Golfer putting golf ball | Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Sri Maiava Rusden
Set 300 feet above the blue Pacific along the Kauai’s rugged North Shore coast, the Prince Course at Princeville Resort is an 18-hole, par-72 course rated by many experts and golf publications as the No.1 course in Hawaii.
This rating isn’t given for the scenery. The Prince is a golfing experience that will try your skills.
This challenging, links-style course, inspired by Princeville’s rolling terrain, finds its roots in Scotland, golf’s homeland. Except for the manicured greens, there doesn’t seem to be a level spot on the course.
The course runs uphill, careens downhill and is now being called the Pine Valley of the Pacific.
The reward at the 18th hole is the elegant, yet North Shore casual, Prince Golf Clubhouse.
Amenities include a spa, a well-stocked pro shop, tasty Pacific Rim cuisine dishes at the restaurant and, of course, the condolences of other duffers who have made it through the Prince’s 18 holes.
Golf Digest magazine has listed the Princeville Makai Course in its Top 50 Resort Courses and has long included it in America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
The Makai is really three courses in one: The Ocean Nine ventures closest to the Pacific, the Lakes Nine winds its way around serene lakes, and the Woods Nine is a pleasant diversion through native woodlands.
