Hawaii
Kauai Golf Courses & Tee Times
Kauai's best-known public course is county-run. Wailua Golf Course, a Toyo Shirai design, began as nine holes in the 1930s and became 18 in 1961. It has hosted three USGA Amateur Public Links Championships and was No. 26 on GOLF's 2021 list of the 30 best municipal courses in America. On the south shore, Poipu Bay hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 to 2006.
Good weekend tee times on Kauai go fast, and the ones that come back later (cancellations, groups that shrink) aren't announced. Yoink watches the tee sheets at 5 public courses here in Koloa, and tells you the moment a time you want opens up.
The longest layout here is Princeville Makai Golf Club - Makai Course at 7,223 yards.
Who runs public golf on Kauai
The County of Kauai runs Wailua, and its rates split by residency. As listed in September 2026, residents pay $18 on weekdays and $23 on weekends, with a $70 monthly card; non-residents pay $80 and $100. Hawaii resident juniors pay $1. The rest of the island's courses are resort or daily-fee. Robert Trent Jones Jr. has two here: Princeville Makai on the north shore, his first solo design, and Kiahuna near Poipu.
Public courses worth knowing on Kauai
- Poipu Bay Golf Course: Home of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 to 2006; Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods all won it there.
- Princeville Makai Golf Club - Makai Course: Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s first solo design, with six oceanfront holes. He finished a $6 million renovation in early 2010.
- Kiahuna Golf Club: Robert Trent Jones II layout that winds past lava rock and ancient Hawaiian archaeological sites.
Booking tee times on Kauai: the local rules
Wailua requires a tee time for every player. You book by phone up to 7 days ahead, starting at 7 a.m. HST (as of 2026).
Yoink
The window opens once. Cancellations happen all week.
Booking windows decide who gets first pick. After that, times come back one at a time as plans change. Yoink watches all 5 courses on Kauai and tells you when a time that fits comes back, so you're not refreshing the page all week.
5 courses on Kauai
Other
Kiahuna Golf Club
Robert Trent Jones II routed it around lava tubes, two heiau and old stone house walls. Par 70 with roomy fairways, about 60 bunkers and no homes inside.
Ocean Course Hokuala
Eleven of the eighteen bend. The longest par five runs 571 yards.
Princeville Makai Golf Club - Makai Course
Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s first solo design, from 1971, with six holes on the ocean and a par-3 7th played over the cliffs. Views of Hanalei Bay.
Puakea Golf Course
Puakea Golf Course is an 18-hole regulation course in Hawaii, playing to par 72 across 6,954 yards.
Why tee times on Kauai are hard to get
Golf on Kauai peaks in winter, when seasonal residents and visitors arrive. From roughly November through April, weekend mornings are the hardest times on the sheet to get, and even weekdays fill up.
Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.
When tee time cancellations happen
A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.
How to get a tee time on Kauai
Yoink
Every course on Kauai on one watchlist: all 5 of them
Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 5 courses on Kauai. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times on Kauai: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up on Kauai?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time on Kauai?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest on Kauai?
Demand is highest from roughly November through April. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in Hawaii
- Oahu · 26 courses
- Big Island · 12 courses
- Maui · 7 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- kauainownews.com · media
- kauai.gov · official
- poipubaygolf.com · official
- makaigolf.com · official
- kiahunagolf.com · official
Tee times on Kauai, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.