I miss Maui. My wife and I lived there for eight years and one of the things that I enjoyed the most of course, was the golf. I was lucky enough to play courses that have been seen on TV like The Plantation Course, Wailea Gold Course, one of the courses at Ka’anapali along with a number of courses that you never got to see.
Fortunately for me I have a DJ buddy there that for the last couple of years has flown me back for a DJ event and I made time to play a round. Last week I was lucky enough to be on Maui for an event, and I got the chance to play Maui Nui Golf Club which back in the day was called Silversword Golf Club and then Elleair Golf Club before changing to its current name.
My buddy Alan had the hook up and myself and our other playing partner Bill both got free rounds, which of course always starts you off on a happy note. Since I was only going to be playing one round I didn’t bring my clubs or shoes, but I did bring seven Pro V1 golf balls and I came home with six of them. That was a plus for me.
Teeing off at 7:09 am is not my favorite time to tee off as I am more of a late morning/early afternoon golfer. Because of my job as a DJ I am usually up late and early mornings are not my thing. But since I had a 3:00 pm flight back home I did what I had to do.
The sun was coming up over the Haleakalā Crater as we teed off and it was a beautiful start to the day. Hole number one is a down then uphill with a small lake on the right par 4. Keeping your tee shot left up on the hill gives you a nice roll to left center of the fairway and a clean shot coming into the green. But, it is an uphill shot so I took an extra club and was the only one to hit the green in two, but they both made par while I missed my short put for a bogey.
I could give you a hole by hole description of how I played, but in the end I shot a 94, lost one ball and six dollars.
Playing from the white tees it’s a 5851 yard course and from the tips, or golds as they call them, it’s 6665 yards. The condition of the course was not bad, not great like some of the resort courses but it is also a lot less expensive. I did miss the fluffy white sand in the bunkers, but I was only in two the whole round, and while the sand was workable, not hard packed, it was shallow and took a bit to get used to.
There is a great variety of holes, not just all “back and forth” or all doglegs. Some blind shots that keep you guessing and then there are the views. Mostly on the back nine you get the ocean views and long views of the center of the island and it is kind of cool to see the row of windmills going up the side of the hill. The 18th is a downhill, sharp dogleg left with bunkers on the right par five that has a great view of the Auau Channel and the island of Molokini. It is worth getting a picture from the tee box.
The greens were mostly big and with a lot of contours. They were slower in the morning of course with the dew and got faster as the day got warmer. My guess is by late afternoon, they would be pretty quick.
Because of the lower cost I am betting that it can get pretty busy as I did see a number of golfers behind us but we played in a little less than four hours and we were in carts. They allow you to walk, but it would be a tad hilly for me at this point in time.
Their “19th Hole” has great views of both number one and 18 coming in, and along with the ocean and island views it is a great place for a glass of wine, beer, Mai Tai or in my case, a glass of Dr. Pepper.
There are a number of great courses on Maui that can challenge you or give you a nice relaxing day on the links and Maui Nui is one of them. When I lived on Maui I had great experiences on them all, having played every course on Maui except one, so if you are planning a Hawaiian get-away, check out the beautiful island of Maui, you won’t be disappointed.
