Kapalua Closes Due to Water Shortage: Risk to the 2026 PGA Tournament

Kapalua Resort Temporarily Closes Amid Water Crisis

The Kapalua Resort, the traditional host of the start of each PGA Tour season since 1999, will be forced to close for two months. The measure is taken due to the water scarcity 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 to kick 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 close the course to increase our chances of saving it and the tournament.

Alex Nakajima, General Manager of Kapalua Golf and Tennis

Nakajima explained that the hope lies in using the little available water for a slow-release fertilizer and keeping customers out of 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 kick off the 2026 PGA Tour season.Kapalua, known for the contrast between its lush green fairways and the blue of the Pacific, presents today a yellowish and brown appearance due to the death of the grass. According to Nakajima, the course has not received water since July 25th. Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of the clothing brand Uniqlo, along with the homeowners of 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 crux of the dispute is the 11-mile-long Honokohau Stream and Ditch system, which originates in the West Maui mountains and provides irrigation water to the Kapalua area.

MLP has knowingly allowed the ditch system to fall into a demonstrable state of disrepair. That deterioration, not an act of God, or force of nature, or anything else, is the reason why users who currently need it do not have water.

Lawsuit

Maui Land & Pineapple stated that it had 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 indicated that the problem lies in the low flows, not in the inefficiency of the system.

During this time of historically low stream levels, it is in the best interest of the community that all parties remain focused on the facts and solutions. Collaboration, not litigation, is the best path forward to address the water needs of West Maui.

CEP Race Randle

The lawsuit alleges that Yanai signed “water supply agreements” when purchasing the Kapalua properties, which would guarantee that the fields would 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 supply of irrigation water. The PGA Tour was limited to saying that it is 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, stated 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 ditch system, thereby ensuring a reliable water supply. The lawsuit states that the current drought is unrelated to the problem and cites data from the U.S. Geological Survey showing that the basin in the West Maui mountains receives more annual rainfall than Portland and Seattle.

Water is scarce not because it rains in significantly smaller quantities. Rather, water is scarce because MLP has not kept its promises to maintain the infrastructure used to collect, transport, and store it properly.

Demand

Meanwhile, the Kapalua Resort, managed by Troon, has been offering discounts to customers due to the deterioration of the conditions of its golf courses.

Nakajima emphasized the need to close the field to have any chance of hosting The Sentry.

We have to do this immediately. Every day the golf course is dying.

Alex Nakajima