Ocean/Woods at Makai Golf Club at Princeville

The Makai Golf Club at Princeville sits on Kauai's north shore, where Robert Trent Jones, Jr. routed twenty-seven holes across coastal bluffs and interior valleys in the early 1970s. The property occupies dramatic terrain above Hanalei Bay, with the original layout divided into three nine-hole loops—Ocean, Lakes, and Woods—that could be combined in different eighteen-hole configurations. A significant renovation in 2009 consolidated the best holes from all three nines into a single eighteen-hole championship course, retaining the Ocean and Woods nines while incorporating select holes from the Lakes nine.

The routing takes advantage of Kauai's north shore topography, moving between oceanfront holes with views across Hanalei Bay toward Bali Hai and interior stretches that wind through tropical vegetation and rolling terrain. Several holes play along clifftops with the Pacific visible below, while others descend into valleys where trade winds and elevation changes affect club selection. Jones designed the course to accommodate resort play while maintaining strategic interest through green complexes and approach angles that reward accuracy over pure distance.

Princeville Resort has long served as a destination for visitors to Kauai's north shore, and Makai functions as the resort's primary golf facility. The course operates as a daily-fee layout accessible to resort guests and outside visitors, with conditioning and pace of play oriented toward vacation golfers. The setting provides consistent views of the island's mountainous interior and coastline, characteristic of Kauai's garden island landscape.