Kapalua Golf Tournament Canceled: Where Did the Water Go?
The Kapalua Golf Tournament — the annual Tournament of Champions that has called Kapalua home for 26 years — will not be held this year because of drought conditions on Maui's west side. That decision affects more than players and fans. The Kapalua Golf Tournament has been an economic engine, bringing an estimated $50 million into the local economy over a few days, and its cancellation is a stark signal that our water systems need urgent attention.
What changed at Kapalua
The Kapalua Golf Tournament was scheduled to return to the Plantation Course, a venue that has hosted the season-opening event since 1999. Instead the PGA Tour announced its cancellation citing lack of reliable water to maintain the course for tournament play. The visual reality in parts of Kapalua is striking: areas that should be green are brown and dry, even while other parts of Maui remain lush and open for business.
Contrast on the island: some courses are still green
To be clear, not every golf course on Maui is affected the same way. Courses in Wailea and Kaanapali remain green and operating, so the issue is not uniformly islandwide. That contrast is obvious when you compare drone footage of Wailea fairways to the dry valleys above Kapalua.
How dry is Kapalua, really?
Kapalua itself is not an arid climate on paper. The average rainfall at Kapalua is roughly 25 inches per year. The important factor is the mountain hydrology. The higher you go into the West Maui Mountains, the more rain falls. Some sources report the summit receives more than 350 inches per year, making parts of West Maui among the wettest places on earth.
So far in 2025, rain gauges near the top of the West Maui Mountains have recorded more than 120 inches of precipitation. That raises a simple but urgent question: if the mountains are wet, why are the streams and Kapalua golf courses running dry?
The legal fight over water: who controls the flow?
At the center of the controversy is Maui Land and Pineapple Company, the large landowner that manages distribution of surface water coming off the West Maui Mountains. Their holdings run up into the mountain peaks, which gives them control over many of the streams and ditch systems that historically fed Kapalua.
The current owner of both Kapalua golf courses is businessman Tadashi Yanai. He purchased the courses from Maui Land and Pineapple in 2009 and 2010. As part of that sale, Maui Land and Pineapple agreed to continue maintaining stream and ditch systems to supply water to the courses and nearby developments.
That agreement is now part of a lawsuit. The company that owns Kapalua Golf Courses and several Kapalua homeowner associations have sued Maui Land and Pineapple, alleging failures to comply with maintenance and water delivery responsibilities. Maui Land and Pineapple counter that this past year simply did not produce enough rain to serve all off-stream users, and they have filed a countersuit alleging misinformation.
Beyond blame: why rely so heavily on stream water?
Instead of only asking who is at fault, we should ask why our systems are arranged in a way that lets a single point of failure disrupt tourism and daily life. Relying heavily on surface streams and historic ditch systems leaves communities vulnerable to short-term rain deficits or management failures.
Desalination has been adopted by many island nations as a primary or supplementary water source. Could desalination, more wells, or smarter stream diversion and storage be part of a long-term plan for Kapalua and West Maui? These are the kinds of questions we need engineers, hydrologists, and community leaders to answer together.
For those that are not already aware of it, desalination is the process of removing dissolved salts and other impurities from either seawater or brackish groundwater to produce fresh, drinkable water.
Potential solutions — what might make Maui more resilient?
- Smarter stream diversions and ditch maintenance. Ensuring historic ditch systems are functional and fairly allocated could restore reliable flows in dry years.
- Wells and aquifer management. Responsible groundwater extraction combined with recharge strategies could reduce dependence on surface flow.
- Desalination and brackish water treatment. Modern desalination plants are more energy efficient than ever and have been used successfully on other islands.
- Water storage and demand management. Larger- capacity storage and stricter landscape irrigation standards during droughts would stretch available water further.
Economic and community stakes
The cancellation of the Kapalua Golf Tournament is not just about one event. It is a wake-up call. The tournament generated roughly $50 million for the local economy; its loss ripples through hotels, restaurants, small businesses, and workers. Finding reliable, sustainable water solutions is essential to protect tourism, agriculture, and everyday life on Maui.
How you can help and what comes next
Maui is still open, and many parts of the island remain beautiful and welcoming. Golf in Wailea and Kaanapali is alive and well, and visiting responsibly is one way to help the local economy recover. At the same time, we need new ideas, technologies, and a fresh approach to managing our most precious resource: water.
If you have expertise in water systems, desalination, or island infrastructure, please share your perspective. Tell me what you think caused the Kapalua water shortage and what solutions deserve serious consideration. Your input matters as the community looks for resilient, long-term fixes.
Posted by Jesse Wald on
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