Kauai in late October

[bigred90gt]

So, I've read the topics already posted regarding golf on Kauai, and so far it has left me just as confused as I was when I started looking.

 

We are going to Kauai Oct-18 through 23. I will only have one day to play one round. I have always wanted to play Princeville (the prince course). We are staying at the Grand Hyatt down at Poipu Bay. I have done a bunch of reading, and apparently Poipu Bay is also a great course.

 

From what I have read, Poipu is your typical tropical resort course in the beach, while Princeville is a more challenging course and plays more into the rain Forest areas than the beach (I think there are 2 holes with greens by the water).

 

Being that we are staying at the Hyatt, I get a discount at Poipu Bay, but since I've always wanted to play Princeville, the extra money isn't a concern (who really goes to Hawaii and is worried about spending an extra $75ish??).

 

Can someone who has played both offer some advice? Maybe someone with local knowledge regarding that particular time of year and what to expect conditioning wise? I won't be able to talk the wife into letting me play both, so those comments won't help.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Clambake]

I visited Kauai last year in early September and played both of those, plus the Makai course in Princeville. We stayed 1/2 of the time at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu, and the other half at the St. Regis Princeville. Just to give some context, I'm a 5 index and hit it reasonably well but not super long.

I enjoyed Poipu, and with it right at the resort it was very handy to play and also gives a nice discount. As you indicate, it is a resort course but it has some fairly interesting holes. I found the conditioning to be very good; greens were smooth and rolled very nicely, and fairways were firm and offered some good roll out but gave good lies to hit from. The rough isn't too high, just enough to add some challenge but not so much that you'll lose the ball in there. You'll find it is probably pretty windy, which is actually kind of fun when you get on the back nine and find a short par 4 that takes driver+3W to reach the green, and then a very long par 4 downwind that I played 3W+8i. One thing I enjoyed about Poipu was the pace was very fast, and I was able to play 36 holes in under 5 hours (the replay rate was a good deal too).

I didn't care much for the Prince course, and felt it was very overrated. The clubhouse is great and has a very good restaurant, and the practice facility is nice except for they used Pinnacle range balls. I found the condition of Prince to be very good, except the greens had various brown spots on them especially around where prior holes were cut. Fairways were nice and lush. There isn't much rough per se, but anything too far from the fairways is a lost ball as the rough there is jungle. The pace of play wasn't fast, but not slow either, about 4 hours.

The course layout was very quirky, with some really good holes, some mediocre holes, and a few holes that were strangely designed, like the par 5 10th hole. Some examples of the strangeness: an early Par 5 required either a tee shot of either under 170 yards or over 300 yards (carry) to be short of the barranca or get over it. Of course this being WRX I'm sure everyone easily carries that barranca, but not me, making me think hitting a 7 iron off the tee on a par 5 to be annoying. The 10th hole was another example - the hole is almost horseshoe shaped, making it useless to hit it far off the tee or even the second shot. I think I hit 6i off the tee, then a 6i to the green which shortened the hole compared to my playing partner who hit driver, then 3w, then had a wedge back to the green. Very odd hole. It isn't that I disliked Prince, it is just that I didn't like it as much as I was expecting from the hype, and I actually enjoyed my rounds at Poipu and Makai in Princeville more. And it wasn't because Prince beat me up - I actually hit all but a couple fairways, and played it a couple strokes under my index, so I was playing very well that day.

A couple more considerations for your decision. Although Kauai isn't a large island, traffic doesn't move very fast and it is probably a 90 minute drive or so each way from Poipu to Princeville, so it is pretty much going to be an all day activity to go there to play. Also, you'll be visiting around the start of their rainy season on the north shore. Princeville is green and lush for a reason - it rains a lot there. Poipu is on the dry side, and you're probably less likely to get rained on while playing. I got lucky in our visit in that it only lightly sprinkled a couple times during my Prince round, only a few minutes each time, but other days we were there got some harder showers during the day. And that was the dry season. Either way, you'll enjoy it and have a great time!

Oh, since you're staying at the Grand Hyatt, make sure you stop at Puka Dogs during your trip, just down the road from your hotel. It was the only place we ate at more than once during our trip, and we joke that we need to go back to Kauai again just for a couple more of their dogs. Good stuff.

[Mirage]

I've played both courses (Prince and Poipu Bay). Although I haven't played the Prince Course since the late 90s, there's no doubt based on Clambake's comments that apart from current conditions, which can change frequently, it's still largely the same as it ever was. That is to say, playing it for the first time, it can be as hard as woodpecker lips (Clambake's recap brought me back to the memory of a good drive on a par five, only to discover my ball had rolled into a barranca and I'd now be hitting my third shot from a long way from the green - not fun). The bunkers (which could certainly have changed) were dry and very firm when I played the Prince Course, which I like.

Poipu Bay is almost entirely a what-you-see-is-what-you-get course, and in my view, what you get is great. Until this past weekend, I'd played it four times previously, but again, back in the late 90s. What was different this time was how much many of the trees had grown taller/filled in, and the new hybrid grass they have on their greens. The greens drained very well (I was actually rained out - as in soaked to the bone despite rain shirt - after 5.5 holes on Friday, but got in a complete round Sunday, rolled smoothly if not real quickly, and were at once both receptive to good approach shots and resistant to deep pitch marks from them.

