Don’t Take Kapalua From Us
Every year, the PGA TOUR begins its season at the most picturesque course, the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii. The course, set on the volcanic hills of the northwest side of Maui, has sprawling views of the Pacific Ocean and Moloka’i (see the photo above – it’s been my iPad screensaver since I took the photo in 2020). It is as great, views-wise, of a course that the PGA TOUR plays all season.
The start of the PGA TOUR season in Hawaii gave the rest of the country something to look forward to – golf season and better weather. Growing up, this tournament was usually the last weekend of winter break, meaning it was one final moment of happiness before school started back up, but the tournament means so much more to me: it was the first PGA TOUR event I ever went to.
We were staying on Maui in December 2019 and I stayed behind with my Uncle Howie to go to the tournament. Instead of watching my future team, the Wisconsin Badgers, play in the Rose Bowl, I was at the course, watching and meeting all the players I had spent weekends watching at home – Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, among others. I was even invited to sit in the Golf Channel tower and listen to Dan Hicks call the shots up close. Needless to say, the event means a lot to me.
Last year, it was announced that the 2026 tournament was canceled due to a drought on the island, and shortly thereafter, rumors started to swirl that the PGA TOUR was planning on canceling the Hawaii events after 2026 in an effort to shorten the season and get the biggest stars playing more often. The news crushed me. Kapalua had been the home of the season opener for as long as I have been a golf fan – it was something I looked forward to after the holiday season ended.
While I understand and am in favor of many of the changes the Tour is seeking to make, this one is not one of them. Yes, players routinely won the tournament shooting 25 or 30 under-par, but there is something to turning on your TV when it's dark at 4:00pm on a January night, seeing the PGA TOUR’s best playing in paradise.
So to the PGA TOUR, make all the changes you want, but keep Kapalua.