Makai Golf Course Renovations
The Makai golf course originally opened in 1971 featuring lakes, woodlands, and great views of the Kauai coastline. Robert Trent Jones Jr., who originally designed Makai, also oversaw the new multi-million dollar renovation. The project included the reconfiguration of greens, reshaping of bunkers, cart-path work, and upgrading the practice facility. More importantly, the course got new Seashore Paspalum on tees, fairways, and greens. The fine-bladed, saltwater-tolerant grass thrives on coastal golf courses, and provides a spectacular playing surfaces for golfers of all skill levels.
The course also received new pure-white silica bunker sand and an additional 300 yards in length, bringing the par 72 to more than 7,200 yards. There are now four sets of tees and new tee boxes, giving players more options. In addition, Jones added new wrinkles near the greens to create more challenges. The practice facility at Makai Golf Club has also been improved to include two large practice tees, a practice fairway bunker, seven target greens with bunkers, a teaching tee, and a short game practice complex.
The signature 7th hole on the Makai Course now plays to 213 yards from the back tees. It consists of a challenging tee shot over scenic cliffs, onto to a green which is surrounded by brilliant white bunkers, and surreal views of the mountains and Pacific Ocean. In addition to the course changes, the old clubhouse was demolished with plans to rebuild within a couple years.
Troon Golf has been selected to manage the renowned Makai Golf Club at The St. Regis Princeville Resort, and to celebrate the reopening, the resort is offering an “Endless Golf Package” for travel between Jan. 30 and July 1 2010. It includes unlimited golf for two at Makai Golf Club with a minimum stay of five nights required at the St. Regis Princeville Resort. It also includes Callaway rental clubs for two. Rates begin at $610 for one room per night.
Poipu Bay Golf Course Renovations
Poipu Bay Golf Course will be undergoing renovations in 2010. Beginning in April, Kauai’s renowned golf course will undergo a greens renovation project. The course, which gained international recognition as home to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 through 2006, will be closed for approximately eight months with a reopening planned for December 2010. The project will include a complete renovation of all greens, replacing the original Tifdwarf Bermuda grass with a Sea Shore Paspalum hybrid (Supreme).
Sea Shore Paspalum grass has proven to be an optimum putting surface in Hawaii, and is also being used in the renovations at the Makai Golf Course in Princeville. It is eco friendly, requiring less fertilizer, less water, and a decreased use of herbicides. The new greens will also provide a faster and more consistent putting surface.
Poipu Bay Golf Course is an 18-hole championship course situated on 210 oceanfront acres on Kauai’s southern coast. It is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design, and has been consistently ranked among the top golf courses in Hawaii and the U.S.
Robert Trent Jones Jr Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Trent Jones, Jr. was chosen by Golf Inc. to receive its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Golfers on Kauai are familiar with Kiahuna, Poipu Bay, Prince Course, and Makai Course that were designed by the island’s resident. In announcing the new award, Golf Inc. wrote, “With more than four decades of golf course design excellence, approximately 250 completed courses and countless accolades for the quality of his work, Robert Trent Jones Jr. is eminently qualified to be the recipient of Golf Inc.’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. From his design debut working with his famous father Robert Trent Jones Sr. at Spyglass Hill to such recent designs as Chambers Bay and Lubker Golf Resort, Jones has created golfing canvases throughout the world. One of the first American architects to branch out to Europe and Asia, and a steward of the environment before it was fashionable, Jones is truly a legend in golf course design the world over.”
Among his best-known works are The Prince Course at Princeville Resort on Kauai and two courses at Wailea in Hawaii; Sugarloaf Golf Club, in Maine; The Links at Spanish Bay, in California; Le Meridien Moscow Country Club in Russia; Cabo Real Golf Course in Mexico and Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in China. Just last year, Jones also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Pacific Golf Summit for his contributions to the growth of the game in Asia. You can visit the website at RTJ II and see the commitment to working in harmony with nature to craft the best golf course on each unique site.
Patriot Golf Day Kauai
Patriot Golf Day will be celebrated across Kaua‘i. Patriot Golf Day, a joint initiative of The PGA of America and the United States Golf Association, is being held at golf courses across the country during the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-7. On Kauai, the Prince Golf Course, Poipu Bay Golf Course, Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club, Kiahuna Golf Club, Kukuiolono Golf Course, Puakea Golf Course, and Wailua Golf Course will all be participating in the event.
“This is a great way for the golf industry to help the families of those who have lost their lives or have been injured so that we may have our freedom,” said Greg Nichols, GM and Director of Golf at Ko Olina Golf Club and chairman of Patriot Golf Day in Hawai‘i. “This is a wonderful opportunity for golfers in our community to give back to those who have given everything.”
Golfers nationwide are asked to donate a minimum of $1 to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation to provide post secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving our great nation. Patriot Golf Day has raised more than $3 million dollars in the past two years.
For a complete list of facilities and for more information about Patriot Golf Day, visit Play Golf America.
