Kapalua has the honor of being the PGA Tour’s season opener since 1999. Now, it’s under an emergency scenario after being cut off from its irrigation water for seven consecutive days. The resort has already closed its Plantation Course on September 2. This decision will help us preserve the precious water needed to keep the turf healthy during the two-month-long closure. I interviewed General Manager Alex Nakajima after the announcement and he was frank about the urgent need for change. He emphasized that the course simply cannot be kept without irrigation.
As the Plantation Course prepares for its reopening in January, Kapalua Golf Resort grapples with challenges exacerbated by the ongoing water crisis. The resort’s irrigation system is heavily reliant on the 11-mile Honokohau Stream and Ditch System. It’s failed due to mismanagement for which owner Tadashi Yanai filed a lawsuit against MLP on August 18. The ongoing lawsuit claims that for years MLP has not properly maintained this vital municipal water conveyance infrastructure.
In response to the ongoing water crisis, Kapalua Golf Resort has taken numerous turf management initiatives for maximum efficiency. These steps involve verticut mowing and the use of slow-releasing fertilizer to keep the grass alive and kicking through this tough transition. Nakajima underscored the urgent consequences of a sustained lack of clean water.
“But without water, we can’t do anything. It’s tough.” – Alex Nakajima
Since August 29, the Plantation Course has not received any irrigation, raising concerns about its health and readiness for the upcoming tournament. The resort’s management had been cautioning that a long Tier 4 closure would permanently ruin the turf. The grass at this point has suffered through half a year of the drought with half measures irrigation wise.
“We warned previously that another Tier 4 shutdown would be devastating to turfgrass already depleted from months without irrigation,” – Kapalua
The economic rewards are great for the area. Influxed by the Kapalua tournament, produced by Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance, is an estimated $50 million economic impact. The resort’s ability to prepare the Plantation Course to PGA Tour standards is imperative for its reputation and for the surrounding community’s economic wellbeing.
Under the current Tier 2 restrictions, recovery efforts are making it increasingly difficult to prepare for a January event. Whenever there’s a question about whether water will be available, alarm bells go off. Will the Kapalua Golf Resort return the Plantation Course to a competitive state before the November 2022 season opener?
“With the course’s recovery already uncertain under Tier 2, a second forced dormancy makes preparing the Plantation Course to PGA Tour standards for January even more painstaking and tenuous.” – Kapalua
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