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Golfing on Kauai
For golfers, the Garden Isle might as well be known as the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Isle. Four of the island's nine courses, including Poipu Bay -- home of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf -- are the work of Jones, who maintains a home at Princeville. Combine these four courses with those from Jack Nicklaus, Robin Nelson, and local legend Toyo Shirai, and you'll see that golf sets Kauai apart from the other Islands as much as the Pacific Ocean does.
Kauai Lagoons Golf Club. When Jack Nicklaus opened the Kiele (pronounced kee-EL-ay) Course here in 1989, it was immediately compared to Mauna Kea, Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Big Island masterpiece. Depending on the rater, Kiele continues to be considered among the top three or four courses in the state. Nicklaus's design is like a symphony, starting nice and easy, and finishing with a rousing par-4 that plays deceptively uphill -- into the trade winds -- to an island green. The adjacent Mokihana Course (Nicklaus, 1990) is flatter and doesn't have Kiele's oceanfront. According to handicap ratings it's supposed to play easier, but Nicklaus makes par a challenge with creative mounding, large waste areas, and false fronts for greens. The boomerang-shape par-5 18th is among the state's finest finales. 3351 Hoolaulea Way, Lihue. PHONE: 808/241-6000. www.golfbc.com. Kiele Course: 18 holes. 6674 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $195. Mokihana Course: 18 holes. 6578 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $120. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, rental clubs, lessons, restaurant, bar
Kiahuna Plantation Golf Course. A meandering creek, lava outcrops, and thickets of trees give Kiahuna its character. Robert Trent Jones Jr. (1983) was given a smallish piece of land just inland at Poipu, and defends par with smaller targets, awkward stances, and optical illusions. In 2003 a group of homeowners bought the club and brought Jones back to renovate the course, adding tees and revamping bunkers. 2545 Kiahuna Plantation Dr., Koloa. PHONE: 808/742-9595. www.kiahunagolf.com. 18 holes. 6183 yds. Par 70. Green Fee: $90. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, rental clubs, lessons, pro shop, restaurant, bar.
Kukuiolono Golf Course. Local legend Toyo Shirai designed this fun, funky 9-holer where holes play across rolling, forested hills that afford views of the distant Pacific. Though Shirai has an eye for a good golf hole, Kukuiolono is out of the way and a bit rough, and probably not for everyone. But at $8 for the day, it's a deal. 854 Puu Rd., Kalaheo. PHONE: 808/332-9151. 9 holes. 3173 yds. Par 36. Green Fee: $8. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, golf carts, pull carts, rental clubs
Poipu Bay Golf Course. Poipu Bay has been called the Pebble Beach of Hawaii, and comparisons are apt. Like Pebble Beach, Poipu is a links course built on headlands, not true links land. And as at Monterey Bay, there's wildlife galore. It's not unusual for golfers to see monk seals sunning on the beach below, sea turtles bobbing outside the shore break, and humpback whales leaping offshore. 2250 Ainako St., Koloa. PHONE: 808/742-8711. www.poipubay.com. 18 holes. 6612 yds. Par 72. Green Fee: $145. Facilities: Driving range, putting green, rental clubs, golf carts, golf academy/lessons, restaurant, bar
Princeville Resort. Robert Trent Jones Jr. built two memorable courses overlooking Hanalei Bay, the 27-hole Princeville Makai Course (1971) and the Prince Course (1990). The three Makai nines -- Woods, Lake, Ocean -- offering varying degrees of each element, plus lush mountain views above. Three quick snapshots: the par-3 seventh on the Ocean nine drops 100 feet from tee to green, with blue Hanalei Bay just beyond. The Ocean's par-3 eighth plays across a small bay where dolphins often leap. On the Woods' par-3 eighth, two large lava rocks in Jones's infamous Zen Bunker really are quite blissful, until you plant a tee shot behind one of them. The Prince is often rated Hawaii's best course. It's certifiably rated Hawaii's second toughest (behind Oahu's Koolau). This is jungle golf with holes running through dense forest and over tangled ravines, out onto headlands for breathtaking ocean views, then back into the jungle.