This Iconic Hawaii Golf Course Is Home To Maui’s Only Over-The-Ocean Hole

A golf hole gets distracting when the Pacific keeps stealing your attention between shots.

Before its current closure, the Bay Course paired ocean views, neighboring islands, coastal fairways, and wildlife with one of Hawaii’s most recognizable resort-golf layouts.

Its signature 17th hole remains especially famous because it is Maui’s only golf hole that plays directly over the ocean.

Trade winds historically added another challenge to the layout, while the coastal setting gave the course much of its visual reputation.

The course developed a reputation as a more approachable resort layout than Kapalua’s demanding Plantation Course.

Bring your clubs and keep the camera close. Some rounds are remembered for the scorecard.

Its enduring reputation comes largely from Pacific views and an oceanfront finish unlike anything else on Maui.

Palmer’s 1975 Coastal Masterpiece

Back in 1975, golf legend Arnold Palmer teamed up with architect Francis Duane to shape something special on Maui. Their creation became the first championship layout of the Kapalua Resort.

The name itself means “Arms embracing the Sea,” which tells you exactly what the designers were going for. Every routing decision seems to nudge you closer to the water.

The 6,600-yard, par-72 design became known for rolling fairways and generous greens that made it relatively approachable for resort golfers.

The Bay Course became an early part of Kapalua’s resort-golf identity, developed on land shaped by the area’s long history as Honolua Ranch and Honolua Plantation.

Kapalua’s former pineapple-plantation landscape remains an important part of the resort’s history.

Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane jointly designed the Bay Course, which opened in 1975 as Kapalua’s first championship golf layout.

If you want to see it yourself, the address is 2000 Village Rd in Lahaina.

Tournaments That Made History

Few courses in the islands carry a resume this long. More than twenty major professional tournaments have been staged here, more than any other course on Maui or the outer islands of Hawaii.

The Kapalua Invitational arrived in 1982 and put the place on television screens everywhere. A year later, Greg Norman claimed his first victory on American soil during the Kapalua International.

That 1983 event also happened to be golf’s first live prime-time broadcast. Viewers across the mainland watched the sun sink behind the Pacific while putts dropped.

In 1987, the World Cup of Golf came to town, and Welshmen David Llewellyn and Ian Woosnam took the title in dramatic fashion. Two decades later, in 2008, Morgan Pressel won the Kapalua LPGA Classic on these same fairways.

Fred Couples and Davis Love III have each won here twice, which says plenty about the layout rewarding smooth, controlled swings.

The tournament history adds another layer to the course, with champions including Greg Norman, Ian Woosnam, David Llewellyn, Morgan Pressel, Fred Couples, and Davis Love III connected to events played here.

Ocean Views From Nearly Everywhere

Panoramas are the real currency here, and the payout never stops. The land sits on a gentle elevated slope on the west side of Maui, which opens up wide, unobstructed ocean views.

Molokai and Lanai float on the horizon like they were placed there by a set designer. On clear mornings, both islands look close enough to reach with a good drive.

The layout blends inland parkland holes with coastal stretches that touch the water directly. Cook and Norfolk pines are among the distinctive trees associated with the Kapalua landscape, alongside tropical resort vegetation.

Oceanfront holes bring the course close enough to the coastline for surf and Pacific views to become part of the experience.

During Maui’s winter whale season, humpbacks can sometimes be spotted offshore from the Kapalua coastline.

The coastline has long been one of the Bay Course’s defining visual features.

For sheer scenery, the Bay Course has long made a strong case as one of Hawaii’s most memorable resort-golf settings, although it remains closed to play in 2026.

Maui’s Famous Seventeenth

The signature par-3 17th is Maui’s only golf hole that plays directly over the ocean.

The par-3 17th plays across the ocean, with trade winds capable of significantly changing the club selection and required carry.

The current 17th was formerly the fifth hole before the course was rerouted in 2018, which explains why older descriptions and photographs sometimes identify the famous ocean-carry hole as No. 5.

Golfers historically reported spotting marine life from the oceanfront stretch, adding another distraction to the famous 17th.

