HONOLULU (AP) — Nestled on the slopes of the west Maui mountains, the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort is celebrated for its breathtaking ocean vistas. This iconic course has played host to The Sentry, a premier PGA Tour event with a staggering $20 million purse, almost every year for more than 25 years.

“It’s a sight you have to witness to fully appreciate,” remarked Ann Miller, a veteran golf writer previously with a Honolulu newspaper. “From the course, you can see neighboring islands and even spot whales. Every direction offers a stunning view.”

The course’s acclaim is also tied to its lush, green conditions.

However, water shortages in west Maui, compounded by the aftermath of a devastating 2023 wildfire that tore through the historic town of Lahaina, have made maintaining the course’s verdant appearance increasingly challenging.

As the Plantation’s fairways and greens began to lose their luster, the PGA Tour made the difficult decision to cancel the season opener. This cancellation is estimated to have dealt a $50 million economic blow to the region.

A two-month closure and some rain helped get the course in suitable condition to reopen 17 holes earlier this month to everyday golfers who pay upwards of $469 to play a round. The 18th hole is set to reopen Monday, but the debate is far from over about the source of the water used to keep the course green and what its future looks like amid climate change.

Questions about Hawaii’s golf future

There’s concern that other high-profile tournaments will also bow out, taking with them economic benefits, such as money for charities, Miller said.

“It could literally change the face of it,” she said, “and it could change the popularity, obviously, too.”

The company that owns the courses, along with Kapalua homeowners and Hua Momona Farms, filed a lawsuit in August alleging Maui Land & Pineapple, which operates the century-old system of ditches that provides irrigation water to Kapalua and its residents, has not kept up repairs, affecting the amount of water getting down from the mountain.

MLP has countersued and the two sides have exchanged accusations since then.

As the water-delivery dispute plays out in court, Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental legal group, is calling attention to a separate issue involving the use of drinking water for golf course irrigation, particularly irksome to residents contending with water restrictions amid drought, including Native Hawaiians who consider water a sacred resource.

“Potable ground drinking water needs to be used for potable use,” Lauren Palakiko, a west Maui taro farmer, told the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management at a recent meeting. “I can’t stress enough that it should never be pumped, injuring our aquifer for the sake of golf grass or vacant mansion swimming pools.”

‘This is water that we can drink’

Kapalua’s Plantation and Bay courses, owned by TY Management Corp., have historically been irrigated with surface water delivered under an agreement with Maui Land & Pineapple, but since at least the summer have been using millions of gallons of potable groundwater, according to Earthjustice attorneys who point to correspondence from commission Chairperson Dawn Chang to MLP and Hawaii Water Service they say confirms it.

Chang said her letter didn’t authorize anything, but merely acknowledged an “oral representation” that using groundwater is an an “existing use” at times when there’s not enough surface water. She is asking for supporting documentation from MLP and Hawaii Water Service to confirm that interpretation.

MLP’s two wells that service the course provide potable water.

“This is water that we can drink. It’s an even more precious resource within the sacred resource of wai,” Dru Hara, an Earthjustice attorney said, using the Hawaiian word for water.

Recycled water solutions

TY, owned by Japanese billionaire and apparel brand Uniqlo’s founder Tadashi Yanai, doesn’t have control over what kind of water is in the reservoir they draw upon for irrigation, TY General Manager Kenji Yui said in a statement. They’re also researching ways to bring recycled water to Kapalua for irrigation.

Kamanamaikalani Beamer, a former commissioner, said he’s troubled by Earthjustice’s allegations that proper procedures weren’t followed.

The wrangling over water for golf shows that courses in Hawaii need to change their relationship with water, Beamer said: “I think there needs to be a time very soon that all golf courses are utilizing at a minimum recycled water.”