Kapalua -The Plantation Course: A Pictorial!!! (all 18 posted)

[Kyle Henderson]

Regarding #4, even though you take great photos, your tee box view doesn't show near the amount of elevation up to the fairway. 

It doesn't. one of these days there will be a "contour" application that adds elevation lines to landscape photographs. An, of course, this post will be my proof that I'm owed royalties for the idea.

[Kyle Henderson]

5th hole: 532 yards. Par 5.

With plenty (!!!) of fairway width, the deep gorge along the right flank of the 5th holes is not particularly terrifying, though the slope and wind will push shots that direction.


The right side of the fairway offers the shortest route home, but lay-up shots are simpler from the left.  Though it appears to be a narrow neck from this vantage point, the left side of the green offers a massively wide entrance. This allows aggressive golfers ride the wind while reaching the surface in two. Alternately, conservative players may run one on from short range with little to impede their third stroke.


The massive 5th green matches the scale of the accompanying fairway and the spectacular view across the sea to Molokai.


A look back from the 6th tee provides some sense of the predominating left-to-right slope that defines the 5th fairway.

[Kyle Henderson]

6th hole: 398 yards. Par 4.

While the wind is generally hurting from the right, pros are often able to reach this short par 4 from the tees, with the aid of a steep downward pitch that begins ~100 yards short of the green.

The back tees offer just enough of an angled carry to really make things interesting.


For the average resort guest, the 6th plays straight away, but a thoughtful tee shot is necessitated by a central bunker placed exactly where an ideal drive would otherwise land and then chase onto the green (the sand requires a 318-yard carry from the tips, 261 yards from the white tees).


A peek around the central bunker gives some sense of the massive drop-off that hurls approaches forward and to the right.


When the tee shot hangs on up top, how should one play the approach? High or low? How far left of the flag? The speed of the turf and the strength of the wind could lead to different decisions from one round to the next.


In my estimation, the 6th is a truly original hole and an excellent, memorable way route a golf course on a difficult piece of property.

[Joe_Tucholski]

Since I said something critical early on I figure I should also point out aspects of the course I really enjoyed.  5 and 6 were my two favorite holes on the course.  Charlie Dusic described his depressing par.  I had a very similar experience on the hole and despite the depressing feeling I left #5 very happy with the hole.  I think the Cape was executed perfectly.  The tee shot provides plenty of room left and plenty of trouble right.  My second shot was right at the distance where I seriously had to think about going for it or laying up.  If you miss the approach by just a little bit you are going to have a tough to nearly impossible up and down.

#6 is also a really fun hole.  The approach is tough as nails as the ball just doesn't want to stop for what appears to be a relatively modest slope to the green (when compared to the slope of the fairway)...even with a wedge in the hand.

Unfortunately between these two holes is a big downer.

[Jason Topp]

6 is a rare bird - a truly unique and strategic hole. 

[jonathan_becker]

I posted the following in the thread about C&C's worst holes regarding the approach on #6.

All you have to do is slap....top....or pick the ball up and throw it down the left side of the fairway over the hill and the ball will end up on the green.  It's one of the strangest shots I've ever seen.  With the normal winds, I don't see an advantage in trying to get the ball up in the air for this approach.

I don't like this approach shot at all.  The shot drops so much that any moving ball will get within the vicinity of the green.  Sure, it's fun, but it's wacky golf to me. 

[Matthew Petersen]

I posted the following in the thread about C&C's worst holes regarding the approach on #6.

All you have to do is slap....top....or pick the ball up and throw it down the left side of the fairway over the hill and the ball will end up on the green.  It's one of the strangest shots I've ever seen.  With the normal winds, I don't see an advantage in trying to get the ball up in the air for this approach.

I don't like this approach shot at all.  The shot drops so much that any moving ball will get within the vicinity of the green.  Sure, it's fun, but it's wacky golf to me. 

