Whether you want to go on a golf trip with the guys, experience a
romantic anniversary getaway or just sit on the beach, Maui provides plenty of
choices. This Hawaiian paradise offers 17 golf courses, some of the world’s most
luxurious resorts and postcard-perfect scenery throughout the 729-square-mile
island barely bigger than metropolitan L.A.
While Kapalua, Makena and Wailea will resonate with the golf crowd
and discerning travelers will be drawn to the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, the
island offers plenty of other diversions, including world-class dining, fishing,
art, whale watching and nature excursions.
Perhaps best known for its sand-and-surf culture, Maui offers sun
worshippers a unique mix of white, gold, black, green, garnet and
salt-and-pepper sand on 81 accessible beaches, as well as year-round average
temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Early January to mid-February is especially
ideal because it’s the off-season, with deals to be had and few crowds to
compete with—on the links or in the ocean.
Golf
Kapalua Resort, refined in the tradition of the former plantation
it inhabits, presents three lavish, expansive layouts. The centerpiece is the
Coore/Crenshaw-designed Plantation, host of the PGA Tour’s season-opening
Mercedes Championships in January. Play Plantation first; the Bay
course will seem like breather.
Extravagant Wailea Golf Club awaits with three courses of its own
on the sunny southern end of the island dominated by 10,023-foot Mount
Haleakala. The Blue is a friendly resort track where the biggest hazard is
humpback whale viewing. The Emerald and Gold are both Robert Trent Jones Jr.
designs. The former is a lush, tropical playground and the latter is a
bust-loose, bunker-heavy test that’s home to the Wendy’s Champions Skins Game.
Makena sits on 1,800 natural acres with only one luxury hotel and
two RTJ Jr. courses. The North is mauka (mountainside)—a hill-climbing,
ravine-spanning, lava-flirting spectacle that feels as ruggedly remote as
perfectly coddled golf can get. The South is makai (oceanside) and features a
recently tweaked layout that provides a sense of serenity that only proximity to
the aptly named Pacific Ocean can provide.
Accomodations
Kapalua Bay Hotel
Kapalua Villas
Ritz-Carlton
Maui Prince
Makena
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea
Grand Wailea Resort & Spa
Dining
Tequila shrimp and firecracker rice at David Paul’s Lahaina Grill;
Ka’uiki Pacific Rim fusion at Hotel Hana Maui; Seawatch Restaurant, Wailea; Spago at
Four Seasons; Old Lahaina Luau.
Acticities
Post-round drinks at the Beach House, fronting historic D.T.
Fleming Beach; kayaking, scuba diving and snorkeling at the beaches of Ka’anapali, Makena and
Kama’ole; Hana Coast Gallery, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Bailey House
Museum.
