Kapalua Resort Temporarily Closes Due to Water Crisis
The renowned Kapalua Resort, traditional host of the PGA Tour season opener since 1999, will be forced to close its doors for two months. This measure is due to the critical drought situation affecting its golf courses, amid a dispute over the management of a century-old water supply system in Maui.
The 60-day closure, which will begin on September 2nd and affect the Plantation and Bay courses, has raised concerns about the possibility of the resort hosting The Sentry, the tournament that kicks off the 2026 tour season.
The golf course has suffered damage due to the lack of water for months. I proposed to the owner that we needed to close the course to increase our chances of saving it and saving the tournament.
Alex Nakajima, General Manager of Kapalua Golf and Tennis
According to Nakajima, hope lies in using the little available water to apply slow-release fertilizers and keeping customers off the field while staff removes the dead grass.The image shows the closure of the Plantation and Bay courses in Kapalua, amid uncertainty over whether the resort will be able to host The Sentry for the start of the 2026 PGA Tour season.
Kapalua, known for the contrast between its green fairways and the blue Pacific, presents a more yellowish and brown appearance due to the death of the grass. Nakajima reported that the course has not received water since July 25.
Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of the clothing brand Uniqlo, along with homeowners in Kapalua and Hua Momona Farms, filed a lawsuit last week against Maui Land & Pineapple, alleging that it has not maintained the water supply system.
The conflict centers on the Honokohau Stream and Ditch irrigation system, 11 miles long, which extends from the West Maui mountains and provides water to the Kapalua area.
The lawsuit alleges that Maui Land & Pineapple has allowed the irrigation system to deteriorate, leading to a lack of water for users.
Maui Land & Pineapple responded that it has made “certain repairs and improvements to the irrigation system” according to the instructions of the Commission on Water Resource Management and that all its actions are “consistent with the agreements between MLP and the golf courses”.
The company stated that the problem lies in the low flow rates and not in the inefficiency of the system.
The lawsuit also alleges that Yanai held “water supply agreements” when purchasing the Kapalua properties, which would ensure that the fields were kept in good condition. These agreements stipulated that Maui Land “shall at all times exercise commercially reasonable efforts to manage, repair, and maintain” the irrigation system.
The PGA Tour has indicated that it is monitoring “the ongoing water conservation requirements affecting 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 event’s celebration, which has a prize of $20 million and is scheduled for January 8-11.
TY Management, Yanai’s company, pointed out that The Sentry generates about $50 million in economic benefits, in addition to the charitable component of the tour and Sentry.
The lawsuit, filed in Maui state court, requests that Maui Land & Pineapple comply with the agreements and take reasonable steps to repair and maintain the irrigation system to ensure a reliable water supply.
The lawsuit claims that the current drought is unrelated to the problem and cites data from the United States Geological Survey showing that the basin in the West Maui mountains receives more annual rainfall than Portland and Seattle.
Meanwhile, the Kapalua Resort, managed by Troon, has been offering discounts to customers due to the deteriorated conditions of its golf courses.
Nakajima reiterated that closing the field is crucial to have any chance of hosting The Sentry.
“We have to do it immediately. Every day the golf course is dying,” he concluded.
