This #TipTuesday brings you an insider’s tip on how to play the 16th hole at Poipu Bay Golf Course from golf writer Mike Dauplaise of Prime Golf Destinations. How would you play it? (Image courtesy of Patrick Koenig)
Poipu Bay Golf Course
No. 16 – Par 4 (501/472/432/410)
Course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. describes the signature hole at Poipu Bay as the “Pebble Beach of the Pacific.” Even with the wind, the length of this hole still packs a punch for a par-4 and contributes to its No. 1 handicap ranking.
The downhill tee shot must avoid a bunker on the right and the stone heiau walls on the left. The sacred heiau areas play as lateral hazards and may not be entered. The hole doglegs left and heads uphill to a green perched at the edge of the bluff overlooking the ocean.
The right side of the fairway is the preferred angle for the second shot, leaving a more open line of attack. Anything left off the tee leaves you with a carry over another heiau that sits tight along the left side of the fairway and the green. There is zero room for error left of the green.
A series of bunkers encases the green from the right side around the back. Combined with the hazard to the left, the only safe miss is short and right. Luckily, Jones has given us the largest green on the course for our target. Par here is an excellent score.