Royal Hawaiian Golf Club

Breath taking views on every single hole!! They didn’t have golf towels or club cover accessories, and the front nine is still laughing at me....! However, after the initial grumpy golf through the front nine the glorious back nine appeared and delivered the welcoming spirit!!

It was windy this day but it was Stunning nonetheless!

By far, the most memorable course I’ve played to date solely due the incredible scenery! You find yourself getting lost in the views and forgetting that it’s a golf course you just payed to play! Next time I’ll play as golfer and not a bird watcher! The course is NOT the best maintained course at all, so don’t expect pristine course conditions, however the staff was excellent and the experience was great!

The views were stunning. The layout was challenging but so fun. The staff were very friendly. I’ve read some comments about wet conditions but this was not my experience... conditions were perfect. I’ll never forget this one.

Beautiful course, extreamly unique and you will have an amazing time, every hole is worth taking a picture of. Be prepared to lose a ton of balls played with a 20+ and 5 handicap and for sure be ready to lose 8-10, but it’s well worth it!

Incredible course bringing challenges at every hole. I lost a bunch of golf balls, cause well I didn't hit the fairways and the O.B. is this amazing jungle canopy. If I lived on Oahu this would be a once a week course. Difficult yes but wonderful at the same time. Did it rain yes and then it quit. The staff was laid back but offered great knowledge of this course. The turkey sandwich was handmade and reasonably priced. Brought my wife along and she to was impressed. R. Baltimore Denver

What a great layout winding through paradise. A super hard target shot course that will frustrate you on a windy day. Bring plenty of balls you won’t mind losing. Front 9 was CPO even though conditions were bone dry. Bermuda grass around green complexes/ approaches, tee boxes and throughout have been taken over by many other turf varieties and does not play well. Greens were just OK. No water in golf cart club cleaners and with orange clay getting on clubs and balls after every shot, it was hard to keep equipment clean. Not the conditions I expected to see from a facility trying to get $175 a round, glad I didn’t pay that. Bring drinking water with you.

The course was absolutely unreal. The views were spectacular.

The staff made a big deal about needing lefty club rentals even though I called ahead to let them know that they would be needed, and they did not even have a full set for me when I arrived. The staff was also not very friendly for such a pricey and professional seeming course.

Pro shop closed at 4 even though carts were in by 5:45 so the shop was closed at the turn and we didn't get to finish (staff drives the course backward telling you to head in).

Just an amazing beautiful course. Many different times you’ll take your car at through long winding paths through the jungle to get to another hole and the scenery is out of this world. Very very challenging with no room for error on any hole if your drive is pulled or sprayed. Once-in-a-lifetime type of course so definitely check it out! When we were in it rained a little bit before we started so of course it was a little muddy at spots. Hopefully you can catch on a date it’s not too damp.

The Royal Hawaiian is my favorite course, both in Hawaii and on the mainland. My previous favorite was Ko Olau, unfortunately it has closed permanently so now its the Royal Hawaiian! The scenery is awesome and you feel like you are golfing in Jurassic Park. The fairways are narrow and accuracy of shots is important. But if you know your clubs you should do OK. I always golf this oner at least once when in Hawaii. This year I was able to get in 4 rounds before leaving the Island. Great fun and good challenge!

If the scenery was not so spectacular, I would have given it a 1. Nearly unplayable with mud and a lack of grass. Ill conceived golf course in a rainforest with Pete Dye’s signature unplayability. Maybe worth seeing, but would suggest just finding a near by place to hike.

Royal Hawaiian is one of my favorite places in the world to play golf. I never have a good score there but I don't care. This is one of the most scenic courses I've ever played. I can't believe they carved this course out of the rain forest. Lots of terrain challenges. Weather can be a problem, It was a little muddy and cart path only the last time we played. Still it was worth it.

Course is beautiful and staff was wry friendly! Clean restrooms!

Royal Hawaiian is owned by the same company that ran the famed (and unfortunately recently closed) Koolau course not too far from where this course is on Oahu. The conditions—rainy and wet—are the same as is the ambience with spectacular mountain views and misty shrouded terrain that looks as if it is carved out of a jungle. The front nine is the far more interesting side and also far more difficult with many forced carries. That does not mean the back nine is easy (we were greeted with a 10 minute monsoon on the 11th hole) and both nines require shot making ability.

Because it is the wet side of the island, your ball will not roll far when it hits the turf which makes the length much longer to the average golfer although the course is in fact much shorter than was Koolau. Clean and replace was the order of the day, so be sure to carry multiple towels with you. You’ll want a brush to clean your shoes as they will be covered with the red mud that is the soil composition in the area. When it is this wet you’ll do a fair amount of walking, (sliding really), because it will be cart paths only. Because of the steep contours be sure to wear serious cleated golf shoes. I watched one gentleman on the 17th hole reenact that scene from the film “Romancing the Stone” where Michael Douglass and Kathleen Turner slide down a mud slick hillside, but at the end of this ride ending in a bunker.

The staff is friendly if not jovial and will give you much information about the course. Let’s hope RH is able to stay open and survive through the pandemic, it is a great amount of fun, but be warned, it is not a place for beginning golfers and you will lose a lot of balls—just like Koolau.

This place is one of a kind.This is a must play if you have never been here. Extremely hard. Course conditions are great considering you're in a rain forest and anything the course lacks in condition it makes up for in scenery. Really memorable round, a must play.