Maui's Golf Coast 2007 - (Page 15) plays directly into the prevailing breeze. Clusters of bunkers tread on both sides of the fairway, and the green, protected on both sides by sand, tilts from right to left, making it difficult to hit if the trade winds are blowing. Like much of the course, #8 has plenty of visual drama. Your tee shot needs to carry a canyon, but if you hoist your ball over, the green is designed to hold and nurse your ball to the left, taking into account the typical right-to-left crosswind. The twelfth hole is a personal favorite of Kapalua’s Gary Planos, tournament chairman of the MercedesBenz Championship. The 328yard number 12 “is a little risk/reward par 4 that has a beautiful tee shot skating along a couple of fairway bunkers, leaving you a delicate little wedge to run up to the pin,” he says. “It’s never easy to get it close, but it always feels like a hole in Scotland or Ireland with its shot-making.” The Plantation Course’s finishing holes are among its most memorable. The 17th tee sits at the highest elevation on the course, and the stunning view of Pailolo Channel and Moloka‘i has got to be one of the most fantastic vistas in Hawai‘i. At 467 yards from the white tees, the hole is long for a par 4, but with the prevailing trades coming from behind and a steep 150-foot downhill elevation change, you have wind and gravity on your side. The 17th flows right into the finishing hole, The Plantation Course’s signature #18 around which Coore and Crenshaw designed the rest of the course. At 663 yards from the championship tee, this downhill and downwind par 5 is the longest hole of any on the PGA TOUR. The hole itself is playable, with a large fairway and green. The toughest hurdle for the likes of Woods and Duvall and Garcia – and for the rest of us, for that matter – might be to ignore the scenic grandeur of the backdrop. Like the champions it hosts each January, it’s a hole worthy of being called the best of the best. The Plantation Course is rated a 4.5 star course by Golf Digest. The course clubhouse has its own full-service golf shop with locker rooms and restaurant. Tee times may be made up to 30 days in advance if you’re a registered Kapalua Resort guest by calling toll-free 1-877-KAPALUA or locally 808-669-8044. Tee times may also be booked online at www.kapalua.com. For more information about the nationally televised Mercedes-Benz Championship, featuring approximately 34 champions from the previous year’s PGA TOUR season vying for over a $5.5 million dollar purse, call 808-669-2440. The 17th hole with dramatic views of Moloka‘i THE PLANTATION COURSE Tees Slope Rating Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total Championship 138 74.9 Yardage 473 218 380 382 532 398 484 203 521 354 164 373 407 305 555 365 486 663 7263 Regular Tees 130 71.7 434 196 352 317 485 378 465 172 490 283 145 328 352 275 510 313 467 585 6547 Ladies’ Par 4 3 4 4 5 4 5 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 5 5 75 Ladies Tees 129 73.2 Yardage 381 132 260 218 445 315 450 146/67 401 251 120 303 300 232 474 282 428 489 5627 Golf Tip If you have a strong drive, you can choose to take an aggressive tee shot on hole #18 up the right side of the fairway and strive to reach the green in two. More conservative players should aim their second shot toward the clubhouse. Use a short iron to reach the green and remember that your ball will tend to flow toward the ocean. Men’s Par 4 3 4 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 73 15 http://www.kapalua.com
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