Poipu Bay - Kauai

Posted by Mateo

March 1, 2008

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: