Kapalua Resort Faces Two-Month Closure Due to Water Shortage
The prestigious Kapalua Resort in Hawaii, annual host of the PGA Tour golf tournament since 1999, is preparing for a two-month closure due to the critical water situation affecting its courses. The measure seeks to preserve the golf courses in the face of a dispute over the management of a century-old water 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 that the resort could host The Sentry, the tournament that kicks off the 2026 tour season.
The golf course has been damaged by the lack of water for months. I proposed to the owner that we needed to close the golf course to increase our chances of saving it and the tournament.
Alex Nakajima, General Manager of Kapalua Golf and Tennis
Nakajima explained that the main strategy is to use the little available water for a slow-release fertilizer and keep customers off the field while staff removes the dead grass.The closure of the Plantation and Bay courses in Kapalua comes amid concerns that the resort may not be able to host The Sentry to begin the 2026 PGA Tour season.
Kapalua, known for the contrast between its green fairways and the blue of the Pacific, now shows a mix of yellow and brown due to the death of the grass. Nakajima reported that the course has not received water since July 25.
A lawsuit filed last week by Tadashi Yanai, Japanese billionaire and owner of Kapalua and founder of the clothing brand Uniqlo, along with Kapalua homeowners and Hua Momona Farms, accuses Maui Land & Pineapple of failing to maintain the water supply system.
The core of the dispute is the 11-mile-long Honokohau Stream and Ditch system, which stretches from the West Maui mountains and supplies irrigation water to the Kapalua area.
The lawsuit alleges that Maui Land & Pineapple has allowed the ditch 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 ditch system” as indicated by the Commission on Water Resource Management and that all its actions are “consistent with the agreements between MLP and the golf courses”.
The company argues that the problem lies in low flow rates, not in the inefficiency of the system.
The lawsuit also alleges that Yanai signed “water supply agreements” that would guarantee the good condition of the golf courses. These agreements stipulated that Maui Land would “at all times exercise commercially reasonable efforts to manage, repair, and maintain” the ditch system for a reliable supply of irrigation water.
The PGA Tour has indicated that it is monitoring “ongoing water conservation requirements affecting Kapalua Resort.” The organization has been in contact with the title sponsor, Sentry Insurance, with Kapalua Resort, Maui County, and the Hawaii state government to assess any potential impact on the event’s staging.
TY Management, Yanai’s company, indicated 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 a Maui state court, requests that Maui Land & Pineapple comply with the agreements and take reasonable steps to repair and maintain the ditch system to ensure a reliable water supply.
The lawsuit argues that the current drought is not the cause of the problem and cites data from the U.S. Geological Survey indicating that the basin in the West Maui mountains receives more annual rainfall than Portland and Seattle.
Meanwhile, the Kapalua Resort, managed by Troon, has offered discounts to customers due to the deterioration of its golf courses.
Nakajima emphasized that closing the course is crucial to have any chance of holding The Sentry. “We have to do this immediately. Every day the golf course is dying.”
