Troon Golf & Travel - September/October 2010

The Garden Isle, as Kauai is nicknamed, is as enchanting a place as there is, in Hawaii or anywhere in the world. Where land meets sea, she is ringed by gentle beaches. Her interior is a heave of bright green mountains with sharp, knife-like ridges, often capped with clouds. Tall palm trees, thick vines and red and yellow blossoms line her roads. When we think of things “tropical” it is Kauai that comes to mind. The north Shore of the island is particularly scenic. out here, where hikers embark on the na Pali Coast’s fabled Kalalau Trail, Hollywood has filmed dozens of movies requiring that perfect tropical locale. The most famous might still be South Pacific (1957), which first brought images of lumahai Beach and Mount Makana (the conical mountain peak called Bali Hai in the film) to the world. But moviegoers have also seen Kauai’s charms on the silver screen in such films as elvis’ Blue Hawaii (1961), Six Days, Seven Nights (1998) and two of the three Jurassic Park incarnations (1993, 2001).

Such a landscape also lends itself to unique and dramatic golf courses, and two of Hawaii’s best are found at Princeville. Both the Prince Course and the Troon-managed Makai Course are robert Trent Jones Jr. designs, with the Prince Course annually recognized as one of the top two in the state.

With a longtime home in nearby Hanalei, Jones Jr. considers Kauai a perfect landscape for golf. “although everyone immediately recognizes the dramatic beauty of the ocean, Kauai also has spectacular inland views of the rugged mountain ranges,” he says.

Both of his Princeville designs take full advantage of those views, with the recently renovated Makai Course remaining a forgiving, resort-style layout, while the Prince Course is still preferred by better golfers, as it has been since opening in 1991.

In addition to new grass (Seashore Paspallum) and bunker sand throughout, the renovation of Makai combined what formerly was known as the ocean and lakes nines into one 18-hole layout; while the third nonet, Woods, will be used as a family-friendly nine-hole loop. a new clubhouse and driving range is slated for completion later in 2010.

The Prince Course, meanwhile, commands respect on every shot. Its resistance to scoring is found in many forms: forced carries from a number of tees, both grass and sand fairway bunkering, wind, hillside lies and fast, undulating greens…not to mention a fair share of rain (which is, of course, why Kauai is so green).

The Prince’s demand for accuracy is nowhere more apparent than on the signature, par-four 12th hole, where you are asked to smack a long

and straight tee ball off a cliff with enough accuracy to land in the middle of a narrow, jungle-sided fairway 100 feet below; and then place a wedge shot over a stream and onto a green surrounded by tangled trouble. one half expects genetically reinvigorated dinosaurs to charge from the jungle to complete the challenge of no. 12.

no. 13 asks about the same, but with a narrower landing zone and a longer carry to a tougher green. a soothing waterfall backs the green of no. 13, though, so even the worries of a bad score (or an angry dinosaur) are soon washed over with beauty.

bath wIth a VIew

While the golf is superb at Princeville, it does not stand alone in its excellence. The 252- room St. regis Princeville opened last october— the first St. regis in Hawaii—and immediately took its place among the very best resorts in the aloha State. occupying the same footprint as the former Princeville resort Kauai, the St. regis is perched on a bluff overlooking Hanalei Bay, with million dollar views from every vantage point.