1 Hotel Hanalei Bay (Kauai)

The knowledgeable Expedia concierge at the Courtyard Kauai Resort made our tee times. The sense of arrival at Makai Golf Club is exceptional. The course has holes surrounding the road and they give a hint of what to expect. Checking in, the pro shop staff was professional, kind, and enthusiastic. Doug serves a special mention. The starter was very thorough in giving us tips for the greens and the wind. Practice areas are top notch. The course plays shorter than you would think it would. We had wind but no clouds. 12 great holes, 5 almost great, and only one short par 4 that was kind of quirky. This is a Robert Trent Jones Jr course, so that means bunkers. A lot of them. The course is currently ranked #3 in Hawaii. Should be #1. Golf Digest ranks it as Top 100 you can play. Do it.

It's too bad this golf course is thousands of miles from me. Otherwise, I'd play it with regularity. It's that good, and I'd never get bored. Every hole is unique and memorable, and the ocean comes into view on half the holes. Outstanding conditions don't hurt either. I love the ocean holes, but also in the inward holes. In fact, 17 and 18 are one of the best finishing holes in all of golf. Easily, the Makai is in the top 20 golf courses I've ever played, and I've played around a thousand courses.

Nice course. Good condiontions. Just wish you saw the ocean more.

Played with wife, son (6 handicap), and his wife. Course conditions excellent, great course for our range of expertise, as advertised, some killer views. No one behind us so we spent 1/2 hour watching the whales about 3/4 miles offshore.

Have to mention the level of service. Way over the top. Clubhouse staff, cart guys, starter, all with exuberant personalities, fell all over themselves to make us feel welcome and appreciated.

Marshall Rick cannot be topped. As often as I have played golf, from muni's to 5 star resorts, never met a more concerned, accomodating, human beaing of a Marshall than Rick. Hats off, the bar has been raised.

The Makai Course, especially after a facelift four years ago, remains one of my all-time favorites. With ocean views on more than half the holes, great turf conditions and inland holes that rival some of the ocean holes, this is an enjoyable experience from start to finish. Truly, this is a course that Robert Trent Jones did right more than 40 years ago and had the chance to make his own improvements on it after designed scores of other courses in between. If you get to Kauai, this is a must-play, even moreso than the Prince Course, which is shutting down and turning private.

Makai has great warm up facilities. We went on a day that was looking to be OK but the north shore of Kauai had decided that Makai needed a bath, of course this meant we had no traffic! The first nine it rained hard and sideways, second nine it cleared up but there was still a fair bit of water around. Having said that still managed to post an OK score. Fairways and greens were in good shape. The course is great and some holes with amazing views of the ocean. Carts have tablets with hole details and GPS which is great as you can set them up for yards or metres. Pro shop was fine and club service was top notch.

Nice golf course. Some spectacular views. Pace of play was slow. Course permitted a guy wearing swim trunks and a camp shirt to play in front of us. Then, did nothing to move them along.

I don't dole out five stars for an overall course rating easily, but the Makai Golf Club at Princeville deserves it.
Since a multi-million dollar renovation finished in 2010, this Robert Trent Jones Jr. course no longer lives in the shadow of the Prince course at Princeville, long considered Kauai's top course.
Makai, ranked no. 80 on Golf Digest's list of "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" in 2013-14, has a crisp, clean look thanks to new grass and new white Silica sand in all the bunkers. It's resort-friendly, yet still stocked with some challenging holes.
The beautiful new Seashore paspalum that now covers the fairways, greens and tees is well groomed by Troon Golf, which manages the club.
Makai translates in Hawaiian to "ocean." Five superb holes (nos. 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14) dance along the clifftops near the Pacific Ocean. You might end up replaying them over and over again in your dreams.

When I think Hawaii golf, my mind first turns to the Makai. Though minutes from the Prince, Makai is a little more resort-friendly but delivers some of the best oceanfront holes in Hawaii. What's also cool is that each nine has oceanfront holes. The recent renovation gives the course some of the best playing conditions on Kauai too. Coupled with a stay at the St. Regis Princeville, it doesn't get much better on the islands.

Place is awesome. Great rate on Golf Now, $125 at 11am. $35 extra for the wife to ride along. Well worth the money. The ocean views are fantastic. Hard to focus on your shots at times. Had a rough start but tore up the back for a 77! Greens rolled nice, not too fast but not slow like other tracks on Kauai. (Puakea, pass on this one) Both tracks at Princeville are a must play! To save some cash, try the Muni near the Airport. Aloha!

Diverse course layout. Difficult par 3s from the black tees. Fairly wide fairways, but tighter areas near most greens. A few 'all or nothing' shots at about half of the par threes and one third of the par fours (either over ponds at the front edge of the green or over cliffs that are 100 feet deep or more!) Easy, of course, when you know where and how far your ball is going!

I got a great deal from golf now to play this course and I must say I was in golf heaven. The course was pristine, the views were amazing, and the staff was extremely friendly. The overall feel was relaxed and low pressure... making it well worth the green fee. I liked it so much that I booked another round for 3 days later.

We enjoyed the course and felt the staff were extremely friendly and accomodating. The trade winds made this a very challenging course from the blue tees!

This course totally lived up to the hype. Through golfnow we got an extremely reasonable rate, which always influences your experience positively, and got a tee time around 11am. Aesthetically, the course is great and the conditions are the same. As we played in to the afternoon the greens really slowed down which I found challenging, mainly because I have so little experience putting on greens with so much grain. I preferred the front nine design. Besides holes 14 and 18, the back nine just mirrors the front. Just less impressive. Don't bother looking for your ball if its near a residence on the course, we were prematurely warned not to get anywhere near their property. Great course and even better staff.

Princeville Makai is an outstanding layout that features excellent fairways and very well-maintained greens. The course went through an extensive renovation within the past few years and yet has the look and feel of a course that is mature. The pace of play was just right: very little waiting and no one pressing from behind. And, if we did wait at all, we had beautiful views of the ocean. What we particularly enjoyed was the fact that design is both challenging and playable. The fairways are relatively wide, but the wind makes it a challenge to keep your ball in the right position.

The golf course with in good shape staff was very friendly and helpful. Looking forward to play this course again my next visit.

The tees, fairways and greens were in terrific shape. I had not played in Hawaii for several years because the greens were typically very grainy, but these greens were very true and the speed was quick, but very fair. The early holes, except for #3, are not very challenging, but the rest of the course was a real treat. At times the course plays much longer than the yardage, due to elevation change and wind. The green fee, $117, was very fair for the quality of the course and views that are amazingly beautiful once you get to the ocean holes (some on front and back nines). I would play again without hesitation.

Spectacular scenery along the cliffs of Princeville, Kauai. Lots of sand bunkers and windy conditions make for a good test of your golf game. Very friendly staff.

During our 2 week´s stay in Hawaii we played several courses and chose Princeville as our latest.
The staff was very, very friendly!
They took as from the parking area, brougth all our equipment to the caddy master. The GPS was introduced to us, including our german language.
At the end we could send the scorecard to our e-Mail.
Then our staff was completely cleaned and our car was brought precooled from the parking area directly to the baggage drop.
And the course: Spectecular. On some holes you think to play directly in the ocean.
The only minus: Remaining sand on the greens after verfication.
Anyway very true and very fast greens. Bunkers in perfect shape.
Congratulation to all the team of Princeville!

This is a very nice resort course. Even though the fairways are wide, there are several very challenging holes, particularly when the wind blows (which is most of the time). The staff is very friendly and helpful. They parked our car, stored our bags for our next round and made us feel very welcome. Nice folks all around.