Kapalua, the Hawaiian resort where the PGA Tour has started the year annually since 1999, is shutting down for two months as it tries to save its water-starved golf courses during a dispute over the handling of a century-old water system on the island of Maui.
The 60-day closure, which starts Sept. 2 for the Plantation Course and the Bay Course at Kapalua, has raised concerns it might not be able to host The Sentry to start the tour’s 2026 season.
“The golf course has been damaged with no water for months,” Alex Nakajima, the general manager of Kapalua Golf and Tennis, said Tuesday. “I proposed to the owner that we need to shut the golf course to increase our chances to save the golf course and the tournament.”
He feels the best hope is to use what little water Kapalua gets for a slow-releasing fertilizer and to keep customers off the course while the staff removes dead grass.
Kapalua, known for the contrast of lush green fairways and the Pacific blue horizon, is more a blend of yellow and brown these days as the grass dies. Nakajima said the course has not had water since July 25.