At one time, sugar plantations dominated Kaua’i, with over 70,000 acres of sugar cane fields stretching from the Hanalei River on the island’s northeast coast, to the Mana Plain on Kaua’i’s southwest side. By 1980, 150 years after Kaua’i’s first plantation had opened near Old Koloa Town, the Hawaiian islands were producing over one million tons of sugar a year, most of it finding its way to pantries and sugar bowls across the U.S. mainland.
Just three decades later, not a single active sugar mill remains on the island; indeed, from a peak of 550 independent growers and 14 major plantations across the Hawaiian islands, just one — Maui’s Alexander & Baldwin’s Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. — remains. As Kaua’i’s economic focus has shifted from agriculture to tourism, land that was once dominated by endless waves of sugar fields has been replaced by zip-line courses, ATV off-roading parks and, of course, golf courses.
On Lihue’s Puakea Golf Course (www.puakeagolf.com, 866-773-5554), one can practically hear the echoes of a gentle breeze rattling the sugar cane that covered the course property just a few decades before. As the cost of sugar production increased, the family that owned the land sought to keep it green by converting it into a golf course, opening 10 holes in 1987 and completing the 18-hole circuit 10 years later. Today, a sign calling Puakea “a place to call home” invites thousands of visitors a year to share in the natural beauty of the family land, which features dramatic views of the mountains and ocean, and more than a few memorable holes.
Playing my way around the course, I learned quickly that “a place to call home” is more than just a motto. Every course I played in Kaua’i went out of its way to make me feel welcome; the staff at Puakea made me feel like I belonged. I could see right away why Puakea is a favorite course of local players, if not as well-known by tourists heading off to the big-name resorts at Poipu Bay and Princeville.
The course bends and twists with the natural landscape across numerous ravines and grass-covered slopes, heading towards the mountains, then the ocean, before turning back for home. Standing on one tee box and gesturing to the eight-foot high grasses waving beautifully in a field to my right, I noted that I felt like I was in a scene from Jurassic Park — only to be informed that, indeed, the movie’s famed stampede scene was filmed in a field just beyond Puakea’s No. 6 green.
I enjoyed my round so much — and sped around so quickly — that I went back out to play the front nine one more time, to play the postcard-worthy, downhill, par-3 sixth again, and try a second time to blast my drive across the canyon on the par-4 seventh. By the time I plucked my ball from the cup on No. 9, I truly felt that I’d found my Kaua’i “home” course, the best pairing of greens fee and quality. If I lived here, this is where I’d play the most.
Kaua’i’s first sugar mill was built in Koloa, on the island’s southern shore, in 1835, and remained in operation for over 150 years, before international competition and a destructive hurricane season closed its doors in 1992. Today, the rusted hulk of the mill rises from the overgrowth barely a mile from the Poipu Bay Golf Course, as much a part of the island’s history as the low stone walls and “heiau” (meaning, “places of worship”) that the native Hawaiians built centuries ago on the bluffs that would become Poipu Bay, believing the spot to have a special spiritual power. Today, the heiau have been preserved on the course property; along with views of the mill, the course is as authentically Hawaiian as they come.
Home to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1992-2006, Poipu Bay (800-858-6300, www.poipubaygolf.com) tops nearly every tourist’s list of must-play tracks. With photos of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and others lining the hallway outside the pro shop, it’s natural to assume that the course is among the island’s toughest tests. In reality, however, Poipu Bay can play to as short as 6,127 yards from the white tees, with a rating and slope (68.9/125) roughly equal to the whites at our own Northwest public tracks.
Perhaps it was the rainbow that spanned the first hole as I fired my first tee shot of the day, the 360-degree mountain and ocean views or the possibility of spotting a humpback whale offshore; whatever the reason, Poipu Bay was a blast. Certainly, Robert Trent Jones, Jr.’s design was a contributing factor — open fairways give confidence off the tee, while multi-tiered greens reward players with a good short game. Jones designed the course such that six holes play into the prevailing wind, six play across the wind, and six play with it. That last set of six includes each of the course’s four finishing holes, which run along a cliff high above the crashing surf of the Pacific below.
Standing on the tee box at the 432-yard, par-4 16th, staring out at the Koloa mill to the north with the mountains beyond, and the Pacific Ocean surging at your feet, you feel compelled to take a picture. Truthfully, there’s no need — the memory itself will last a lifetime.
For all its beauty, though, the golf course might only be the second-prettiest property on the peninsula, which it shares with the Grand Hyatt Kaua’i Resort and Spa (808-742-1234, http://kauai.hyatt.com). From the parking lot, the Grand Hyatt boasts a low profile; from the beach and pool area on the opposite side, the true size and scope of the resort is apparent. More than 600 guest rooms cascade down the bluff past the quiet adult pools and spa; the lagoon-style family pool area dotted with lava rocks, bridges and a waterslide; and a man-made, sandy beach, shallow enough for little ones, but deep enough to take a kayak for a spin. The real beach — including some of the best boogieboarding in Kaua’i — is just steps away.
Where the Kaua’i Marriott Resort on Kalapaki Beach wows you with international opulence — its gardens, fountains and pools fusing east Asian, Indian and middle eastern influences — the Hyatt uses the best of Kaua’i to its advantage. Tropical gardens, palm trees and natural roofs on the hotel’s lower wings make the entire property almost disappear into the landscape. Likewise, the pool area is broken up into a sequence of interconnected, smaller, shaded areas, providing the illusion of privacy and seclusion.
We capped our day with a soothing couples massage in a private, outdoor cabana at the hotel’s own Anara Spa, followed by dinner at Tidepools, an award-winning restaurant on the hotel property nestled over a pond filled with koi and turtles. The wasabi-crusted ahi and Kula lavender-crusted steak were cooked to perfection, while the molten chocolate cake was a volcano of flavor. After nearly two hours spent savoring the food and the atmosphere, we took our last glasses of wine (a Washington-made Amavi Syrah, of course) down to the beach and sat on a rocking bench, listening to the waves and staring up at the infinite expanse of stars over the Pacific Ocean on a warm, crystal-clear Kaua’i night.