Up in the east hills of Oceanside in North County San Diego is the home of new comer, Arrowood GC.

This track is one of the eight JC Golf courses and offers the best challenge of them all. It’s more hilly and a little reminiscient of Encinitas Ranch, but without the 5 1/2 hr round. 

We played Arrowood this weekend and made it through in sub 4 hours. It boasts a testy 140 slope rating from the back tees. My main man, TC, made an astute comment regarding the young greens and how they need to ”mature” a touch more. Young greens coupled with tough pin placements and Arrowood churns out a challenging 18 holes.

Arrowood’s cart girls we’re lightening quick with an impressive 5 stop efficiency rating during our round. Be sure to checkout the clubhouse for a post-round (or pre-round) beverage. They have some great westerly views.

Take a visit to Arrowood online for more STATS and a Track Layout.

Down on the south shore of Kauai, also known as the sunny side of the island, there is a little gem called Poipu Bay. This is another Robert Trent Jones Jr. beauty that’s hosted the PGA Grand Slam for over a decade. The walls of the club house and pro shop are adorned with Grand Slam winner score cards and memorabilia. The Poipu Bay camp does a great job of describing their track.

“Poipu Bay’s 210 oceanfront acres meander along rugged coastline featuring 85 bunkers, five water hazards and wildly varying trade winds, all of which combine to make the course an intriguing and spectacular golf experience. The ocean-links style course includes over 30 acres of tropical plants and flowers, and pleasant distractions abound: panoramic vistas tempt you to stop and get utterly lost in the scenery.”

The real test comes on the back 9 which has the last 5 holes all ocean front. The prevailing winds are called Trade and typically give your drives a big boost on the final holes. The day I played the winds were Kona and everything was a 2 club head wind. Bring your A game to hole 16, a 472 yard par 4 from the blues. The elevated tee tempts you to bang your drive of the day.

More course data for the STAT hounds:

• Standard Rate: $200
• Grand Hyatt Kauai Guests: $140
• Club Rental: $50 TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist, Cobra
• Track Layout
• Par: 72
• Yardage (Gold): 7123
• Yardage (Blue): 6612
• Yardage (White): 6127
• Course Record: Phil Mickelson, 28-31–59. 2004 PGA Grand Slam of Golf

 

For those that haven’t been to north shore of Kauai, it’s a must visit destination. Whether you’re a golf guy, a beach guy or a pina colada guy - the place is raw with a Jurassic Park mystique.

The north shore offers 2 courses at Princeville - the Makai and grand daddy Prince course. I’ve played the Makai courses and although they are set slightly closer to the ocean, they really don’t compare to the Prince. At Golf Course Reporter we’re all about telling it how it is, so bottom line with the Prince course is it’s TOUGH. There are 4 sets of tees. For those average handicappers who think they’re a little better than they are (like me) and play the “blues”, on the Prince you’ll swing it from 6960 yards. As if tee to green wasn’t long enough, you’ll have to contend with a 1 to 3 club cross wind, tail wind and head wind. Not to mention the unbelieveable ocean and mountain views especially a few peeks at Bali Hai.  Here are few more facts n figures for you STAT hounds: 

• The Prince Course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.  is currently rated the top course in Hawaii by Golf Digest Magazine and is ranked number 51 in the country. 
• Click here to see the Track Layout 
• Par: 72
• Green Fees: $200.00
• Resort Guest: $155.00
• Yardage (Prince): 7309
• Yardage (Championship): 6960
• Yardage (Alii): 6521

I will be at Hualalai for 6 days starting February 27th. Pretty pumped to play here considering last time I neglected to shlub my clubs, let alone play at all. Not this time.

Like all the other splendid amenities of the Resort, the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature Hualalai Golf Course has been crafted with extreme sensitivity to the land. I’m glad Jack too this into consideration when designing the course. I hope I can at least break 100.

Course Details
Designer: Jack Nicklaus
Date opened: January 1996
Location On site
Number of holes: 18
Fees: (USD)*
* Fees are subject to change $250 (January 1 to December 17, 2007)
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,117
Rating: 73.7
Slope: 139

Tee Rating Slope
Back 73.7 139
Middle 71.5 134
Forward 68.8 129