The Dunes At Maui Lani
Kahului, Maui, HI
1999, Robin Nelson
6841, 136, 72
'03 Fees: $96
T&L Golf Magazine Review: 3.5/5.0 stars. The yardage book dubs it "a Hawaiian-Irish linksland golf course by design." The Dunes is unique on Maui, and mostly in a good way. The 145-yard semiblind par-3 third, for example, is one of the prettiest and most clever short inland holes you'll ever encounter. The many deep pot bunkers throughout the course are to be avoided at all costs, although the often severe winds will have something to say about that. Indeed, "severe" is a word that jumps to mind, with the occasional corseted fairway, blind drive, and uphill approach teetering between tough and unfair. Golfers looking for a vacation from vacation golf will get a kick out of, and from, the Dunes. Also, it's only 15 minutes from Maui Airport.
Where To Grub, per T&L (See also: Fat Guy's review of Kapalua GR- Plantation): The Dunes Restaurant (808-877-7461, $$-$$$) on-premisis is Asian-American at it's finest, by acclaimed Wolfgang Puck-understudy, chef Don Saito. Try the taro-crusted Mahi Mahi. OR, Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar (Kapalua Shops, 808-669-6286), $$$) looks and feels just like your neighborhood sushi joint, but the menu goes beyond the usual suspects to innovative apps and entree's such as Rock Shrimp Dynamite and Szechuan-crusted Ahi Tuna.
Best Beaches, W. Maui, per T&L: People-watching is the focus at Dig Me Beach in Kaanapali, or Kaapalua Beach offers great swimming.
Further Diversions: The sunrise bike ride down the 10,000-foot dormant volcano Halekala is a must (Cruiser Phil's, 808-893-2332). In a 35 mile ride you literally pedal all of about 400 feet. The scenery is amazing, but got a little frustrated with them monitoring your speed down the mountain, and it is East-Coast-deep-winter COLD up there first thing in the morning, so either pack accordingly or wear everything in your suitcase. It's even fun in the rain. Everyone's gotta take the Road To Hana, with it's unparalleled scenery. My advice is to take the rental car as oppossed to the bus tour, wear your bathing suit for jumping in hidden waterfall pools, pack a lunch, and make a day of it. It's worth it. A helicopter tour is also a must, but not for the faint of stomach (Sunshine Helicopters, 808-871-0722, www.sunshinehelicopters.com). Learn to surf (admit it, you've always wanted to) at Outrageous Adventures Surf School (877-339-1400, www.youcansurf.com ), or scuba (Maui Diving Scuba Ctr, 800-959-7319). The honky-tonk waterfront town of Lahaina is a Jimmy Buffett-kinda-place, with funky shops, open-air restaurants, art galleries, nightlife, and a mellow vibe. For a great luau, try Smith's.
Where To Stay: Fat Guy stayed at the Westin Maui, which was on the beach, outstanding in location, easy access to great restaurants, and the mondo pool area has an enclosed hottub grotto reminiscient of the Playboy Mansion. OR, T&L Golf recommends Kapalua Bay Hotel & Ocean Villas (1 Bay Dr, 800-367-8000, $360-620/night), renowned for it's "Hawaiian-ness", or the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua (1 R-C Dr, 808-669-6200, $375-$535), with a 3-tiered swimming pool.
A Maui Must
Beyond Kapalua and Wailea, another paradise found
From T&L Golf January 2007
by Don Chapman
As soon as most golfers hit the ground in Maui, they make a beeline to one of the island’s famous resort towns—Kapalua, Wailea, Makena—whose names alone bring to mind idyllic oceanfront pleasures. Little do they know that just a ten-minute drive from Kahului Airport, carved out of a former kiawe forest, lies one of Hawaii’s golf jewels: the Dunes at Maui Lani.
There are no billboards along the highway proclaiming that an exhilarating links is just a turnoff or two away. The only markers are a small sign for the Maui Lani Parkway and, beyond that, a larger one announcing you’re entering the upscale residential community of Maui Lani (not to be confused with Mauna Lani, the popular resort on the Big Island). A right turn puts you on an entrance road that leads to a tasteful plantation-style clubhouse.
The Dunes at Maui Lani, a reasonably priced (by Hawaii standards) daily-fee course that is not attached to a resort, sits majestically on an isthmus between Haleakala, the ten-thousand-foot volcano that forms three-quarters of the island, and the smaller but wonderfully scenic West Maui Mountains. ("Lani" means heavenly in Hawaiian, and the description is apt.) The layout’s appeal derives mainly from the natural setting: a rolling wooded dunescape through which the holes effortlessly flow up and down. The site proved the perfect canvas for the minimalist touch of Robin Nelson, a California-based architect who has worked extensively in Hawaii.
At Maui Lani, Nelson drew inspiration from storied Irish links such as Royal County Down (for its pot bunkers and blind shots), Ballybunion (risk/reward options) and Enniscrone (wide fairways). The par-three third hole, with its narrow diagonal green wedged between a pair of dunes, clearly borrows from the Dell hole at Lahinch. From there, the routing plunges deeper into the dunes, demanding an increasing number of blind or semiblind shots. "It brings the element of surprise and a bit of luck into the round," Nelson says.
Surprised and lucky is just how golfers feel after venturing off Maui’s well-trodden path to experience the unsung Dunes at Maui Lani.
TRIP PLANNER
Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course
1333 Maui Lani Parkway, Kahului, Hawaii; 808-873-0422, www.dunesatmauilani.com .
YARDAGE: 6,841. PAR: 72. ARCHITECT: Robin Nelson, 1999. GREENS FEES: $75-$125.