{"id":9011,"date":"2026-05-29T06:44:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T06:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/9011\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T06:44:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T06:44:43","slug":"kapalua-golf-courses-to-temporarily-close-to-restore-grass-in-attempt-to-save-the-sentry-tournament-on-maui-maui-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/9011\/","title":{"rendered":"Kapalua golf courses to temporarily close to restore grass in attempt to save The Sentry tournament on Maui : Maui Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Right now, the Maui golf course that hosts the PGA Tour\u2019s prestigious season opener every January for the past 27 years is unplayable at the elite level. Severe water restrictions in West Maui have resulted in brown fairways and dying grass on the greens.<\/p>\n

But efforts are underway to return the Plantation Course at Kapalua to lush green \u2014 and save The Sentry, once known as the Tournament of Champions, and the $50 million boost to the economy and other benefits it brings to Maui and the State of Hawai\u02bbi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Discussions have heated up over the past few days between the PGA Tour, state and county governments, title sponsor Sentry Insurance and Kapalua Resort, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed on Tuesday to the Hawai\u2019i Journalism Initiative.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis photo taken Aug. 18, 2025, shows the Plantation Course at Kapalua following severe water restrictions for West Maui. The 18th hole fairway and green are in the middle, the first hole tee and fair are to the right, makai of the Plantation House restaurant and clubhouse building on the right. Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

Time, however, is not on their side. The countdown clock on The Sentry website<\/a> for the Jan. 8-11 tournament reads 133 days.<\/p>\n

The efforts to save the tournament picked up after a lawsuit<\/a> was filed on Aug. 18 in Second Circuit Court against Maui Land & Pineapple, owners of a century-old ditch that provides water to West Maui. Leading the lawsuit is Tadashi Yanai, the richest man in Japan, and the head of TY Management Corporation that owns the Plantation Course.<\/p>\n

Maui Land & Pineapple said in response to the lawsuit that it is following directions from the state Commission on Water Resource Management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"XanderXander Schauffele, the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, is interviewed at The Sentry golf tournament at the Kapalua Plantation Course in January. HJI \/ ROB COLLIAS photo<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Hawaii Water Service on behalf of Maui Land & Pineapple Company loosened water restrictions in West Maui despite the area still being in a drought. They went from tier 4 (100% restriction for irrigation and landscaping) to tier 2 (40% restriction) of the water flow.<\/p>\n

Being able to water the grass, albeit at less than usual amounts, will enable the greenskeepers to try to bring the course back to conditions suitable for the best players in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s good news for us, obviously,\u201d said Alex Nakajima, general manager of Kapalua Golf and Tennis. \u201cBut it requires a little bit of time for\u00a0us to put a plan together. What do we do with the 60% (water flow)?\u201d<\/p>\n

Beginning Sept. 2, the Plantation and Bay courses at the resort will close for 60 days. During that time, golf course workers who make up about half of Nakajima\u2019s staff of 300 will stay on the job to do aeration (mechanical removal of soil cores that improve air, water, and nutrient penetration to the root zone) and verticutting (cutting thin grooves into the soil to remove excessive thatch, and improve water and air penetration).<\/p>\n

They also will applying a slow-release fertilizer, using some water, and\u00a0\u201cremoving the dead grass on the greens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have tons of work to catch up on,\u201d Nakajima said. <\/p>\n

And with the still limited water available, it would be a \u201closing battle\u201d if golfers were to continue playing on the course. <\/p>\n

\u201cDamage catch up and closure impact (will cost) millions, but we are willing to do this,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Nakajima said he is hopeful but not positive the planned rejuvenation efforts with the shutdown of the course will work. But it was the only option he could think of to quickly bring the brown grass back to PGA Tour standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe PGA Tour is closely monitoring the ongoing water conservation requirements affecting Kapalua Resort,\u201d a PGA Tour spokesperson said in an email to the Hawai\u2019i Journalism Initiative on Tuesday. \u201cWe are engaged with our partners at Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort, Maui County and the State of Hawaii to assess any potential impact on staging The Sentry at The Plantation Course in January. We will provide updates as appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sentry Insurance declined to comment on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"CollinCollin Morikawa, the No. 8-ranked golfer in the world, is interviewed at The Sentry golf tournament at the Kapalua Plantation Course in January. HJI \/ ROB COLLIAS photo<\/p>\n

For now, the PGA Tour is moving forward as if the tournament will be played at the Plantation Course. Tickets are on sale<\/a> and calls for volunteers have been issued.<\/p>\n

The Sentry tournament, with its top-notch field of players, and alluring location with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and West Maui mountains, draws fans and global attention to the island.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the tournament had an estimated economic impact of $48 million<\/a> and event officials believe that number has since risen past $50 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sentry is one of nine Signature events on the PGA Tour, up from eight a year ago. The tournament, with its smaller, more elite field, carries more FedEx Cup playoff points and an increased purse of $20 million than regular-season events.<\/p>\n

County of Maui spokesperson Laksmi Abraham said the tournament \u201ccreates jobs, educational opportunities, and provides vital funding that directly supports our local nonprofits and families. The Sentry is a valued partner, and the County remains committed to supporting the tournament\u2019s future here on Maui.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Governor\u2019s Office said: \u201cThe Sentry is an important event for Maui\u2019s economy and a showcase for Hawai\u2018i worldwide. Together with the Sony Open, it anchors the PGA Tour\u2019s presence in our islands and supports local jobs, tourism and investment. We\u2019ve been in discussions with partners to keep the tournament here while respecting Maui\u2019s recovery needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Governor\u2019s Office added that it is \u201cmonitoring the situation\u201d on the water situation, \u201cwhile management decisions remain with the Commission on Water Resource Management.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, the tournament announced that it had provided a record $747,704 to the Maui charities<\/a> this year. Since its run on Maui began in 1999, The Sentry has raised more than $9.7 million for local nonprofits, according to the insurance company.<\/p>\n

The Lahainaluna High School Foundation is one of six \u201ckey community organizations\u201d that receive charitable funds from The Sentry. The others are Scouting America-Aloha Council, Hale Makua Health Services, J. Walter Cameron Center, Ka Lima O Maui and Lahaina Junior Golf.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Sentry PGA Tour golf tournament announced total donations of $747,704 to several Maui charities on May 20 at the Boys & Girls Club of Maui \u2013 Lahaina. PGA TOUR photo<\/p>\n

\u201cThe foundation would be devastated without having this income come in because \u2026 it has become the only financial support for us,\u201d Lahainaluna High School Foundation president Mark Tillman said.<\/p>\n

The foundation sends members of the high school\u2019s wrestling, football, debate and robotics teams and the school band to the Plantation Course as volunteers prior to and during The Sentry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure it wouldn\u2019t ruin us \u2014 obviously if it does go away \u2014 because we do have money,\u201d Tillman said. \u201cBut it certainly\u00a0would stymie the progress that we want to continue to make up at Lahainaluna and actually for all of\u00a0Lahaina.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Right now, the Maui golf course that hosts the PGA Tour\u2019s prestigious season opener every January for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1765,4238,4417,1704,4418,1706,2520,4243,1330,4419],"class_list":["post-9011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-sentry","tag-kapalua","tag-lahainaluna-high-school-foundation","tag-maui-charities","tag-maui-county","tag-maui-land-pineapple","tag-npcrosspost","tag-plantation-course","tag-sentry-insurance","tag-the-sentry","tag-ty-management-corporation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}