Makena Golf & Beach Club
Kihei, Maui County, Hawaii · Maui golf market
- Access
- invitation only
- Holes
- 18
- Architect(s)
- Robert Trent Jones Jr.
- Gated
- Yes
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The Makena Golf & Beach Club site has a long resort history: Seibu Hawaii opened an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course there in 1981 alongside the Maui Prince Hotel (opened 1986), later expanding to 36 holes (North and South courses) in 1993. Seibu managed the property until 2007, when the South Course closed; the resort changed hands several times before Discovery Land Company - the same developer behind Kukio on the Big Island - acquired it in 2014-2015. The hotel (by then rebranded Makena Beach & Golf Resort) closed in 2016 and was demolished in 2018 to make way for a full private-club redevelopment: a renovated 18-hole North Course (the South Course remains out of play) and new residential product built around it and along the beachfront.
Today Makena Golf & Beach Club spans roughly 1,800 acres and operates as a private, members-only community. The residential offering includes Kula Villas (a 30-unit multifamily development), Beach Cottages (10 units), Beach Club Residences (7 units within the clubhouse building itself), and Molokini Residences (10 larger units), plus additional custom homesites; reporting also referenced a newer phase of roughly 50 'Makai' residences planned on part of the former hotel footprint. Property ownership within the development is described as a prerequisite for applying for club membership, which carries a reported initiation fee in the range of $300,000 plus substantial annual dues - figures that come from a third-party aggregator rather than Discovery Land's own materials and should be confirmed directly.
Golf & Course
The current North Course, an 18-hole, par-72 Robert Trent Jones Jr. design (roughly 6,900 yards from the back tees), was substantially renovated under Discovery Land Company's ownership after reopening as a private facility. The original South Course, part of the 1993 36-hole expansion, has been closed since 2007 and is not in play.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
Makena Golf & Beach Club is private and members-only; unlike the resort/public-access model at Kapalua or Kaanapali, there is no public or resort-guest play. Prospective members must first purchase real estate within the Discovery Land Company-developed portion of Makena before they are eligible to apply for club membership, which then requires a separate application, approval, and substantial initiation fee and annual dues.
Living in Makena Golf & Beach Club
The residential product is entirely new-build, developed by Discovery Land Company as part of the same master redevelopment as the golf course and beach club itself, spanning multiple distinct product types: attached multifamily villas (Kula Villas), standalone beach cottages, larger Molokini Residences, and a handful of Beach Club Residences integrated into the clubhouse complex.
Lifestyle & Amenities
Amenities include a private beach club with pools, a spa and wellness center, fine dining, and ocean activities, positioned by Discovery Land Company as a multi-generational family-oriented private community rather than a golf-only club.
Location & Surrounding Area
Makena sits at the southern end of Maui's South Shore resort corridor, just south of Wailea and roughly 30-35 minutes from Kahului Airport.
Costs & Fees
Figures below are labeled Current only when the source itself frames them as presently accurate. Everything else is labeled Historical — a source checked today does not make an old fee a current one.
Golf membership initiation
Current$300,000
Third-party membership-cost aggregator (privateIQ), not Discovery Land Company's own materials; treat as an estimate pending direct confirmation.
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What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm current initiation fee and annual dues directly with Discovery Land Company/Makena Golf & Beach Club.
- Confirm whether club membership is mandatory for all Discovery-developed Makena property owners or a separate opt-in step.
- Confirm current residential inventory and pricing, given most transactions are off-MLS.
Notable
- Discovery Land Company (also Kukio's developer on the Big Island) acquired the former Maui Prince Hotel/Makena Beach & Golf Resort site in 2014-2015.
- The hotel was demolished in 2018 to make way for the private Makena Golf & Beach Club redevelopment.
- Only the North Course remains in play; the South Course has been closed since 2007.
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US Golf Living provides independent real-estate research and can connect consumers with real-estate professionals. Golf membership, availability, fees and approval are determined independently by the applicable club.