Royal Hawaiian Golf Club

I would highly recommend! The course is risk and reward. So much fun. Great value if you can get it for less than $100

Easy check in, friendly starter sent us out 10 minutes early. Putting green is a roller coaster, no holes cut and very small.

Greens and tees in good shape , some fairways were sparse and rock hard. We played preferred lies to find a decent spot to play from if the lie was patchy. Not a course to hit driver a whole lot from blue or white tees. Good fun , great views and terrain.

Excellent challenging course with breathtaking views!!! A must play!!

Sure is a lot of whining going on in the reviews about this course. I'll correct all that below if you are interested, but suffice it to say, this is simply a stunning setting for a fun "little" (as in fairly short) golf course that literally winds through the tropical forest at the base of the Ko'olau Mountains. I was paired up with two local native Hawaiians who, on their own, actually called it "Jurassic Park" (no joke) and said along with Turtle Bay is by far their favorite course on the island. Need I say more? Ok, I will below. 5 star overall rating for the backdrop and setting alone, the course itself being secondary. I've never seen a more impressive setting in my 40+years. I highly recommend it, just bring lots of balls and your patience for the slow, rich tourists playing whack-heck, and the "natural" but very playable course conditions and you'll marvel at this jewel.

So to correct the whiners...

Course Conditions: I agree that it is by no means a pristine or manicured resort level course. I call it "natural". The bermuda fairways didn't even look mown, but play like a short second cut of rough, all very much playable. As for muddy conditions, YOU'RE PLAYING IN A RAIN FOREST, HELLO!!! It is a fun if short track that winds up the foothills of the Ko'olau's, winding literally through tropical forests. Very beautiful. Just the 5 minute drive from #1 green to #2 tee alone is a veritable deep jungle tour itself. Most of the tee shots are blind, so it helped me a lot to play with locals who know the course and told me how to play it. You can hit driver on just about every hole (they did), but you better be precise, because any wayward shot is lost in the dense tropical forest. Very small greens require precise approaches, but the course can be had with precise irons off the tee toward the 150 pole then an accurate approach. Lots of little risk/reward type shots that keep the fun going.

Pace of play: dude, you're playing a tourist attraction course where the rich and painfully bad players play and lose tons of balls into the forest. If you can't be patient, enjoy the amazing scenery, and have a few while waiting for the groups ahead to clear, better go somewhere else (and miss out on an amazing experience).

Staff friendliness. I found them to be great. It was odd to be asked at the pro shop what I paid on GolfNow. I should have challenged him on that as to why it matters, but chose not to. But the guys controlling the start and the carts were welcoming, informative, and seemed glad to have me there.

Value for the money. Well, it all depends on what value you put on the most gorgeous setting you will ever see in golf. If you can't get over the "natural" conditions and slow play, you'll probably think it is a horrible value. If you can chill, play conservative, snap lots of pics of the natural beauty, you'll probably think it great. Of course I thought it was even better because I used a Hot Deal monthly round on it and was very richly rewarded.

BTW, my local playing partners told me that this course had been fairly recently purchased by foreign investors. So that could account for a lot of the condition issues. They said the name has been changed and the layout has been changed some. It didn't really affect me because I never played it under previous ownership.

This was our first time playing here even though we are local. It is a nicely designed course but the pace of play was terribly slow.

We constantly had to wait from backups and the people in front started to get annoyed that the group in front of them was taking so long and were getting very aggressive and screaming at the group and we think may have even thrown something at the other group at one point. Not exactly the relaxing experience I was hoping for. I did almost get an eagle on the 10th, missed it by about half an inch on the put. We were only able to finish 12.5 holes because of the very slow play. The pace was approaching 6 hours!!! Keep in mind this is not a walking course , the pace of play was just that slow. I would absolutely avoid the weekends especially during COVID lockdown because that may have contributed to our bad experience. I can usually finish a walking 18 in 2:30-2:45 hours so only being able to complete 12.5 holes in 3:20 minutes is ridiculous. Even the last 2 holes were completely rushed with us running back and forth to the ball and cart without actually setting up. Had we stoped at the time we were supposed to (5:30) we would have only finished 9 holes in 2:45 minutes! Also the GPS was broken on the cart which wouldn't bother me normally but this was the first time playing this course so was a bit annoying as I couldn't see the flyovers. There was also a used tissue in the cupholder which considering COVID19 right now was disgusting. To be fair I think they may have been rushed due to everyone taking a single cart right now as the guy had to run over to grab an extra cart so may not have had time to clean it like they normally would.

Loved the course. It is tough but beautiful, a good iron game is needed to dominate this course. Can’t wait to go back. If you have anyone visiting from off island this is the place to go

The starter is a bit standoffish but warms up. I have played here before and have a problem with:

* staff didn't advise there was no water in the in cart ball/club cleaner on a habitually muddy course.

* also didnt advise there was no drinking water or bathroom facility on the front 9 ,(quit at 9 - too irritated)

* pro shop attendant attacked me over the rate I paid on Golf Now - as if I should know they what their deal was and that they weren't making any money - how could I POSSIBLY know that!.

Front nine was so damp with poor drainage.

But view is fantastic.

Back nine was well maintained fairway and manicured green.

Scenery is different but still beautiful.

Stunning course. The staff was incredible - Ellsworth the starter was exceptionally friendly and informative. The greenskeepers handed me two balls as I drove past them. - by the way you will need extra golf balls. This course is very punitive for a poor shot. Watch Utube to see how beautiful the course is. (it is twice as nice in person). The highlight of my two weeks in Hawaii,

This is my first year to play golf. I played 32 years of travel softball, so my little brother has been teaching me sine the first of the year 2019. I took my wife over to Hawaii for our 30th anniversary and decided that I was going to play golf while there. I picked the Royal Hawaiian golf course because of the pictures showing the beauty of the course. It did not disappoint. The course was above my skill set but I love a challenge and the course difficulties of the holes was awesome. I did lose about a dozen balls, but the course was just awesome. I recommend if you are ever there for vacation, business or whatever it maybe. Take plenty of golf balls.

Amazing course when dry. Does rain frequently in the area so call ahead and check on weather conditions. Near Pail municipal golf course and Ko`olau Country Club. These course are closer to the mountains and frequently receives more rain than Royal Hawaiian. The course is challenging enough to consider packing at least a dozen balls, possibly more. The views are unbelievable. Take time for a "Kodak" moment while playing the course.

Unfortunately we played the day after it rained and was cart path only.

The 7th hole was not playable.

Staff were friendly and very helpful, but there was no restaurant open, no bar after just a snack shop, for a course of such stature I was shocked that they have very little food and beverage offerings.

The pace of play was great, not many on the course but for $150 it was not really worth it!

The staff told us we could cancel and get a refund due to the conditions but once we teed off no refunds possible.