Tag: Princeville Makai

Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Hawaii

After a tight battle, there’s a new No. 1 among Hawaii’s public-access layouts.

It’s a tight race for the title of best public-access golf course in Hawaii, with the Four Seasons Resort’s Manele Course in Lanai having jumped ahead of Kapalua’s Plantation Course for the No. 1 spot on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list in 2022.

Built by Jack Nicklaus atop lava outcroppings and opened in 1991, the Manele Course features three holes atop cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. Besides being No. 1 among Hawaii’s public-access layouts, it ties for No. 32 among all modern courses built since 1960 in the U.S.

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with the list of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for Hawaii is likewise included below.

MORE: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort|
Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960

Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses. Several of the private courses listed below do not qualify for those premium lists because they haven’t seen enough rater play in the past 10 years, but they are still eligible for the state-by-state lists.

* New to or returning to list

Golf in Kauai? Only after mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors

With the COVID-19 pandemic surging in various parts of the globe, travelers heading to Hawaii face increased restrictions.

With the COVID-19 pandemic surging in various parts of the globe, travelers heading to Hawaii face increased restrictions. For those trying to get to Kauai, things are even more strict.

Travelers to the island of Kauai will have to spend 14 days in quarantine regardless of whether they obtain a negative COVID-19 test prior to traveling, Gov. David Ige announced. Ige approved a request from Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami to temporarily opt out of the state’s pretravel testing program, which allows travelers to bypass a two-week quarantine requirement if they test negative up to 72 hours before arriving in the islands.

The new policy will take effect on Tuesday. Kawakami said he would gladly repeal it once Kauai has the virus under control again. Travelers to islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii will be able to continue to avoid quarantine with a negative test.

Kauai had no cases of community spread of the coronavirus for several months starting in July but it has had six cases of community spread since Oct. 15, when the state began allowing travelers to bypass quarantine with a negative test.

Princeville Makai
Princeville Makai Golf Club in Kauai, Hawaii.

Golf in Kauai

There are nine golf courses in Kauai, with four of them appearing on the Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play Hawaii, headlined by Princeville Makai, fourth overall in Hawaii.

1. Kapalua (Plantation)

Maui (No. 44 m) 

2. Four Seasons Resort (Manele)

Lanai (No. 51 m)

3. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

Kohala Coast (No. 194 m)

4. Princeville Makai

Kauai (m)

5. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

Kailua-Kona (m)

6. Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa (Poipu Bay)

Kauai (m)

7. Wailea (Gold)

Maui (m)

8. Mauna Lani (North)

Kona (m)

9. Turtle Bay Resort (Arnold Palmer)

Oahu (m)

10. Wailea (Emerald)

Maui (m)

11. Kapolei GC

Kapolei (m)

12. Ocean Course at Hokuala

Kauai (m)

13. Wailua Municipal

Kauai (m)

14. Royal Ka’anapali

Lahaina (m)

15. *Mauna Lani (South)

Kona (m)

USA TODAY contributed to this article.