Kauai's North Shore shines at the Makai Golf Club at St. Regis Princeville

Brandon Tucker

October 25, 2011

Updated July 20, 2018

PRINCEVILLE, Kauai, Hawaii -- Kauai's jungly and lush north shore is home to two golf courses, including the Makai Golf Club at St. Regis Princeville.

Makai features an 18-hole championship course and a more casual nine-hole course, the Woods nine.

Operated by Troon Golf, the Makai resort and golf club received a monumental renovation a few years back when St. Regis took over the Princeville Hotel. The club, formerly an interchangeable 27-hole layout, saw 18 holes redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and reseeded with paspalum grass from tee to green.

The result, which debuted in 2010, is one of Hawaii's most spectacular ocean courses. A couple of holes on both the front and back nine play on cliffs right beside the ocean. The par-3 seventh hole demands a shot over water, while the short par-4 13th hole plays beside it the whole way. The more inland holes play through Cook pines as well as the Princeville vacation and residential development. Guests who stay at the St. Regis Princeville receive preferred rates.

A few minutes from Makai is the Prince Golf Course at Princeville at Hanelei, which closed in early 2010 for renovations and will reopen in December. For a more casual round, the Woods nine at Makai Golf Club is a walker-friendly alternative to the 18-hole course at Princeville.

Brandon Tucker

Brandon Tucker is the Sr. Managing Editor for GolfPass and was the founding editor of Golf Advisor in 2014, he was the managing editor for Golf Channel Digital's Courses & Travel. To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and nearly 600 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours. Follow Brandon on Twitter at @BrandonTucker and on Instagram at @btuck34.