Golf Kauai: An Illustrated Guide to Hawaii’s Garden Island Courses

Discover Kauai’s Golf Landscape with a Local's Eye

Golf Kauai invites you to a personal tour of Hawaii’s Garden Island’s public courses. Authored by veteran golf writer Mike Dauplaise, the guide spans from luxury resort layouts to affordable municipal and daily-fee tracks beloved by locals. The prose pairs with color photography to help you visualize each hole, from the first tee to the final green, as though a trusted caddie is beside you on your bag.

Rather than a conventional yardage book or GPS app alone, this hole-by-hole, shot-by-shot resource blends practical strategy with a sense of place. Expect detailed course descriptions, thoughtful layout observations, and management tips designed to translate real-world experience into actionable ideas for your round on Kauai.

What you’ll find inside

• Hole-by-hole descriptions paired with practical planning notes to visualize strategy, select clubs, and plan tempo for each green.
• Color photographs that capture greens, fairways, hazards, and ocean breezes to inform your decision-making and club choice.
• Insights into course management and shot selection that complement distance charts, GPS data, and course information apps.
• A broad range of courses—from luxury resort layouts to municipal gems—highlighting Kauai’s accessibility for different budgets, experiences, and skill levels.

Design is a cornerstone of Kauai’s appeal, and this guide makes those choices tangible. It spotlights layouts shaped by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Jack Nicklaus, offering context on how design philosophy translates into playability, risk-reward decisions, and memorable holes. The narrative is descriptive and instructive, encouraging you to think through your approach while savoring the island’s natural beauty.

How to use this guide on your trip

• Plan a multi-course itinerary by comparing course personalities, proximity, price points, and times to visit ahead of your trip.
• Budget your golf days with realistic expectations of green fees, cart costs, peak times, and seasonal variations to optimize value.
• Preview line choices, target areas, and wind cues for each hole to help set a flexible strategy before you step onto the tee.
• Use the visuals to minimize guesswork and maximize on-course confidence, particularly when visiting unfamiliar venues or tight-hole layouts.

Whether you’re visiting Kauai for the first time or returning to chase a favorite layout, Golf Kauai offers a practical, tactile way to imagine your rounds before you arrive. The island’s golf scene is diverse—ranging from pristine, high-end courses to welcoming, value-driven options. This illustrated guide invites you to envision your day on the island, weigh options, and decide where to play with clarity and curiosity, rather than haste.