Royal Hawaiian Golf Club

One of the coolest experiences of my golfing life. You just don’t see the scenery like this anywhere in the world. Everyone goes to play the more coastal courses. This course is inland and located in a rainforest. It was special for sure!

An overall great course for the money. The staff is always very friendly. Just make sure to bring a lot of golf balls.

I did not come to this golf course expecting to break par. What I was looking for was a new experience to add to my golf journey, and it exceeded expectations. From the second I passed through the gates all the way up to my departure, the staff was extremely helpful and pleasant. I was told prior that the course was more for "views than conditions", but other than the greens that were healing and a few brown spots on fairways, the conditions were as good as you can expect from a golf course in this location. I lost a dozen golf balls on the front 9, and happily went back and bought more. The fairways are tight, the rough is rough, but stop and look around every once in a while. Based on some recent reviews, I notice that there are too many people playing this game for the wrong reason.

This is a very, very special place. Mahalo to the entire staff and community for allowing me the privilege to add this to the very top of my golf list

This course is tough. Jurassic Park yes. Scenic yes. Problem was no notice that it was cart path only. Arrive and find out it was cart path only. Don’t do it if it is cart path only.

What an incredible experience with some of the best views you could ask for and a tough layout. Disregard the negative reviews, they’re most likely from golfers who shoot a 8 on a par 5 and mark down a birdie.

It’s hard to beat the views here at Royal Hawaiian. The greens were punched 5 weeks ago and still probably need another 3-5 to be decent. They’re super bumpy and slow. The attendant said they probably roll at a 7 on the stump meter but that’s probably generous.

If you’re looking for a lush, immaculate golf course you should look elsewhere in Hawaii. If you can overlook the conditions(thin fairways, crabgrass everywhere) then you’ll have a good time.

Played this course 6 times. The greens are awful. Pretty embarrassing for a course that was once a nice course.. The previous 5x I played this course it was good. Pretty sad to see this great course go down hill.

... and that's about all I can say about this course. Second time playing here after a not so good experience the first time. I thought I'd give it another try because it is a beautiful course. For the second time, I was not able to play all 18 holes, by my own choice. Pace of play is extremely slow and when I came upon 2 groups waiting on the 12th tee, for the group of 8, (yes 8 locals), to finish, I skipped 12 and 13. There are no marshals or rangers, so the slow play goes unaddressed. The greens had been punched recently and were unplayable. Hole #1 was closed, replaced by "3b, a par 3. All that said, I do recommend playing here once just to see the beauty, but be ready for an extremely long round of golf! Also, the staff doesn't seem to care whether you're here or not. I've tried twice, taken my pictures, but I won't be back.

Worth every penny for the experience. Staff was awesome and offered great advice for first timers.

I was excited to play on the course that was cut through the mountain terrain. When I initially saw the course, I was excited to head out on the course but after the first tee, I saw the fairway which was very sparse with grass and more dirt. It did not get any better. The greens were aerated per website April 7th but the green looked like it was done yesterday.

Every hole on the front nine was pretty much the same with more dirt than grass on the fairway with aerated greens that were slow and bumpy. Almost like I was playing Plinko. It got a little better on the back nine but not by much. Needless to say that the only reason I gave this course a 2 star was because of the Mountain View and the friendly staff that I gave the extra star. Not worth the money to play this course in this current condition.

Old, dated and overgrown with no money put towards maintenance. Instead, the money you pay for green fees clearly lines the pockets of the owner. There are more weeds than grass on all fairways, and there are more divots than craters on the moon! This place apparently has never been introduced to a lawnmower. It’s shaggy everywhere - shaggier than your grandmother‘s living room rug! The condition of the tee boxes, fairways and rough are no different than a fenced-in lawn of a dope dealer on the south side with two Pitbulls and a car up on blocks. And then there are the greens. Or should I say, ‘what greens’? The chewed up road surface leading to the golf course is smoother than the greens at this club. The driving range was closed because they said the ball picker wasn’t working, but when you drive by it the range it looks like it hasn’t been open for months. The front nine is cart-path only and the back nine they allow carts on four holes. It’s target golf everywhere, so if you’re not spot on, you’re going to be losing lots of balls. There’s no water in the cart’s cooler, no water on the course and no beverage cart. Better hope it’s not a warm day when you play. So as you thrash your way through 18 holes of jungle conditions, and avoid being bitten by a snake, only because there are no snakes in Hawaii, you want to avoid this place at all costs!!! Sorry Royal Hawaiian, get your act together!

One of the most spectacular courses layouts scenic courses I played in a long time greens Green’s had been punched two weeks prior to my visit. Tee boxes were in good fairways Fairways average condition. Lots of brown was surprising because of the lush green jungle all around. all in all I will definitely play again maybe wait until course is pristine. I could also imagine it in its heyday when it first opened probably was immaculate..

Course staff was friendly and helpful. Greens had just been aerated and putting was a challenge. The jungle like setting was amazing.

Pros:

1. Royal Hawaiian is in a spectacular location, nestled between the mountains in a rain forest in the middle of Oahu. It feels as if you are in Jurassic Park as you drive from one geen to the next tee.

2. The course lay-out is fantastic, with hardly any side by side fairways.

Cons:

1. Amenities are poor: there is currently no driving range or even a net where one can warm up before playing. This is frustrating, because it is a very challenging course; if you're off-line with your tee shot, you're likely to lose a ball. We played from the blue tees and I shot 95 off a playing h/c of 11...

2. There is no restaurant available in the club house, only a snack bar where you have to order through a window and stay outside. I was told that the restaurant closed during Covid and didn't re-open. This means that after your round there is nothing to do but go home. This is a shame, as it is a large club house and the views from upstairs would have been spectacular.

3. The fairways aren't in great condition, although quite playable with preferred lies. Greens looked good although they have just been aerated on the 7th of Apr.

Great views and conditions were fine. They were going to let me off as a single but I paired up with two gentlemen. I was hesitant to play after reading past reviews on internet that conditions were unbearable but couldn’t be further from the truth. Must play if you are the island of Oahu. Hope to be back soon.

Any course Obama played is Ok by my book. Had a great time loosing a whole box of balls. Fun, and took out time at the course. Great view. and Very challenging. Would play it again for sure.

Played for the first time here while on vacation. Course conditions was average to poor. Some holes were basically dirt fairways. Greens were patchy. Outside of the views, I wouldn’t play here again. And the driving range was closed so no place to warm up