which was made possible by the wide playing corridors. Further, Coore/Crenshaw allowed the ball to be played along ground on most shots to be able to keep it under the wind, and play in a classic links golf style. However, with substantial width, there needed to be something to challenge the player. To do so, they build a very difficult and undulating set of greens to make a routine two-putt difficult to find. As the reputation of Kapalua reached the mainland, the PGA Tour determined it was the location to reward its tournament winners each year and moved the annual Tournament of Champions from La Costa to The Plantation Course. This tournament, now know as the Sentry Tournament of Champions has been played on site each January since 1999.
Just recently, in 2019, Coore/Crenshaw refined the design in an attempt to make it more difficult for the pros, but easier for the resort guests. This involved adding some new tees for the pros, rebuilding bunkers, re-grassing the greens and fairways, and also softening the contours on greens. I would get a chance to see the course shortly after the refinement was completed, and just over a week after the tour pros put it on display for the TV audience.
After arriving, we had some time to loosen up before our starting time. The range is a cart ride away from the clubhouse. Honestly, this is probably the lowlight of Kapalua--its good enough to loosen up, and it's kind of surprising that this range would be sufficient for the tour pros. It's not very long and sort of just an uphill field in the middle of the jungle. Kapalua's neighboring Bay Course has a better range for resort guests, but when you're playing the Plantation Course, you won't use that one.
#13, Par 4, 347 Yards
This shorter par four plays over a big valley. Hit is as far as you can to get it onto the upslope to be able to have a bit of a view toward the green. Or, you can certainly lay back and long ways to see the hole, but that leaves a slot in. Ending up at the bottom of the hill isn't the end of the world, but it will just leave a shot way back up the hill to a blind green. This green is very difficult, with a huge mound near the middle that will throw balls either way. Being on the wrong side of it will leave a very difficult putt.
After just finishing its renovation, the Tour Tees at the Plantation Course now stretch all the way to 7,596 yards. However, playing to a par of 73, and with maintenance intended to play firm and fast, it doesn't really play all that long for them. Many of the longest holes are downhill and play much shorter than the scorecard says--at least for the Tour guys. There is another day-to-day set of back tees that are called the Championship Tees, and play to 7,284 yards. This was an extremely windy afternoon, and I thought there would be more than enough challenge from the Regular Tees, which were 6,701 yards and had a rating and slope of 72.8 and 134. The scorecard offers lots of combo tees too, so you can really find a set of tees for almost any yardage you want. I'll quote the regular tees below:
#11, Par 3, 161 Yards
There aren't any holes at The Plantation Course on the edge of a cliff like at some of Hawaii's other high profile resort courses. However, the 11th is probably the closest you'll get to simulated a hole by the water. While it's probably 200 yards or so to the water from the back of the green, it does appear like you're right on the edge, with the significant drop off behind the green. This hole is very exposed to the wind and avoiding the front bunker is key--well, of course, it's key not to go long too! In a peculiar aspect of this routing, this is the last of three par threes on the course.
#6, Par 4, 375 Yards
The Plantation Course is known as one of the hardest walks on the PGA Tour. While they're forced to traverse lots of ups and downs, the Tour doesn't make them walk the long distance between the fifth green and sixth tee, which I think is supposed to be at least a 1/2 mile. They get shuttled, and I was obviously glad that we had our cart to shuttle us too! As I mentioned on the fourth hold, there are several blind or semi-blind driving areas at Kapalua, which is a little odd for a resort course. This one is semi-blind I'd say. The fairway tightens up right at the well-positioned fairway bunker on the left. From the fairway, it's a drop shot to a green that is well below the fairway level and makes club/shot selection difficult. Since it's all fairway all the way to the hole, it's possible you could even putt it onto the surface, though it didn't try it. Similar to the fifth green, this green falls from left to right and toward the canyon.