Kapalua Resort - The Plantation Course

It's a bucket list course for sure. The views are incredible ,and hey, it's Hawaii in the winter for me when much of the country is chilly to downright freezing. Course layout is fun and interesting. Not thrilled about the many downhill lies in the fairway hitting uphill to greens. But that's what makes it challenging too, I guess.
Was disappointed in a couple of things. The PGA Tour plays in a month from when I played, yet the greens were slow and grainy. Probably a 8-9 stimp, which is much slower than even my home public course. The fairways and tees where in great shape, but the Bermuda rough around the greens had some brown and shaggy spots. The greenside bunker on 14 had hardpan just below the surface and my ball when sailing to the back of the green. Also, I had paid for a Troon Rewards+ membership. Pro shop refused to honor the measly 10% discount, even though there was nowhere in the fine print that I could find that they were exempt from the this benefit.
Overall, I'm glad I played it and checked it off my bucket list. But I probably won't play it again, at least not at a $400-$500 green fee. The value just isn't there to come back.

Obviously, this is isn't your standard weekly course.

Starter paired me up with another single. It was a first time for both of us. We were both incredibly impressed by the views and condition of the course.

Pace of play was VERY fast. Somehow with even just two of us shooting 85-90, it still felt like the group behind us was constantly on our butts. We still had time to take the pictures we wanted, but haven't played anywhere with a pace of play so fast.

Overall, very expensive but TOTALLY worth it. A round I'll never forget.

This is probably the 3rd or 4th time I've played the Plantation Course and I have always enjoyed it. This time I was excited to see the changes that had been made when the course was shut down for quite a few months. The changes apparently were very minor because I couldn't pick any out. As far as I could tell, the holes were pretty much the same. Overall I was disappointed in the lack of noticeable changes and the condition of the course. The fairways and greens were ok, but if you ventured just off the fairway, you encountered a lot of clumpy bermuda grass, which is awful to play from. And, while the greens were in ok condition, they were still bermuda and were very grainy. I can't understand why they wouldn't have switched to something like paspalum, which is a far superior putting surface. Overall I was just disappointed. It wasn't the experience I was looking for when I pay $350. I would recommend it to a friend if they wanted to check it off their bucket list, but it's not worth $350. I played the Wailea Emerald course on this trip for about $200, and it was a great experience and worth the price.

When I first played the plantation course back in the early 90's, it was the funnest, best course I had ever played to that point. I still remember looking at the scorecard from the plantation house restaurant (which by the way is a fantastic restaurant) and seeing a 480 yd par 4 and another 330 yd par 4 and thinking what I might hit into those greens. Well, the former, 17, is down hill, down wind, down grain and was Driver, 8 iron, while the later, an uphill into the wind 13th ended up being Driver, 5 iron! What a course! With its huge, sprawling, undulated fairways that ran forever, it definitely played more like a links course than anything else. The amount of rollout on virtually every shot, even chips, especially down grain, needed to be taken into account.

Over the years, the course became much softer and slower. The course began to play much more like target golf with little run out. Most of the fun and strategy was lost given these conditions. I even remember playing in 2019 thinking this course is just not the same as it used to be and I wasn't sure it was worth the $300 price tag.

When I heard they were regrassing and updating the course, I was hopeful it would return to its former greatness and it has in every way. What a treat! It is once again, firm, fast, and very strategic. From the downhill, downwind, 600 yd par 5 18th that is very reachable to the uphill, into the wind 490 yd par 5 9th, (where i smoked a driver and 3 wood and still had an 8 iron into the green!),
the fun and strategy has been restored. Bring your A game and your thinking cap. I will be back again and again. I have more fun playing the plantation course than any other I have ever played, including all the
Bandon courses. While you may not agree with that lofty statement, the plantation course at Kapalua is an absolute must play if you are on Maui.

I first played this course in 1996 and returned in December 2016 (not December 2020)

What more can be said? It's Kapalua!!! yeah, it's price., But yeah, you can say you played it. After the redesign, course conditions have changed. The roll out you used to get is not there now. But it will return.
Nothing like standing on the 10th tee, on a picture perfect day, and watch whales jumping everywhere.
Staff is professional. Want something, don't hesitate to ask. They will do everything to accommodate.
Don't forget to get your complimentary engraved bag tag.
Course is kept in immaculate condition. From the tee boxes to the greens. Played 2 days. First was right after the greens were top dressed, and were slow. Played a week later and the ball rolled like on a table top,
Couldn't ask for a better experience. Planning my next trip.
One tip, Check put the Tournament package. You get rounds of golf on the Bay course, one on the Plantation, and a hour private golf lesson at the learning center.
Best lesson I ever got. Ask for Ben.

Playing two weeks ahead of the 2020 Sentry Classic was a treat and a nightmare.
They closed the course for almost 11 months just to reseed greens and fairways. Well the effort was not wasted, almost like playing and putting on carpet. The greens were plywood hard, so much so I couldn't find a ball mark anywhere. Even though the greens were extra firm the grainless nature of the new putting surfaces they were surprisingly slow.
The carts were not allowed to leave the cart path. The renovation of the course removed every yardage marking from sprinkler heads. You were forced to play the course blind. The GPS in the cart was not portable so you had to guess on every shot; NOT cool for $359 a round.
The course should have informed this return client that there were no ways of determining yardage and that a rangefinder is mandatory for any chance of posting a score. I won't be back.

