Puakea Golf Course

Back on the island’s southeast coast, not far from Lihue Airport, sits Puakea Golf Course. While the opening hole is not a dazzler—flat with water up the right side and an industrial center providing an uninspiring backdrop—the rest of the course more than makes up for that slow start. Things really take off at the par 3 sixth, with a downhill tee shot over a ravine filled with tropical undergrowth, all set against soaring mountains in the distance. Tasty options await at the low-key Ho’okipa Café in the clubhouse.

            Poipu Bay Golf Course may ring a bell for diehard golf fans. It hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 through 2006, won by Tiger Woods a mere seven times. One spin around the layout and you can see how it could test the world’s best golfers thanks to subtle elevation changes and trade winds often coming into play. The three-hole closing stretch may be Kauai’s best, with the 16th and 17th offering ocean views. The course is ranked sixth on Golfweek’s 2019 “Best Courses You Can Play in Hawaii.”

            Of course, you’ll miss out on too much if all you do on Kauai is golf. A helicopter ride provides the best vantage points, but hikes around the Ohi’a Forest and Waimea Canyon, or a day spent exploring the town of Hanalei, are worthy activities off the course. Then again, there is that infinity-edge pool beckoning as well. 

To Learn More

Go Golf Kauai gogolfkauai.com.

Timbers Kauai timberskauai.com.