Princeville Makai might be the most stunning course you’ll ever play
- Jake Nicholas
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
There are few places in the world where a tee shot feels like a spiritual experience. Princeville Makai Golf Club is one of them. Suspended above the Pacific Ocean with mountain waterfalls cascading behind you and seabirds gliding overhead, this isn’t just golf—it’s immersion in a setting so cinematic, you half expect a drone to be trailing your cart.
On the cliffs of Kaua‘i’s North Shore, Princeville Makai Golf Club remains one of the most visually dramatic and memorable golf destinations in the world. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the Makai Course first opened in 1971 and was meticulously re-sculpted in 2010. Today, it plays like a love letter to the island’s natural contours: dramatic elevation shifts, lava rock outcroppings, and fairways that seem to tumble directly into the sea. But it’s the moments between the shots—the soft crunch of paspalum beneath your feet, the golden light slicing through ironwood trees—that make this course linger in your memory long after the scorecard fades.
And then there’s the 7th hole: a par-3 unlike any other. The green juts out over ocean cliffs, with whales breaching in the distance and wind swirling unpredictably. One moment you’re contemplating club selection, the next you’re pausing—just to absorb it all.
While golf is the headliner, the property plays host to more than birdies and bogeys. Guests come for sunrise yoga on the bluff, and golden-hour cart tours that weave along cliffside paths.
A few years ago, the club’s lesser-known Woods Course quietly closed, and in its place came something bold: the Mauka Disc Golf Course, a full 18-hole championship layout that winds through the lush inland forest. This isn’t your neighborhood park setup—it's cart-accessible, thoughtfully routed, and backed by pro-level design input. Expect jungle-lined fairways, dramatic throws over ravines, and views of the Hanalei mountains that rival anything from the championship tees.
A few minutes from the 18th green—and visible from much of the back nine—is 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, arguably the most luxurious resort in the Hawaiian Islands. Reimagined from the bones of the former St. Regis, the hotel opened in 2023 with a mission as ambitious as its views: become the most sustainable, wellness-focused resort in the Pacific without sacrificing an ounce of comfort.
It succeeds—and then some.
Rooms are cloaked in reclaimed teak, local stone, and textures pulled straight from nature. Sliding glass doors frame views of Hanalei Bay like a moving painting. The scent of wild ginger floats through breezy hallways, and native plants spill from vertical gardens across every level. It’s an aesthetic that feels less designed and more discovered.
The spa? World-class. The dining? Built around hyperlocal sourcing, with menus that shift with the tides and harvest cycles. And for golfers: there’s no better post-round indulgence than a cold plunge, sunset cocktail, and terrace dinner overlooking one of the most iconic bays in the world.
Princeville has long been one of Hawai‘i’s most exclusive corners, but this chapter feels different—more alive, more connected, more curious. With the Makai Course offering one of the most scenic rounds on Earth, and 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay raising the bar for sustainable luxury, Kaua‘i’s North Shore is rewriting what a resort destination can be.
