Wailea Golf Club

Location: Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

Golf Course Architect: Robert Trent Jones II (Gold & Emerald Courses) and Arthur Jack Snyder (Blue Course)

Scope: Concept design, schematic design, design/documentation plus construction observation

Size: 11,400 acres/4,600 hectares

Program: Golf Course Landscape for three 18 hole golf courses, entry road, maintenance building and streetscape.

Description: Designed by Robert Trent Jones II, the Gold and Emerald golf courses are located along the south western edge of Maui with breathtaking views of Molokini islet to the west and Mt. Haleakala to the east. The Gold Course was completely re-naturalized with native grasses, trees and palms. Existing, historic lava rock cattle walls were preserved throughout the golf course and enhanced along adjacent Alanui Road to retain the historic character of the site. The Emerald course was designed with a lush tropical landscape using colorful plantings and flowers. Careful consideration was given to the selection of plant materials on both golf courses due to the high levels of salt chlorides in the brackish irrigation water source for the project. Remedial landscape design work was also provided on the Blue Course where golf course architecture was previously designed by Arthur Jack Snyder.

Press: The Gold Course has been honored by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest as one of the country’s ten best new resort courses when it opened in 1994. It has also been recognized by the Maui Historical Society for its preservation of prehistoric lava rock walls during construction, and hailed as one of the world’s best designed courses by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler in the magazine’s first golf resorts poll. Golf for Women Magazine first granted the Wailea Emerald Course and Golf Club a Top Fairways Award for the country’s most women-friendly golf clubs, an honor that Wailea has won seven times.