"We are thrilled to welcome the LPGA back to Kapalua and professional golf back to Maui," Kapalua Golf General Manager Alex Nakajima said on Monday. That was how the Plantation Course announced it will host the LPGA Tour's 2027 LOTTE Championship from March 18 to 21.
For 27 years, January was tournament month on this course. The PGA TOUR's season-opener was played here from 1999 through 2025. Kapalua's tournament week now falls in March, on a different tour. The thing that decided whether there would be a tournament at all was water. The PGA TOUR didn't schedule its way out of Kapalua. The grass went brown, and it took a rainy year to bring it back.
The January the course stayed open to everyone
The PGA TOUR canceled the event set for January 5 to 11, 2026 on September 16, 2025. It said drought, water-conservation restrictions, course conditions and event logistics meant it could not promise tournament-standard conditions. In April 2026, the PGA TOUR confirmed it was ending its Maui event completely. The Sentry's official site now lists its January 2027 dates at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
The stakes were large. Before the cancellation, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported in October 2025 an estimated $50 million in annual economic impact. Maui Now's cancellation report put the crowd at roughly 2,000 to 3,000 tourists a year. Those are projections, though. No local outlet has published a measured count of what January 2026 actually cost hotels and restaurants.
On the course itself, the week looked very different. Kapalua Golf reopened the Plantation Course to the public on November 10, 2025, and Nakajima said its workforce of more than 300 course and restaurant employees was kept on. During what would have been tournament week, Golfweek reported that 150 golfers had paid $475 each to play the week before, and the course expected the tee sheet to fill with regular players. It also reported no layoffs. Full-time staff were moved to Plantation Course and facility maintenance, and tee times were extended as demand grew.
A representative of the LahainaTown Action Committee told KHON2 that January felt quiet without the event. The tournament had been one of the ways players connected with the community, especially with kids.
The charity side got a response. After the cancellation, Kapalua owner Tadashi Yanai donated $750,000 to Maui nonprofits. Peace Winds America says it regranted the money to 20 organizations that had relied on Sentry-related giving, including:
- Lahaina Junior Golf Association, Maui Junior Golf Association and Hawaiʻi State Junior Golf Association
- Lahainaluna High School Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui–Lahaina
- Hale Makua, Ka Lima O Maui and J. Walter Cameron Center
- Maui Food Bank, Maui United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters Maui
- Aloha Puʻu Kukui Watershed, Hua Momona Farms and Kapalua Maui Charities
Why the grass came back
The October 7 Maui Now report from the Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative says recent rains have put the Plantation Course in good enough shape to host again. TY Management general manager Kenji Yui called it "in fantastic shape."
Maui Land & Pineapple Co. said that 2025 was the driest year on record for Maui. It also said that stream flow and reservoir levels have improved after this year's rainfall, and that there are currently no irrigation restrictions on the Kapalua system. That is the same water system behind last year's dispute. TY Management, which owns the Plantation and Bay courses, sued Maui Land & Pineapple in August 2025 along with three homeowners' associations and Hua Momona Farms. They allege the Honokōhau ditch system was not maintained. The company has countersued and points to drought as the cause. Neither side has been proven right in court. Second Circuit Court records set the trial for March 29, 2027.
Ownership of the water system may also change. In May, Maui Land & Pineapple announced a tentative agreement to sell its West Maui water system to Maui County, and the company says due diligence and appraisals are underway. The state water commission's deputy director said the U.S. Geological Survey is expected to install a stream gauge below one of the company's diversions on October 26.
The Bay Course is still waiting. Kapalua Golf's course page still lists it as closed, with no reopening date, while Taverna, the driving range and the golf shop stay open. KHON2 reported that the Bay Course has been closed since January so staff could focus on the Plantation Course.
March, side by side with January
The new event is different from the old one in almost every detail:
| The Sentry at Kapalua | 2027 LOTTE Championship | |
|---|---|---|
| Tour | PGA TOUR | LPGA Tour |
| Month | January | March 18–21 competition, March 15–21 event week |
| Run at Kapalua | 1999 to 2025 | First year at Kapalua |
| Field | Not covered in research | 120 players, four rounds |
| Purse | Not covered in research | $3 million |
The LPGA's announcement calls this the tournament's 15th edition. From 2022 to 2026 it was played at Hoakalei Country Club on Oʻahu. Kapalua last hosted the LPGA in 2008, when the Kapalua LPGA Classic was played on the Bay Course. The par-73, 7,596-yard Plantation Course has never hosted this event. Nakajima told KHON2 that "the hotels and then restaurant, every business will benefit from this tournament."
The calendar has one more detail. The final round ends March 21, and the water trial is set to start March 29, eight days later.
What hasn't been published yet
As of today, October 7, 2026, several things a neighbor would want to know are not public. The LOTTE Championship website still shows its 2026 Hoakalei dates and address. No ticket prices, sale dates, kamaʻāina offers, volunteer sign-ups, parking or shuttle plans have been released. Neither Kapalua nor the LPGA has said when public Plantation tee times will close around event week.
The booking rules explain some of this. Kapalua Golf's standard tee-time window is 30 days, so March dates are still months away from opening. Kamaʻāina golfers need a REAL ID-compliant Hawaii driver's license or state ID, and limited-term and limited-purpose IDs don't qualify. Their initial booking window is seven days. Kapalua doesn't publish a kamaʻāina rate. The 2026 rate sheet tells residents to call, and lists a $475 standard Plantation starting rate plus tax for its December 15, 2025 to December 13, 2026 term. That sheet expires in December, so 2027 pricing is still unannounced.
The months between now and March
Until March, the resort calendars fill the gap left by the January tournament.
- Kapalua Wine & Chef Series with Elizabeth Falkner, October 10. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. at Banyan Tree for $225++ per person, ages 21 and up, with a 25% kamaʻāina discount listed on the Ritz-Carlton's event page.
- Kapalua Restaurant Week, October 26 to November 6. Participants are Banyan Tree, The Restaurant at Kapalua Bay, Alaloa Lounge, Taverna, The Plantation House Restaurant, Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar, and The Pour House Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar. Listed deals include Banyan Tree's $85 prix-fixe, Alaloa Lounge's $45 prix-fixe, and a $79 three-course dinner at The Restaurant at Kapalua Bay, served nightly from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Justin Kawika Young, November 6. A free Kapalua Concert Series show runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Alaloa Lounge, with first-come seating and no reservation needed.
- Wine & Chef Series with Laurent Tourondel, November 14. It's also at Banyan Tree at 5:30 p.m., $225++ per person, ages 21 and up.
Two weekly events keep going through the winter. Jazz & Blues Nights run Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Alaloa Lounge with no cover, through January 14, 2027. The Aloha Friday Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hawaiian Garden at 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, listed through December 31, 2026. Over at Montage Kapalua Bay, The Hideaway reopened in February as an indoor-outdoor cocktail lounge, with local musicians scheduled nightly from 7 to 9 p.m.
This January will be the second in a row without pros on the Plantation Course. The next tournament week starts March 15.
If you live near the Plantation Course and want to understand how a tournament week, a water system changing hands or a reopened Bay Course might affect your home, I'm happy to talk it through over coffee. Rai Morimoto follows Kapalua news closely and is glad to share it. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
