For a lot of folks, a luxury vacation just isn’t a luxury vacation without at least a few rounds of golf. Now, I’m not one of those folks – I mean, I get it, it’s a “sport” and all, but I’m not such a fan that I plan entire trips around the game. I do, however, plan entire trips around relaxing, and if there’s a golf course around to keep the guys occupied, so be it. Want to know a great place to relax amid natural splendor, a place in the tropics that also can boast of first-class golf courses? You want to know about Kauai.
Only 4% of Kauai is developed, and it is in many ways the most remote of Hawaii’s 5 major travel destination islands. While I more strongly recommend Maui for a fun-filled luxury family vacation, Kauai is definitely a golfer’s paradise. There are five golf destination clubs on Kauai, all of which rank among the best golf courses in Hawaii and the entire South Pacific. In fact, four of these courses, part of the Kauai golf co-op, have just landed on Golfweek’s 2008 “America’s Best Courses You Can Play” list.
The best golf courses in Kauai, which are among the best in America, are:
Puakea Golf Course – Robin Nelson designed this course in accordance with the natural state of the island, and he considers it the most fun course to play in Hawaii. This is Kauai’s newest championship 18-hole, par 72 golf course.
Kauai Lagoons Golf Club - Golf course architect Jack Nicklaus split 36 holes into two full 18-hole courses, Kiele and Mokihana. Kauai Lagoons Golf Course ranks in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses, and Kiele in particular was named a Gold Medal Course by Golf Magazine. This course is integrated into the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club.
Poipu Bay Golf Course – Affiliated with the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, Poipu Bay was ranked by Golf Digest as one of America’s 75 Greatest Golf Courses. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and other luminaries have participated in the PGA Grand Slam professional golf tournament at Poipu.
Princeville Golf Courses - This is consistently rated the number one golf course in Hawaii, making it easily one of the best in America. Princeville’s Prince Course, designed by Robert Trent Jr (as was Poipu Bay above), is the most challenging golf course many of us casual players will ever experience. The full 18 hole course takes players through ravines, waterfalls, jungles, and up to ocean bluff plateaus. The Makai Course, also part of the Princeville golf resort complex, is less challenging (and more my speed – mellow).
You don’t have to love golf to appreciate award-winning golf courses. It’s nice to know, however, that the golf fan in your family will be having a great – or frustrating – time on one of several of the best golf courses in Hawaii while you kayak, snorkel, play on the beach with your children, or even sign those kids up for the resort’s day camp while you get some time in the spa. On Kauai, life is good, and golf is the best.
Cool post. Thank you for sharing it. Tiger’s name might currently be connected with cheating, but there’s no denying that he is among the finest golfers of all time. I wish people would concentrate on that rather than his personal life.