LAHAINA, Maui, Hawaii -- Just a few miles north of Lahaina, the main city on Maui's west side is Kapalua, home to 36 holes of golf: Kapalua Resort's Bay Course and Plantation Course, as well as a Ritz-Carlton luxury resort and residence club.
The two courses, both operated by Troon Golf, are stark contrasts to one another. The team of Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane designed the Bay Course, which dates back to 1975. It was a former host to an LPGA event and winds through the resort community and even passes by the Honolua Store after the second hole, a general store where golfers can stop in for a quick spam musabi or coffee. The Bay Course also holds the distinction of having Maui's only golf hole that plays over the ocean -- the par-3 fifth.
The Plantation Course lies just north of the Bay and plays on the lush, jungly slopes high above the ocean. The course is the first by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and it features wide fairways and uniquely shaped greens that allow the option for a lot of different shots. A host of the inaugural event on the PGA Tour that welcomes the year's prior winners, the final hole is one of golf's most known -- a 660-yard par 5 that plays downhill and often downwind.
Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort - hole 1
The first hole on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort is a downwind par 4.
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Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort - hole 7
The seventh hole on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort is a downhill par 4 that plays to a sunken green.
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Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort - hole 8
The par-3 eighth hole on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort plays over a ravine to a well-guarded green.
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Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort - hole 11
The last par 3 on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort is the 11th, which plays toward Lanai.
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Bay golf course at Kapalua Resort
Managed by Troon Golf, millions of dollars have been put into renovations on the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort in recent years.
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Bay Course at Kapalua - Honolua Store
The Honolua Store greets hungry golfers after the second hole on the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort.
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Bay golf course at Kapalua Resort - hole 3
The third hole on the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort is a long par 3 with the Kapalua chapel in the backdrop.
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Bay golf course at Kapalua Resort - hole 4
The fourth hole on the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort is a short par 4 that plays out toward the ocean.
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Bay golf course at Kapalua Resort - hole 5
Maui's only shot played over the ocean is the par-3 fifth hole on the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort in Hawaii.
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Bay golf course at Kapalua Resort on Maui
The Bay Course at Kapalua Resort was designed by Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane.
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Bay Course at Kapalua Resort - mountains
The Bay Course at Kapalua Resort plays on severe slopes along the West Maui Mountains.
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Bay golf course at Kapalua - hole 9
The ninth hole on the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort features a sunken green well below the fairway.
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