Blind Shot

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN OAR

DOUBLE VISION: The 10th and 17th holes on Wailea’s Robert Trent Jones II-designed Emerald Course share a green—and a view of the Pacific.

Wide-Eyed in Wailea

Maui’s long-admired golf resort community continues to impress.

THE SECOND-LARGEST Hawaiian island, Maui doesn’t play second ukulele to anyone when it comes to golf.

Fittingly, its reputation starts at the top of the island at Kapalua, where CooreCrenshaw’s Plantation Course yielded Cameron Smith’s 34-under at January’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. You can only imagine the score he’d post on Kapalua’s more leisurely Bay Course.

A similar two-course dynamic awaits minutes down the coast with the august Royal Kā‘anapali and the young Kā‘anapali Kai, which wanders the same stunning topography with a more player-friendly attitude than his regal forebear.

The best drive on your Maui golf trip, however, could be the one you take along the ‘Au‘au Channel and Mā‘alea Bay to Wailea. Situated on 1,500 acres, the otherworldly resort community spans Haleakalā’s emerald slopes and the crescentshaped beaches along the Pacific.

Each of Wailea Golf Club’s three courses makes superb use of its paradisial setting, with many holes perched as high as 300 feet above the ocean for extraordinary views.

A former Skins Game site, the Robert Trent Jones II-designed Gold course ranks as the toughest of the three, its 7,078 yards traversing rugged terrain that incorporates ancient lava rock walls. Six sets of tees bring the challenge within reach.

The Gold course shares a clubhouse (and the superb Gannon’s restaurant) with the Emerald, a lushly landscaped RTJII design that’s flat-out fun, with few forced carries and abundant eye candy, especially the photogenic double green on holes 10 and 17.

Rounding out the trio, Wailea’s original course, the Blue, represents architect Arthur Jack Snyder at his charming, challenging best: wide, sloping fairways lined by tropical foliage, ample risks and rewards, strategically placed coral sand bunkers and tricky greens.

All three come with views of the neighboring islands that nongolfers can also enjoy, courtesy of the Wailea Blue Sunset Cart Tour. Be sure to enhance the self-guided late-afternoon drive to the course’s most scenic parts with a pinot noir from Meiomi Wines, or a lager from Maui Brewing Company.

Continued reinvestment and responsiveness to guests and residents have kept the 35-year-old resort community fresh. Just last year, the sleek 110-room AC Hotel By Marriott Maui Wailea opened; the Andaz Maui Wailea debuted the Ilikai Collection of 19 three-bedroom villas; and the Wailea Beach resort unveiled its 34-room Oceanfront Sundeck Collection. By this April, the venerable Fairmont Kea Lani will reveal a multimillion-dollar transformation of its luxe suites and villas.

In addition to snorkeling, swimming, hiking and biking, Wailea’s resorts have introduced a raft of wellness and mindfulness-oriented activities. Grand Wailea offers Sound Healing, Ho’omalie and even a resident astrologist, while the Four Seasons Wailea has partnered with Next|Health to upgrade its spa experience with customized IV treatments, vitamin shots and biomarker testing. The Four Seasons also has a troika of top-tier restaurants and this February added a full-service indoor Topgolf Swing Suite. That’s just in case Wailea’s three courses and Maui’s 12 others aren’t enough for you. wailearesortassociation.com