The pro shop staff at Poipu Bay, Marsha and Kirk, could not have been nicer or more accommodating, both in refunding my charge for the Friday rain-out, and re-scheduling me for a Sunday morning make-up round before we flew home. The starter on Sunday got me out with a single at 0800, even though I wasn't slated to play until 0900 (and we still played in intermittent drizzle for about half the round). I'm an 11.2 coming back from a significant injury last year (was an 8.4 before it), and played the blues at Poipu, about 6600 yards. I shot 40 on the back (which is generally tougher to score on than the front), including one birdie and pars on three of the last four holes. An industrial-strength mental lapse on the shortest hole on the course cost me a triple on the front. :-( The strong winds that usually kick your a** going East and really help you tackle the two super-long par fours heading in (15 and 16) were largely absent on Sunday, so I was pleased with the finish.

If you can only play one day, and want a challenging and enjoyable round, I'd recommend Poipu Bay in a heartbeat. If you want to be able to say you played the Prince Course, head north - but it will cost you more, and you won't have as good a time if it's your first time there. Have a great trip!

[bigred90gt]

Well, I appreciate the info. I had made up my mind to play princeville, but I just found out yesterday that I will be having back surgery in the next few weeks, so I won't be able to play when we go. Yay.

[bigred90gt]

So, thanks to hurricane Ana, our vacation was delayed, until this week. We got here yesterday, and I played Princeville this morning. Without question, the most beautiful course I have ever played. The views were breath taking, and it was worth every penny. Shot 46 on the front trying to get used to the rental clubs, and put up a 38 on the back. Played the gold tees (one up from the tips). 7040 yards on the card, 75.0/133 rating/slope. I was 7 over through 4, then figured out the clubs. Actually hit every fairway on the back 9. 71% FIR and 44% GIR for the round. 33 putts and 4 lost balls. That 38 on the back included 2 of those lost balls. Could have scored much better had I had a bit more range time with the clubs.

The unfortunate news is that apparently, at the beginning of 2015, they are shutting the course down for a year or so for a rebuild, and when it reopens, it is supposed to be private. Which is a bummer, because I would love to play it every time I come to this island!

If time permits, I might play Poipu Bay on Thursday or Friday morning. Just need to see how the wife feels one of those days.

[bigred90gt]

Got the wife convinced to let me at Poipu tomorrow morning!

[bigred90gt]

It's official, Kauai is losing the nicest course I have ever seen. My taste must vary greatly from everyone else, because princeville was incredible, and Poipu Bay was, meh. Great shape, but nothing spectacular. It's a damn shame they're closing Princeville.

[DD4442]

That's a bummer about the Prince course. Kick myself for playing Makai instead. Rationalized I'd play it "next time." Nice. There is a ton of golf on the island, and I thought Poipu (the course itself) was flowery and nice and all that, but resort-bland and could have been found any state. Sort of like a son-in-law: "OK, just not what we hoped for Honey." The local munis are fun and quirky. Prince looked magnificent. I'm an idiot.

[The Beav]

I played both once and I found them to have different pros and cons. The conditions and scenery are better at the Prince, while the layout and design on Poipu Bay was nicer.
I played them both in crazy winds which made some holes on The Prince near impossible, while you could tell that Poipu Bay was designed with the winds in mind.

[mannimal]

[quote name='bigred90gt' timestamp='1418418572' post='10584883']
It's official, Kauai is losing the nicest course I have ever seen. My taste must vary greatly from everyone else, because princeville was incredible, and Poipu Bay was, meh. Great shape, but nothing spectacular. It's a damn shame they're closing Princeville.
[/quote]

THIS IS DEVASTATING!

Going there for the Honeymoon in May... BUMMER!

[mannimal]

Ok, just looked at the article and at least I'll be able to play Makai. Obviously not the Prince course, but a fair consolation prize.

As a surfer/skater as well, really excited about an opportunity to use the goldboards.

[bigred90gt]

[quote name='DD4442' timestamp='1418485967' post='10587921']
That's a bummer about the Prince course. Kick myself for playing Makai instead. Rationalized I'd play it "next time." Nice. There is a ton of golf on the island, and I thought Poipu (the course itself) was flowery and nice and all that, but resort-bland and could have been found any state. Sort of like a son-in-law: "OK, just not what we hoped for Honey." The local munis are fun and quirky. Prince looked magnificent. I'm an idiot.
[/quote]My thoughts exactly regarding Poipu. Nice, pretty, great views of the ocean on the back nine, but just like every other beach resort course in the world.

[hawkeyegolfer]

I've been reading today about the buyout of the Prince course. The course is going private, being closed for a year for renovations and having houses developed on the course. I am pretty upset. First time I was in Kauai the course was closed for renovations (just 4 years ago) but I did
play it two years ago and loved it. It was a little windy but I didn't find the course impossibly hard. Have a 9 hc and shot a 88. Some of the holes were unforgettable and I would have played it any time I was back on the island. I guess not. Maybe the privatization will fall through and the course will come back to the public. I think this is the same group that bought Mekena on Maui and turning that private. Have not heard if that one has reopened. I'll have to play Poipu Bay and Kauai Lagoons next time I'm on Kauai. i have played Makai which was a great course with some scenic holes but not near the 18 hole experience of the Prince.

[bigred90gt]

I also didnt find it incredibly tough. It took me most of the front nine to get acquainted with the clubs (rental set of clubs I've never hit), and I shot a 46 on the front. Started triple, double, par, double to go +7 through 4 holes. Added another double and a bogey for a miserable time. I put up a 38 on the back for an 84. I'm a 7 index for reference.