My family and I traveled to Maui for a vacation and my son and I played this course twice. The staff was great, the GPS carts were new and very accurate. The course was pristine and the greens were flawless.The winds and elevation changes made this a very challenging course. They have 6 or 7 tee boxes, however, so it is definitely playable for higher handicaps who play from the appropriate tee. The price is very high, but as far as once in a lifetime type courses, I would put this one up there with Old Head in Ireland and Whistling Straights in Wisconsin.

My family and I traveled to Kapalua on Maui recently and played this course while there. The price is pretty high, but as far as expensive, top of the line courses go, this one is right up there with Old Head in Ireland as my favorite. The conditions were pristine and the greens were flawless. The elevations and wind create quite a challenge on what looks like a wide open course.

Course was revamped in 2019. Course greens redone with half the break. Several holes have new forward tee boxes shortening the course. These changes weren’t needed and took the challenge out of the course. Not worth $340+

My wife and I played Kapalua Plantation recently during our visit to Maui. The course had just undergone a major $25 million renovation and was in perfect condition. The staff made sure that we were well taken care of and even gave us unlimited free snacks since the restaurant was also being renovated and was closed on the day we played. This course is a must-play at least once.

My wife and I played as part of the Golf Advisor Getaway and we were both blown away with the beautiful views. The course had just recently reopened from re sodding so it was cart path only and made it a 5 1/2 hour round was the only negative. Lots of elevation changes with high wind made this an extremely challenging course. Greens rolled very true and everything seemed to break hard towards the ocean [ expected ] but even putts that looked obvious to break away from ocean still broke towards the ocean as well. If you haven't played here before it was truly spectacular and should be added to your bucket list if it hasn't already.

Playing the remastered Plantation course twice in two days helped me better understand how amateurs like me can take on the host of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
The first round was a soaker for nine holes, but the reward was a vibrant rainbow that lit up the backdrop. The second round brought perfect weather and light winds. This is a course you must play twice to figure out the most difficult holes and 3-4 blind tee shots. The first hole must be played up the left, otherwise it's an impossible approach over a chasm from a sidehill lie. A lot of golfers aren't fans of the 17th. You have to be a strong ball striker to clear the hazard on the second shot. As a short hitter, I was forced to layup right to a thin strip of land that wasn't meant for layups. I think it would have been a better hole as a par 3, something NBC Golf Analyst Mark Rolfing proposed when the course was originally built.
Nevertheless, the scale and views of this grand layout are epic and unforgettable. The redesign by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw didn't change much, other than the "calming" of the greens and a few new bunkers. It hopes to bring back the bouncing, firm conditions that will help resort golfers run shots into greens and play mind games with the pros. After watching the tournament all these years, isn't it time to test your game on Hawaii's most famous course?

Played this course on Tuesday December 3 2019 and although it was cart path only due to the Sentry Championship next month and the restaurant closed for remodeling this was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Every hole presents a new challenge and one spectacular view after another . The fairways and greens were in great shape would definitely recommend to any one looking for a great time .

A course the pro's will be playing in 2 weeks so I don't think I need to go on about how amazing and beautiful this course is, let's go with it's everything it's cracked up to be. Incredible views on every hole on top of being a top caliber course is a bucket list check mark!

Amazing views you can't get anywhere else, a real once in a lifetime must play course. I was there with Golf Advisor getaway and highly recommend playing the Maui courses this way due to the incredible attention to detail the team put together. Thanks to Matt, Hannah and everyone involved in Maui for going to great lengths to make an amazing trip!

I had an opportunity to play the Plantation course just after Thanksgiving. . Yes, it is pricey and cart path only, but you know that from the moment you book the tee time. It is truly a majestic course. From the ethereal ocean views, to the beautifully manicured fairways and greens, to the impeccable service, I throughly enjoyed everything about the Plantation course. It was more an experience than a round of golf, one that I will cherish for quite some time.

Playing the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course is always a treat! Now that they have reopened following a major renovation the experience is better than ever! I know the entire golf world is very excited to see how the PGA players handle it this week! Wishing the team at Kapalua all the best during the exciting event!

course at Kapalua was a dream come true in 1996 for our 5th wedding Anniversary. We just celebrated our 28th Anniversary in 2019 andThe Plantation have two children. I remember it was a sunny and windy day. We could see the slow moving sets of waves moving against the rows of pineapples. My best shot as a beginner golfer was making my tee shot over a small ravine. It was quite exciting and my husband who was an avid golfer cheered me on ! After all , I was knew I would be a golf widow when we got married so I took lessons to learn how to hit this "small pea into a small hole" of a game.
As we finished our round of golf, we watched the sunset and drove our cart down a steep hill to the warm glowing lights of the clubhouse. We stayed for a great steak dinner. We both felt lucky to have played such a spectacular course such as the Plantation course.

The pro said he would put me out early. Never considered Moonlight. A full moon, the straits of Molokai and a pod of whales awaited me. It was a ethereal experience that will never be forgotten. A magical course and a magical experience.