The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course

Overview: The Dunes at Maui Lani is a public 18-hole links-style course in Kahului built across naturally occurring dune terrain in Maui’s central valley. Robin Nelson used the existing contours with minimal earthmoving, creating a par-71 layout that reaches 6,841 yards from the black tees. Sandy ground, volcanic views, trade-wind exposure and the scale of the dune field give the course a character distinct from resort layouts shaped from flat ground. The routing uses natural rises, pot bunkers, water and changing approach angles, so club selection matters even when the scorecard does not look unusually long.

History: The course opened in 1999 on the windswept dunes of Maui Lani. Its design philosophy deliberately differs from heavily reshaped modern courses: Nelson treated the natural dune field as the source of the routing and used irrigation and modern turf technology to make that older-style approach playable. The club describes The Dunes as the only golf course in Hawaii built on naturally occurring dune terrain. Its official hole guide shows how the natural setting continues to shape the round, from a risk-reward opening hole beside pot bunkers to a closing par five where water and sand influence the decision to attack. The course remains a public facility with separate standard and local-resident rates.

Did You Know? Maui Lani’s central valley links two volcanoes by land formed as the sea receded, making the course’s dune terrain part of a broader geological story. The 18th is a documented risk-reward par five: the official hole guide describes a choice between laying up beyond a bunker and attempting to reach the green in two while negotiating water and sand.