Unbeatable views from the 14th hole at Kukui’ula
Brian Oar
Somewhere along the left rough on the front nine at Kukui’ula Golf Course last week, I plucked two coffee beans from a tree and bit into them. Even though they were still green and unroasted, I could taste a hint of coffee in the juice that burst from them. Such is the norm on this sustainable upscale golf course and private club community located on the lush Hawaiian island of Kauai, near Poipu Bay.
“Golfers pick the coffee beans and then roast them at home,” says Todd Michaelsen, PGA of America director of golf at the facility. “We have a lot of fruit – especially mango, lemon, lychee and lime – growing on-course, and players are invited to take as much as they want. We also grow plenty of wearable flowers that people take.” Apparently, limes are the most-plucked produce by golfers who commonly hand them to the bartenders after their rounds for margarita garnish.
Whether they’re amassing fruit in their cart, golfers who play this 15-year-old, 7,013-yard Tom Weiskopf design are in for a treat. They can see the ocean from just about anywhere during their round, and they’ll probably also be able to find their ball after every shot. Fairways are generously wide, as are the landing areas. The biggest obstacle is going to be ocean gusts that in my experience, played up to three clubs. That said, the large well-manicured greens were muti-tiered in many instances with large undulations. They never rolled too fast, and as Michaelsen noted, most golfers tend to over-read them. The course is set up for success, so that most golfers walk off 18 with a better score than they’re used to. It’s not that the course is easy, its overall forgiveness just steers you into minimizing the severity of your mishits. And two of the par-4 holes are drivable to big hitters, including the signature 14th that slants straight down towards the Pacific. Several elevation changes also lead to breathtaking views, along the way. Weiskopf was adamant that he just wanted this to be a very playable course that people would never get tired of playing. Mission accomplished.
The Farm at Kukui’ula
Brent Herrington
As big of an attraction as the course is at Kukui’ula, sustainability is front-and-center around the 1,010-acre property. Produce grows along the fairways, and at the on-site Kukui‘ula Farm. “The farm was the first amenity we had before the club, the golf course, anything,” says Mahealani Hookano, who runs it. “It was the first amenity that they would show prospective residents. It started as an orchid exchange. When people would buy a piece of property, they would be given an orchid for their future home. Then when it stopped blooming, they could bring it back here to exchange them. And then it evolved from there.”
Chefs on property grow all of their produce here, touting a garden-to-table approach to provide diners with the freshest-possible ingredients. “It’s a chef’s dream, because they can orchestrate what they want on the menu by having it grown right on property,” says Hookano. “Our executive chef, Ben Takahashi, is over the moon about this, and he has his own chef garden at the very top of the farm. These ingredients are available to anybody on property from sunrise to sunset. You can harvest as much as you want – including edible flowers, herbs, leafy greens, and root crops. People come here and maintain it themselves. They can’t plant – we do that for them – they just harvest and take whatever they want. It’s huge having the ability to pick your own and just know exactly that it’s all organic and grown without using any pesticides. They designed the whole property as a living garden. There’s not just one whole fruit orchard, it’s all over the place.” After the chefs and residents pick what they want at the farm, excess crops, eggs and flowers make it down to a farm stand adjacent to the main lodge every morning, for guests to pick from. While on property, I made an omelet with fresh eggs and just-pulled-from-the-ground green onions, and could truly taste the difference from store-bought.
Beyond dining, overnight guests can stay in bungalows, cottages and villas for rent – owned by residents who don’t occupy them the entire year. My wife and I stayed at an upscale, spacious bungalow perched right above the first green. It was somewhat therapeutic enjoying freshly brewed coffee on the veranda gazing down at the ocean, every morning. That’s the way to energize your day. There are also two restaurants, a bar, and a continental breakfast room at the lodge, which is the social centerpiece of Kukui’ula – complemented by pickleball, bocce, pools, water slide, game room, fitness center and a spa. I got a hot stone massage treatment that worked wonders on my aching back, and my wife went through a guided restorative water ritual that included a cold plunge. It’s designed to loosen muscles and increase healing blood flow to the body. We also checked out e-bikes to further explore Poipu Beach.
For travelers seeking a refined, intimate Kauai getaway far removed from the bustle of mega-resorts, Kukui’ula delivers something rare. Between the forgiving fairways, ocean breezes, and the unmatched joy of harvesting your own meal, it’s a place that feed both your game and your soul.