Golf Course Scouting Report: Plantation Course at Kapalua

At last, the 2025 FedEx Cup Season has arrived and is underway at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui. The season begins with The Sentry, a Signature Event featuring the best players in the world, 700 FedEx Cup points, and bloated cash prizes. This also marks the start of Ryder Cup qualifying in the United States.

The Plantation Course is a Coore and Crenshaw design with dramatic elevation changes and incredible views as it winds its way across the side of an oceanside mountain. The elevation change between the highest and lowest points on the golf course is almost 450 feet.

Overall: 6.90 - The Plantation Course at Kapalua plays easy, but the magnificent vistas and bold routing make it a fun venue for the opening event of the PGA TOUR season.

Memorable Holes: 10.0

Everything about The Plantation Course is memorable, right from the opening hole which plunges downhill and over a ravine to a green framed by the Pacific Ocean and a nearby island. The crazy ups and downs continue throughout the entire layout as the course weaves up and down the mountainside. Several tee shots play so severely downhill that 400-yard drives are commonplace; if it were located in the arctic rather than the tropics, the sixth would serve as a ski slope rather than a golf course, and players who land their drive far enough on this 424-yard par four have a chance to scare the green off the tee.

Interest: 8.0

The slopes certainly add an element of excitement at Kapalua, as does the ravine that comes into play numerous times throughout the round. The par-five fifth is a great example of this: at only 526 yards, it is very scoreable, but it plays uphill with a deep ravine running along the entire right side. This ravine must be carried in order to hit the green in two. Additionally, the greens on The Plantation Course are enormous with significant slopes and surrounding contours, leading to an abundance of variety and creativity in the short game.

Par Threes: 7.0

There are only three par threes at The Plantation Course, and two of them are outstanding. The 219-yard second hole is the longest and also the least interesting; it plays relatively flat with bunkers guarding the right side of the left-to-right-sloping green. The eighth is an exciting 199-yard hole played over a deep ravine to a dangerously perched green. The final par three comes at the 11th, a spectacular 161-yard hole with an infinity green set against a cliff overlooking the beautiful Pacific surf.

Difficulty: 2.0

The Plantation Course presents a lot of drama, but for the modern PGA TOUR pro, it is quite easy. As I discuss on my podcast, Linksworms, it looks like a long course at just under 7,600 yards; however, this is misleading because it has a par of 73, and the lack of a fourth par three adds a lot of extra yardage to the total. Furthermore, multiple 500-yard par fours play far shorter than their yardages due to steep downhill tee shots that allow for 400-yard drives. Couple that with the wide fairways and huge greens, and this course is there for the taking.

Finish: 7.5

Kapalua finishes in style. The 369-yard 16th is an easy par four, and players who decide to club down off the tee must negotiate three bunkers that bisect the fairway. The 17th is where things get crazy; this 550-yard par four (yes, you read that right) plays so steeply downhill off the tee that many players will hit a short iron or even wedge over the deep ravine into this green. With the hole location at the back of the green, this hole measured 560 yards on Thursday, making it the longest par four in PGA TOUR history. The 677-yard 18th is possibly even more dramatic; despite its staggering length, this par five is often reachable in two as it cascades down the side of the mountain to the clubhouse. The ocean and distant mountainous island in the background provide a photo finish.

For the criteria used to determine these ratings, please click here.