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Prince Course
Princeville at Hanalei

Princeville, Hawaii (island of Kauai)
Public
Par: 72
Phone: (808) 826-5001
Website

Men's Summary:
Tees Yards Rating Slope
Black 7309 75.7 140
Blue 6960 74.1 137
White 6521 72.1 133
Gold 6021 69.8 128

Women's Summary:
Tees Yards Rating Slope
Red 5346 71.4 124
Website

Prince Golf Course


Princeville Clubhouse


#1 - Don't think you need to start it right.... Hit it down the middle.


Approach to #1 (yes, it's all carry...)


Tee shot on #2


Crossing the chasm on #2...


Feral chickens on the green at #2


Par 3 #3 - big slope from back right to front left...


Par 5, #4 -- lay up off the tee to stay out of the bunker and the lake.


Approach shot on the 414 yard par 4 # 5


Tee shot on #6 - aim at the bunker on the left, because the ones on the right are reachable.


A breathtaking view of the ocean behind #6.


A view of the seventh green from the blue tee (it SAYS it's only 205 yards...)


#8 (Note the waterfall coming down the mountain in the distance)


Par 4 number 9 - 314 yards


Tee shot, #10


A glimpse of the 10th green hooking in behind the chasm


Par 3 #11


Par 4 #12


Waterfall behind #13


Tee shot on #14


#15 tee shot, dogleg left


#15, second shot from the edge of the landing area.


Approach shot on #16


Tee shot on #17


Tee shot on #18


Approach shot on #18

Click on one of the thumbnails above to see an enlargement.
The Bogey Golfer © Course Guides

Princeville Prince Course - Overview

Princeville is truly one of the garden spots of the world. Set on the North side of Kauai, which come to think of it, is itself one of the garden spots of the world, Princeville is a hodgepodge of modern resorts thrown up against the old-time Hawaiian towns of Hanalei and Kilauea. This area of the island is famous for having been the setting of any number of famous tropical films, including "South Pacific", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Donovan's Reef", "Jurassic Park", and "Hawaii", to name a few.

The Prince course was developed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., and he certainly did himself proud (not that he could help it, being surrounded by astonishing beauty on all sides).

As you might expect, the place was pretty pricey at $200/$125 (US) morning/twilight. Grin and bear it, after all, you're in paradise! I brought my own clubs, but rentals are available for about $50.

One of the staff told me that the course gets about a hundred inches of rain in a year. I was there the day after a downpour so severe it ruined all their sand traps. The pro told me it would take them about a week to repair them. Meanwhile, except for "cart paths only", the course was very playable, which is to say, well-drained.

The actual course was gorgeous, except for the ruined sandtraps. The ones along the ocean are the stuff that postcards are made of. Some of the houses next to these postcard views are sure to be worth millions for the view alone.

Due to (I assume) financial difficulties, the course has been closed since 2014. Numerous plans for re-opening have been considered and not implemented. Who knows?


Prince Golf Course Detail

This writeup was done from the white tees (6521 yards), befitting a golfer of my meager talents. Because of some forced carries, playing beyond your means on this course can leave you feeling frustrated.

#1 kind of sets you up for the whole course. It's not particularly long, but it does require a little bit of accuracy off the tee. The tee shot looks like you want to hit it to the right, but you really don't because the trouble comes into play quicker than you think on the right. Hit it down the middle, and let the tilt of the fairway bounce it right. Driver is a safe play here, despite all the junk (if you hit it straight, that is,...).

#2 is a longish par 5, playing 557. On your second shot you need to deal with a chasm. Put that thought out of your mind and focus on hitting a good drive so your second shot doesn't need to be a layup. Assuming you've hit a decent drive, your second shot needs to be the longest club you have confidence in hitting well, because the approach to the green is uphill, and you're going to need all the distance you can muster.

#3 is a straightforward par 3 which plays 156 yards from the white. What you see is what you get. Big slope from back right to front left.

#4 is a shorter par 5, playing 498 yards. It compensates by a) wrapping around a lake, and b) being kind of narrow. The first order of play is to keep the ball in play off the tee. Long hitters have to worry about both the lake on the right and the bunker on the left. Given the relatively short length of the hole, a layup is worth thinking about. On your second shot, you want to favor the left side of the fairway, since the slight tilt will tend to feed balls hit to the right down to the water...

#5 is a longish hole, playing 414 yards, slightly uphill. Despite the bunker on the left (which is reachable), you do want to favor the left side because of the right-hand tilt to the fairway.

#6 is another par 4, but it's not quite so long, nor so uphill. The trick here is to miss the bunkers on the right, which are reachable. The one on the left is a good bit further and makes a good target.

#7 is an "Oh My God" kind of a hole. First of all, you can stand on the tee box all day long and admire the astonishing views of the ocean, and the cliffs, and the homes, and ... Secondly, you can spend all day trying to talk yourself into hittig across the chasm to the green. While there's plenty of intimidation from the white (153 yards), the black tees (205 yards) don't even bear thinking about.

#8 is kind of anticlimactic, after the splendor of the previous two holes. It's just a long uphill boring hole in between two rows of houses .

#9 is a pretty short par 4, playin at just 319 yards. However, be aware that the fairway will try to feed otherwise good-looking shots into the cavernous bunker on the left side. Lay up, or by golly hit it straight!

#10 is nowhere near the clubhouse. If you're only planning to play the front nine, you have a long drive ahead of you... The hole is a fiendish masterwork of bedevilment. It sets up as a par 5 that takes three solid back-to-back shots to navigate (Driver, 2 hybrid, 6 iron, in my case). However, if you can get your tee shot far enough left and far enough from the tee, without going into the junk, you'll find that the green hooks back around to the left like a little island that you can go after with a three wood on your second shot if you're so inclined.

#11 is like #8, but less so. Still has a pretty good forced carry, but there is a litle margin for error.

#12 is a bit intimidating. It looks incredibly narrow off the tee, but actually has enough room to hit your driver. Just be mindful!

#13 takes the basic concept of #12 (narrow!) and expands upon it. You need to play some target golf off the tee, and hit a layup shot to around 205-220, in the middle of the fairway. The second shot is probably going to require a long iron to reach all the way to the green from the wrong side of a chasm. By the way, once you're at the green, be sure to enjoy the waterfall immediately behind the green.

#14 is another par 3 with some forced carry issues. However, it's only 134 yards, and can be managed if you maintain a cool head.

#15 is a 525 yard par 5. There's a landing area, a chasm, and the second fairway leading up to the green. I hit an okay drive (not a great one) and it rolled right to the edge of the landing area, so I probably should have layed up with a three wood (did I mention the tee shot is downhill?). For your second shot, hit the longest club you feel comfortable hitting well, and set up a wedge into the green.

#16 is a 366 yard par 4. It's fairly wide open off the tee, but you do need to keep it in play. A decent tee shot sets up an easy approach shot. (Yes, I pulled the tee shot into those bushes on the corner and made a complete hash out of this hole.)

#17 is mostly straightaway, a 370 yard par 4. Get a decent tee shot, and the hole sets up well for a midiron approach.

The home hole is another huge par 4, playing 395 yards, a bit uphill. I hit an okay drive that was a little slicey, and left myself hitting a two iron from the right rough. I hit it pretty good but couldn't quite reach the green. The moral of the story is to hit a good drive into the middle of the fairway!

This is a fun course, if pricey, but it does leave you wanting to play it again. I recommend it highly for at least one round on an island outing.

Background photo: The par three twelfth, at Cherry Hills, Englewood, CO

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