With the LPGA Tour making a stop in Oahu this April, the LPGA Women’s Network travel correspondent, Susan Fornoff, has put together a guide of places not to be missed if you’re planning a trip to the Hawaiian islands. 

 

Unless you play for the LPGA or PGA tours and have tournament business, you’ve surely traveled to Maui for a vacation. You’ve brought your foursome for a girls’ getaway, your significant other for a romantic respite, your kids and grandkids for some family time . . . or maybe you’ve just rewarded yourself for another year of hard work with an all-about-me, solo vacation.

Here’s the great news for women golfers: There may not be another destination on earth that will show you so much love as a golf trip to Maui. The golf course operators know they’re in the hospitality business, so they welcome women. The staff will try to pair you up with a couple, other women, or even send you out as a twosome. The marshals may flirt with you because you’re a woman, but they will not harass you. The shops are full of high fashion for women golfers, and the latest rental sets are yours to try. The course architect made playability a priority and the superintendent guarantees you a perfect lie (if you keep the ball in the fairway). If you want advice or inspiration, there are plenty of women teachers on the island, and even, at Wailea Golf Club, a woman general manager and a woman restaurateur.

The problem with this destination is narrowing down the choices to just three. Even choosing a home base on Maui poses problems, because both weather and attitude shift slightly from Wailea to Lahaina/Ka’anapali to Kapalua. Just to further confuse, we’re adding the small island of Lanai to the mix, because unless you’ve got a private plane you’re probably taking the ferry over from Maui.

So let’s get started!