Other holes carry their own personality. The 1st climbs uphill on a dogleg, while the 2nd is a gorgeous 162-yard par 3 with an infinity green that seems to melt into the Pacific.

The 3rd stretches to 453 yards, the longest par 4 on the property. Later, the 16th swings left over 357 yards and pulls you toward the shoreline.

Friendly Enough For Vacation Swings

Not every championship course wants to humble you, and that is the charm here. The scorecard reads 6,600 yards from the championship tees, playing to a par of 72.

Fairways roll easily and the greens are notably generous in size. Higher handicappers usually find this layout kinder than its tougher sister, the Plantation Course.

Elevation changes keep things interesting without turning cruel. You will hit uphill approaches and downhill drives, so paying attention to your lie matters more than raw power.

Then there is the wind, which is almost always around. Those coastal breezes can stretch 6,600 yards into something that feels far longer.

Kapalua notes that trade winds generally strengthen in the afternoon, but no Bay Course tee times are currently available while the course remains closed.

When the course eventually reopens, wind direction will again be an important factor in club selection along its coastal holes.

Historically, the Bay Course was considered the more approachable of Kapalua’s two championship layouts, with rolling fairways and generous greens.

Green Golf And Wild Neighbors

Environmental care here is not a marketing sticker. The layout earned certification as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary back in the early 1990s, among the first courses anywhere to do so.

That badge covers water quality management, wildlife protection, and careful environmental planning. Over twenty species of birds live within the course boundaries.

Maintenance crews use targeted spot treatments instead of blanket spraying.

Older sustainability reporting described Kapalua’s fertilizer program as 75 to 100 percent organic, but current practices should be confirmed before presenting that figure as a 2026 fact.

Kapalua has historically used recycled water and composting practices, but current irrigation depends heavily on non-potable water infrastructure that faced severe restrictions in 2025 and ultimately contributed to the Bay Course’s indefinite closure.

Above the resort sits something even more remarkable. The Pu’u Kukui Watershed Preserve in the West Maui Mountains is one of the largest private nature preserves in Hawaii.

It shelters 20 percent of the state’s native plants, along with three native bird species, five extremely rare snails, and 18 endemic plants. The preserve protects a critically important West Maui watershed above the resort.

Older reporting connected the broader watershed to drinking water used by a large share of Maui residents, but the 70 percent figure should not be presented as a current direct supply statistic for the preserve itself.

Clubhouse, Range And Extras

The Bay Course driving range remains open despite the course closure, with the current practice facility operating seven days a week except for shortened Tuesday maintenance hours.

The Bay Golf Shop operates from Kapalua’s Village Center and remains open even while the Bay Course itself is closed.

The Kapalua Golf Academy was developed with three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin and occupies a large practice facility designed for full-swing and short-game instruction.

There is currently no Bay Course green fee because the course is closed. Historical course listings allowed walking as well as cart play, so describing the layout as unwalkable is too absolute.

Rental clubs remain available through Kapalua Golf, although they cannot currently be used for a Bay Course round while the course is closed.

The surrounding resort adds more options, including the Ritz-Carlton Maui just down the road. Kapalua’s resort landscape developed from land once associated with Honolua Ranch and extensive pineapple cultivation.

Smart Strategy For Your Round

Trade winds generally strengthen during the afternoon at Kapalua, but the Bay Course is currently closed and no tee times are being offered.

The championship layout measures 6,600 yards at par 72, and trade winds historically added another variable to how those yards played.

The ocean carry is now on the 17th, not the fifth. The famous former fifth hole was renumbered as No. 17 during the 2018 rerouting.

The 16th plays 357 yards as a dogleg left with a split fairway and an uphill push. Strong gusts turn it into one of the trickiest tests on the property.

Since the 2018 rerouting, the Bay Course’s most dramatic oceanfront sequence comes late in the round, with Nos. 16 and 17 playing along and over the Pacific before an uphill par-5 finishing hole.

That closing stretch gives the course a memorable final act, with the shoreline staying involved almost until the last putt drops.