I don't totally see the complaint here. The approach shot is pretty short, usually a wedge even from the top of the hill, so just getting it "around the green" really isn't the goal even for a less than skilled player. It's also no easy up and down from left or short of the green, where a mishit shot like you describe would probably come to rest.

[Tom Yost]

The Plantation was my introduction to C&C and the 6th hole was what really got my attention as a demonstration of a style very different from the typical modern course.  

The centerline bunker, the hill hiding the green and the green itself benched against the ravine right with what seemed to be 100 yards of fairway left.   It was one of those things that made me go "Huh?"

[Matthew Petersen]

Agreed, Tom. It's a very unique hole.

The fifth is a really good golf hole, but it's pretty similar to what a lot of other people might have built there (maybe not with as much width). Hard to imagine a hole like the 6th on RTJII's Prince Course, though.

[Tom Yost]

I posted the following in the thread about C&C's worst holes regarding the approach on #6.

All you have to do is slap....top....or pick the ball up and throw it down the left side of the fairway over the hill and the ball will end up on the green.  It's one of the strangest shots I've ever seen.  With the normal winds, I don't see an advantage in trying to get the ball up in the air for this approach.

I don't like this approach shot at all.  The shot drops so much that any moving ball will get within the vicinity of the green.  Sure, it's fun, but it's wacky golf to me. 

Frankly, the entire property elicits wacky golf.  But a more fun experience could not be had.   Experienced players will know better but the hole does look like an easy wedge which temps the direct approach.  Any slight miss right however, is in the hazard.

[jonathan_becker]

Matthew,

My complaint is that unless the wind is down (which is rarely the case), the best option is to just get the ball moving down the hill and see what happens.  Any mishit, skank, bladed, or flushed shot down the hill is going to end up with a similar result.  Any normal shot that gets in the air can be blown way off to the left and move completely off the hole.   There's just too much "chance" involved with the shot for my tastes.

If the drop down to the green wasn't so steep, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the shot.

[Matthew Petersen]

Matthew,

My complaint is that unless the wind is down (which is rarely the case), the best option is to just get the ball moving down the hill and see what happens.  Any mishit, skank, bladed, or flushed shot down the hill is going to end up with a similar result.  Any normal shot that gets in the air can be blown way off to the left and move completely off the hole.   There's just too much "chance" involved with the shot for my tastes.

If the drop down to the green wasn't so steep, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the shot.

That may be a fair complaint. What is the typical wind on the hole? I've played it in virtually no wind and into the wind, in both cases a lofted shot isn't very difficult to control and get relatively close, which you want to do given that it's a difficult, sloping green.

On the other hand, couldn't someone just as easily say it's clever that they built a hole where a bump and run from 100yds is as good or better of a play than a typical lofted wedge shot?

[jonathan_becker]

Matthew,

My complaint is that unless the wind is down (which is rarely the case), the best option is to just get the ball moving down the hill and see what happens.  Any mishit, skank, bladed, or flushed shot down the hill is going to end up with a similar result.  Any normal shot that gets in the air can be blown way off to the left and move completely off the hole.   There's just too much "chance" involved with the shot for my tastes.

If the drop down to the green wasn't so steep, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the shot.

That may be a fair complaint. What is the typical wind on the hole? I've played it in virtually no wind and into the wind, in both cases a lofted shot isn't very difficult to control and get relatively close, which you want to do given that it's a difficult, sloping green.

On the other hand, couldn't someone just as easily say it's clever that they built a hole where a bump and run from 100yds is as good or better of a play than a typical lofted wedge shot?

During both of my plays, the wind was HARD from the right.  And yes, someone could easily say that the bunp and run is the better play....but you're not going to hear it from me!    There's too much drop! 

[Jason Topp]

I tried a bunch of shots to this green one evening.  I found that getting it close pretty much required a shot through the air because of the difficulty of controlling it on the ground.  Regardless of how you decide to hit it, you really need to commit to your choice or else you will be chipping from the right.  The penalty is not severe but a birdie is well earned.

