Royal Hawaiian Golf Club

Can’t complain of the views, but I didn’t come only for a view. I wanted to play golf. Course conditions were poor at best. Not sure last time they mowed but it was like a goat ranch. Rough was so thick and overgrown you’d lose your ball which slows play and isn’t fun. Fairways, if you call it that, was mostly dirt. Bunkers also not maintained. It’s too bad, it would be a great track with great views of the Hawaiian lush jungles if it was only maintained and manicured.

Awesome views, Pete Dye difficulty. A very difficult golf test and a treat for the senses. US Open-type of rough; bring a lot of balls and much patience.

We had two complaints-- front nine was cart path only and practice range was closed. But the mountain and valley views are unique.

First the good news. They have spent some money since the last time I played about 2 years ago on the greens. They used to be horrible on the front 9. But they've improved greatly from what looks like new sod or just overall improvement in maintenance. Now the greens are smooth with no bare spots like before. They are slow however but the humid weather doesn't help.

Now the bad news. Pace of play was absolutely horrible. We played as a twosome and were stuck behind a large wedding group. Took us 5:45 to finish. Granted, it was cart path only from a storm the night before but they should've done something ahead of time knowing there was a large group teeing off. We wanted to quit after 14 holes but we were far from the clubhouse and just decided to finish.

I usually play here when I come to Oahu as it is a unique layout with Jurassic-like qualities that you can't find elsewhere. But next time, I'll have to ask the pro shop how the pace will look like prior to committing.

The course is incredible! I’m a first time player here but found the course majestic and challenging. I basically had the course to myself all afternoon on May 11, 2026. I’m not sure if that is nilormal during the week or this time of year, but that was nice as I completely took my time! I rated it a 4 on the value because they had the 7th hole closed due to repairs (they added in a 3B) and the maintenance guy passed me teeing off on the 8th hole and went to the hole and turned on the sprinklers, WTH dude, no maholo given! Other than that, if you are looking for course to play, make no mistake, I would return to play this course 10 out 10 times if given the opportunity!

Probably the most difficult course unless you are straight as a laser on ball placement!

Was fun and jungle-esque in the beginning and then more open up and traditional in the back 9. I'd say we may have gone during aeration since the greens were a little iffy, but probably hard to maintain with a jungle area.

Would go back again once I'm better :).

I’ve been playing golf for 13 years now, and of all the courses I’ve visited, I think this one had the most beautiful views. However, the greens were extremely slow and quite rough. It was also incredibly easy to lose a ball. The fairways were too undulating, which made them difficult to play. The staff members were very friendly.

Everything was Great! Beautiful course with a Super friendly staff. It was like golfing at Jurassic Park minus the dinosaurs. Fun Course!

I played this course a few years ago in August and I loved it. Took my friend this past weekend and course conditions were not good at all. The rough felt like Ike walking through semi weeds. Greens were severely punched but not mentioned on the website when booking.

To be fair, Hawaii just d person ed serious flooding and so the grounds weren’t able to be maintained but I wish there was some kind of dis one of notice to let you know before you go.

Views here are still unbeaten. But the conditions were definitely to be desired

Staff was extremely friendly had a blast playing the course! The starter gave us good instructions and heads up of the layout. It’s a tough course I lost more balls than I’d like to admit but well worth it. I did get lucky to play both front and back holes. The course got hit pretty bad with the recent weather and they just opened the front nine. I called a week before and the pro shop let me know the back nine were the only holes currently open. They opened the front this week and I got to experience the entire course.

I had a last minute layover and called up Royal Hawaiian to try and get a tee time. They recently had some weather so the front nine was under construction and the last tee time was therefore noon. I arrived right around then and the staff already had my own cart, rental clubs, paperwork, and a box of balls all ready to go in a cart for me. I was never rushed or made to feel like I was inconveniencing anyone.

Everyone was out to have a good time. Pace of play was leisurely, but at a 4.5hr pace I wasn’t complaining. There are no Marshall’s on the course to speed things up.

Conditions were mostly good. The greens were just punched which I get is part of the yearly maintenance of the course. Also the St Augustine rough was like Oakmont over 6” tall! I lost a couple balls in the straightforward rough just off the fairway because it was just simply impossible to find anything in there.

Overall, outstanding uniquely Hawaiian views. No ocean views, but the mountains and valleys were breathtaking all the same. I’d come out again, but it will take me some time to feel up to paying $200 + $93 in fees again.

Only back 9 was open and they gave no heads up before hand and didn't offer an discount. Rough was so long you lost your ball everytime

I have been golfing at Royal Hawaiian for quite some time. Beautiful view, challenging layout and friendly staff.

I brought first time in Hawaii friends to play but this year at this time, there was lot of rain and flood and issues. When we got to the course, they told us that due to rain, only back nine is open and we have to play it twice. On top of that, cart path only which really sucked because it was muddy all over and made everything slow. I asked for discount but they said they couldn't give the discount due to the round being booked on Golf Now. So if I don't get discount from Golf Now, I will think twice in the future of booking rounds.

$200 to play, 5 hours pace of play, $80 rider fee, and all cart path only ????

Stay away from this course, there are so many more to play in Honolulu

amazing views, challenging course, but for the money—conditions weren’t great. cart path only slowed pace a little, but the views… they will keep you coming back.

If your handicap is in to 20s, this will be a challenging and frustrating course. Fairways are narrow, terrain is hilly. I lost a lot of golf balls in the jungle or deep rough. The course is cart path only and some holes and greens under repair. This course is beyond my skill level so I will not be playing it again anytime soon

I played this course for more than 15 years as i am visiting Honolulu few times a year.

I always enjoyed it as it is beautiful, not crowed and priced reasonably.

I played again on 3/7/2026, rate was crazy high as $200 , rider fee was $80 !!!!! And pace of play was 5 hours … Definitely not the golf course i used to play !

Probably my last time here, time to play courses where they respect customers…

Bye bye

My babe and I enjoyed the heck out of the course. Lost 5 balls and found 10. The scenery was so awesome and serene. Weather was perfect. People were the friendliest in the island. The drive from Waikiki was so much easier than going west.

Only negative was cart path only on most of the course, it rained 20"+ recently.