Kapalua. Home of The Sentry since 1999. PGA Tour season opener. And now a Signature Event.
For those who haven't heard, Kapalua Resort is closing the Plantation Course, and its neighboring Bay Course, for 60 days to mitigate damage from water shortages stemming from drought conditions. The hope is that doing so reduces wear and tear from golf carts and golfers, so that the superintendent can get the golf course playable ahead of The Sentry’s opening round on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
As of the time of this writing, the 10-day forecast for Maui shows no significant rain to help.
According to the National Drought Monitor, northwestern Maui has found itself in Level Two (of five if you count Level Zero) drought conditions, signifying “Severe Drought.” A lot of the country is also currently experiencing varying degrees of drought, specifically the Rocky Mountain areas and parts of Texas near the Mexico border.
How does this happen?
Superintendents, and to some extent golf course architects, are diligent to ensure there is sufficient water to irrigate courses. Whistling Straits has two extremely odd-looking ponds on the par-5 fifth hole, for example. The reasoning is to hold as much water as possible. The course I work at has a large pond on its front nine for the same reason. Courses stay green, watered, and alive while the water level in a course’s water feature gradually drops.
Staging a major event in drought conditions is nothing new. The 2015 U.S. Senior Open at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, California, and the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach both come to mind.
Kapalua and other area courses rely on Maui Land & Pineapple and the state of Hawaii for the irrigation water. When water is not made available, or there is simply none to be had, measures are to be taken, hence closing the Plantation Course.
There is some good news for the PGA Tour, The Sentry, and Kapalua. First, there are nearly four months before the first round. Second, four months is plenty of time for Bermuda-grass fairways to come back in.
Third, the Hawaiian climate is ideal for growing Bermuda grass. Even if the drastic measure of re-grassing needs to be taken, rapid grown-in should come to pass. Fourth, and I will get back to this momentarily, is that The Sentry tends not to draw large crowds, reducing the wear and tear from spectators.
Bermuda is a drought-tolerant grass. You may recall Pinehurst #2 at the 2014 U.S. Open and how brown the course looked. A little bit of water and the course was back to being green and lush again in no time.
However, if there is no water for an extended period, the grass will die and will need to be replaced with new sod or seed, which is the concern at Kapalua. If the conditions become too dire, what is the fate of the 2026 Sentry? Let us explore.
First, the event could be shut down altogether, and the PGA Tour could start the season a week later at Waialae.
Doing so would leave the Sony Open in an awkward spot, as players might be hesitant to head to Hawaii for only one week to start the season instead of two. Starting with a non-Signature event and not having one until the fifth event would also be odd, to say the least. Would players who were eligible for a Signature event at The Sentry and planned to stick around for the Sony Open still make the trip?
Another option is to follow the lead of the relocated 2025 Genesis and see if Waialae is interested in double-dipping. Doing so would allow The Sentry folks to still make their way to Hawaii, subbing the capital for Maui.
Speaking of relocating, the event tends to not draw too much in the way of spectators. Since a large property is not necessarily required for crowds (a la Sherwood Country Club in southern California), what other options exist?
Since 1997, located on the island of Hawai’i, Hualalai Resort has been the annual host of the opening event of the PGA Tour Champions season, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. The first round of the 2026 event is January 22. With the final round of The Sentry planned for January 11, that would leave a bit of wiggle room to flip the venue between events. A bonus is, much like Kapalua, the property has a large hotel onsite, albeit different companies, and ocean views.
A further positive is that the course has space for if crowds were to swell spectators and room for hospitality areas. At less than 7,200 yards, a downside is whether the golf course will sufficiently challenge PGA Tour players. A look at the PGA Tour Champions history shows three round scores ranging from 14-under to 23-under, for only three rounds. Super low scores at Kapalua have been a discussion in recent years, but whether that is a concern for a relocated Sentry is up for debate.
Located on the north shore of Oahu, the PGA Tour Champions visited for the Turtle Bay Championship from 2001 to 2008, and the LPGA Tour staged the SBS Open at Turtle Bay from 2005 to 2009. Much like Hualalai, the course and property have space for what goes with PGA Tour events, ocean views, and some history to pull from.
A positive for Turtle Bay is the nearby hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, is the same company as Kapalua. For everyone traveling to the event at either venue, there is some convenience to be had. The Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay-designed Palmer course is 7,200 yards and is worth a visit from the PGA Tour staff.
The LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship has been staged since 2012. Its three venues, Ko Olina, Kapolei, and Hoakalei, are more inland venues and near Honolulu’s suburbs. It makes sense that the LPGA Tour stages events in the area to tie to local businesses and charities, like other events on the mainland, instead of resort and tourist areas.
Hoakalei is 7,400, is an Ernie Els design, and could be a contender for the relocated event. The downside is if the PGA Tour were to play there, or any other venue in Honolulu, they would be better just to double-dip at nearby Waialae.
The most interesting venue could be Ka’anapali GC’s. A mere 12-minute drive from Kapalua, the Royal Ka’anapali Course hosted the PGA Tour Champions from 1987 to 2000 and the Ka’anapali Champions Senior Skins Game from 2008 to 2011. The Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, however, is quite short at 6,800 yards. The University of Hawaii hosts the men’s collegiate Ka’anapali Classic, with individual winning three-round scores hovering near 15-under.
Unlike Kapalua, Ka’anapali GC has water in play on a handful of holes around the course. That might seem like a given, but those ponds provide irrigation water, reducing reliance on Maui Land & Pineapple.
If the PGA Tour were to get into a bind with trying to make Kapalua work, or a last-minute change is required, Ka’anapali is close enough that everyone could stay at Kapalua, do whatever in their normal locations around the Kapalua property, then collectively drive over to play at Ka’anapali, then return after.
Outside of Hawaii, La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, is the previous home of The Sentry, the earlier home of the now-defunct WGC-Match Play event, and from 2024 to 2028 is the home of the NCAA Division I Golf Championships. The course, practice areas, and facility recently underwent a $20 million renovation by Gil Hanse.
Finally, some other options that potentially could be on the table.
Reschedule for later in the year. November through March is the rainy season in Maui. Ideally, a date at the back end of that time frame would be ideal, but the PGA Tour season does not offer an open date. The first true open date is the week after the Tour Championship (Labor Day weekend), but there likely will be openings later in the fall.
Swapping dates with the Genesis Invitational, February 19-22, could be the most ideal, as it would be the last and first West Coast Swing events, but given that the 2025 event was relocated to Torrey Pines, that seems extremely unlikely.
The PGA Tour would be wise to produce some contingency plans, but let us hope water finds its way to the Kapalua grounds soon.