[Kyle Henderson]

7th hole: 516 yards. Par 4.

As the numbers above suggest, this hole plays downhill and with the trade winds, so a decent drive should bring the green easily within reach for the second shot.

Sloping from left-to-right, the 7th fairway seems like a much tougher target than its predecessors. However, after a gentle bend to the right, the short grass widens considerably.


Many will end up on the right side of the fairway and face the prospect of trying to hold the green after carrying an array of bunkers (while heading dead downhill and downwind).


A high, soft fade that carries the nearest bunker should chase on and hopefully come to rest before running through the entire green, a putting surface that falls gradually for 53 yards from front-to-back.


A long, drawing tee shot  that can hold the left side will yield a much better approach angle


That view never gets old, unlike 4-putting these tricky greens.

[Jason Topp]

This seventh is an example of wide fairway playing narrow.  The tee shot is awkward.  It is pretty easy to bail out left and wind up in the crap or with a long approach.  Choosing a line to the right brings junk into play.

I am not sure of the distance from the normal back tees but the hole played extremely short on one of the days I played it.  I recall having less than a full wedge and I do not hit the ball very far.

The best part of the hole is the falllaway green.

[Mark Provenzano]

I posted the following in the thread about C&C's worst holes regarding the approach on #6.

All you have to do is slap....top....or pick the ball up and throw it down the left side of the fairway over the hill and the ball will end up on the green.  It's one of the strangest shots I've ever seen.  With the normal winds, I don't see an advantage in trying to get the ball up in the air for this approach.

I don't like this approach shot at all.  The shot drops so much that any moving ball will get within the vicinity of the green.  Sure, it's fun, but it's wacky golf to me. 

Maybe most of the year it will end up on the green. I played there in December just before the tournament, the area surrounding the green had grown so long/deep/thick you couldn't roll through it if you tried. Once stuck in that mess, there was no finesse involved, the only way to play it was as if you were in a greenside bunker--except that extraction from that grass was a lot less predictable than from sand.

Count me as a fan of #6...can't wait to get back.

[Kyle Henderson]

Jason,

The length of the 7th in yards is 516 (blacks), 484 (Blues), 465 (whites) or 450 (reds). With very little wind, from ~484, I had about 130 yards left for my second shot.


Jonathan,

Rough short of the 6th is a horrible idea.

[jonathan_becker]

Jonathan,

Rough short of the 6th is a horrible idea.

Of course it is!  And I'm not sure anyone is suggesting that. 

[Kyle Henderson]

Jonathan,

Rough short of the 6th is a horrible idea.

Of course it is!  And I'm not sure anyone is suggesting that. 

I must have misunderstood... Above you said there was long grass surrounding the 6th green. Was it only behind and at the sides?

[jonathan_becker]

Kyle - Mark said that.  Have another! 

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle - Mark said that.  Have another! 

Multi-tasking is not my forte...

[Kyle Henderson]

8th hole: 203 yards.
The use of a par 3 to traverse a ravine is a fairly commonplace routing choice, and the result of that decision here is an attractive one despite the rows of artificially-placed Cook pines that plague the property.  The tour pros seem to have fits pulling a club here on windy days.


Short is dead, but the odds of a successful up-and-down from the long bunkers appear quite low.  Not only are these traps well above the green, but there is a good 5 yards of Bermuda grass that must be carried and the green slopes away.


I reckon pin-high left is the best miss, as the recovery from here is into the wind and hill, but the “bail-out” is not any easier of a target than the green.

[Brian Walshe]

Hi Kyle,

I'm spending a week or so there with the family at Christmas and your tour is doing an excellent job of getting me excited about playing there.  Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Brian

[Russell Lo]

Just a comment on the Cook pines. Although a bit artificial looking I have been told that the rows of pines were used as wind breaks. Many of the rows have actually been removed.