Kapalua Resort Temporarily Closes Amid Water Crisis
The Kapalua Resort, traditional host of the PGA Tour season opener since 1999, will be forced to close its doors for two months due to the critical water situation affecting its golf courses in Maui. The measure, which will begin on September 2, seeks to preserve the Plantation and Bay courses amid a dispute over the management of a century-old water supply system. The closure, with a duration of 60 days, has raised concerns about the possibility that the resort will not be able to host The Sentry, the tournament that kicks off the 2026 season of the tour.Nakajima believes the best strategy is to use the little available water for a slow-release fertilizer and prevent customers from using the course while staff removes the dead grass. Kapalua, famous for the contrast between its green fairways and the blue of the Pacific, now shows a mix of yellow and brown due to the drought. According to Nakajima, the course has not received water since July 25.The golf course has suffered damage due to the lack of water for months. I proposed to the owner that we close the course to increase our chances of saving it and saving the tournament.
Alex Nakajima, General Manager of Kapalua Golf and Tennis
Maui Land & Pineapple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Race Randle, the CEO, stated that the lawsuit was an effort to obtain irrigation water “while West Maui experiences a historic drought.” The lawsuit alleges that Yanai signed “water supply agreements” when he purchased the Kapalua properties that would allow the fields to be kept in good condition. These agreements stipulated that Maui Land “shall at all times exercise commercially reasonable efforts to manage, repair, and maintain” the ditch system for a reliable delivery of irrigation water. The PGA Tour was limited to saying that it was monitoring “the ongoing water conservation requirements affecting the Kapalua Resort”. The tour has been in contact with the main sponsor, Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance, along with Kapalua Resort, Maui County, and the Hawaii state government to assess any potential impact on the organization of the $20 million event. The tournament is scheduled for January 8-11. TY Management, Yanai’s company, indicated that The Sentry generates about 50 million dollars in economic benefits, in addition to the charitable component of the tour and Sentry. The lawsuit, filed in a Maui state court, requests that Maui Land & Pineapple comply with the agreements and take reasonable steps to repair and maintain the ditch system so that water can be reliably supplied. The lawsuit argues that the current drought has no relation to the problem and cites data from the U.S. Geological Survey showing that the watershed in the West Maui mountains receives more annual rainfall than Portland and Seattle.MLP has knowingly allowed the ditch system to fall into a demonstrably deteriorated state. That deterioration, not an act of God, nor the force of nature, nor anything else, is the reason why users who currently need it do not have water.
Lawsuit
Meanwhile, the Kapalua Resort, managed by Troon, had been offering discounts to customers due to the deteriorated conditions of its golf courses. Nakajima stated that closing the course is crucial to have any chance of holding The Sentry.Water is scarce not because rain is falling in significantly smaller quantities. Rather, water is scarce because MLP has not kept its promises to properly maintain the infrastructure used to collect, transport, and store it.
Demand
We have to do this immediately. Every day the golf course is dying.
Alex Nakajima
